Evolution of tin oxide (SnO2) nanostructures synthesized by hydrothermal method

Abstract Tin oxide (SnO 2 ), a versatile metal oxide due to its wide range of applications and its nature as an amphoteric oxide, has attracted researchers globally for many decades. Hydrothermal synthesis of wide band gap oxides with controllable nano shape and size is of primary attraction leading to myriad areas of applications such as electrodes in Lithium-ion batteries, gas sensing, photo-catalyst etc. to name a few. In this work, we have synthesized different types of nanostructures of Tin oxide through low temperature(180 o C) Hydrothermal process by varying the concentration of its precursor solution (SnCl 4 .5H 2 O) from 0.0625M to 0.25M. The characterization of as -Synthesized SnO 2 done using UV-Vis spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X ray (EDX) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) confirm synthesis of tin oxide and formation of various nanostructures as a function of concentration of the precursor solution. The evolution of various shapes of nanostructures has been discussed in light of existing theories.