Korean Journal of Materials Research ISSN:1225-0562(Print) 2287-7258(Online) 한국재료학회지

Tin oxide (SnO₂) nanocrystals are synthesized by a thermal evaporation method using a mixture of SnO₂ and Mg powders. The synthesis process is performed in air at atmospheric pressure, which makes the process very simple. Nanocrystals with a belt shape start to form at 900 °C lower than the melting point of SnO₂. As the synthesis temperature increases to 1,100 °C, the quantity of nanocrystals increases. The size of the nanocrystals did not change with increasing temperature. When SnO₂ powder without Mg powder is used as the source material, no nanocrystals are synthesized even at 1,100 °C, indicating that Mg plays an important role in the formation of the SnO₂ nanocrystals at temperatures as low as 900 °C. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the SnO₂ nanocrystals have a rutile crystal structure. The belt-shaped SnO₂ nanocrystals have a width of 300~800 nm, a thickness of 50 nm, and a length of several tens of micrometers. A strong blue emission peak centered at 410 nm is observed in the cathodoluminescence spectra of the belt-shaped SnO₂ nanocrystals.