Nanowires and nanowire-nanosheet junctions of SnO₂ nanostructures

Intriguing one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures of SnO₂, including nanowires, dendritic nanorods and falchion-like nanosheets, have been prepared by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. To meet the needs of large-scale, controllable, and designable synthesis of nanostructures, it is crucial to systematically study the experimental conditions under which the desired nanostructures can be synthesized reproducibly, in large quantity and with controllable morphology. The most important factors that influence the morphology of the product are temperature and template. The effects of temperature and anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template with or without Au catalyst particles on the morphology of the final product were studied in this paper. The structures were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM).