Synthesis and sensing properties of spherical flowerlike architectures assembled with SnO 2 submicron rods

Abstract

Uniform spherical flowerlike SnO 2 architectures with the diameters of 1.7-2.0 μm were synthesized by a hydrothermal reaction of SnCl 4 with NaOH and H 2O in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). These flowerlike architectures are assembled from submicron rods with the diameters of 300-600 nm. The constituent submicron rods are single crystalline SnO 2 with the tetragonal structure, and grow along the direction perpendicular to (1 0 1) facet. The spherical flowerlike architectures constructed with SnO 2 submicron rods are formed via the oriented attachment process. The response performance of the sensors based on the SnO 2 spherical flowerlike architectures toward ethanol and triethylamine is better than that of SnO 2 powders and can be further enhanced by improving their crystallinity. The sensor response is 3.65 and 2.97 when the concentration of ethanol and triethylamine is 105 and 45 ppm, respectively. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.