Synthesis and gas sensitivities of SnO2 nanorods and hollow microspheres

SnO2 urchin-like structures composed of nanorods with diameters of 10-15 nm and lengths of 50-70 nm have been hydrothermally synthesized via a H2O2-assisted route without any surfactant, using SnCl2 as raw material. With the addition of methenamine (HMT), SnO2 hollow microspheres with diameters of 2-3 μm and shell thickness of 60-140 nm were also prepared. The as-obtained products were examined using diverse techniques including X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected-area electron diffraction (SAED), high-resolution TEM and photoluminescence spectra. The gas sensitivity experiments have demonstrated that the as-synthesized SnO2 materials exhibit good sensitivity to alcohol vapors, which may offer potential applications in gas sensors. - Graphical abstract: SnO2 urchin-like structures composed of short nanorods with diameter of 10-15 nm and length of 50-70 nm and SnO2 hollow microspheres have been synthesized via a simple H2O2-assisted hydrothermal method in the absence of any surfactant. With the addition of methenamine (HMT), SnO2 hollow microspheres with diameter of 2-3 μm and shell thickness of 60-140 nm were obtained. The gas sensitivity experiments showed that the as-synthesized SnO2 materials show good sensitivity to alcohol vapors and thus are expected to be useful in industrial applications such as gas sensors