Fabrication of nanocrystalline SnO2 using electron stimulated oxidation

Fabrication of nanocrystalline SnO2 using electron stimulated oxidation was investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy. SnO2 nanocrystals ranging from several to dozens of nanometers were transformed from single crystalline tin under 200 keV electron irradiation. This process includes crystallization of the surface amorphous SnO2 layer and oxidation of the inner tin crystal substrate. On stimulation by electron irradiation, newly formed SnO2 is supposed to act as a catalyst to oxidize the tin atoms underneath with lattice oxygen, and then be re-oxidized by absorbed oxygen from the residual gas of the microscope. This provides a new method to fabricate nanocrystalline SnO2 materials and structures. (paper)