Tin Dioxide Nanoparticles

Tin (IV) oxide (SnO₂) is also known as stannic oxide or cassiterite. Tin oxide is an amphoteric colorless solid with intriguing properties. SnO₂ shows high optical transparency, high refractivity in the infrared region, high chemical and thermal stability. Furthermore, SnO₂ is a wide bandgap semiconductor (≈3.6 eV). The crystal structure of tin oxide is in the rutile structure category meaning that in one unit cell, the tin (IV) ion is surrounded by 6 oxygen ions and every oxygen is bordered by 3 tin (IV) ions. The melting point of SnO₂ nanoparticles changes between 1500-1630°C while the boiling point of the material changes between 1800-1900°C. The density of the compound is around 6.9±3 g/cm³. The particle sizes of tin oxide nanoparticles vary from a few nanometers to 100 nm with significantly high surface areas. The interesting properties of SnO₂ are utilized in;

• Gas sensors,
• Dye-based solar cells,
• OLEDs
• Li insertion electrodes,
• Catalysis
• Photovoltaic devices and so on.