119Sn Mِssbauer spectroscopic study of nanometric tin dioxide powders prepared by pyrolysis of organotin oxides

This paper reports the results of 119Sn Mِssbauer Spectroscopy of residues from the pyrolysis of Sn3O3Bu6 (1) and Sn4O6Bu4 (2) (Bu=n-butyl) in air, O2, and N2. The isomer shift and quadrupole splitting parameters of the samples allowed the identification of the tin oxidation states, as well as the number of non-equivalent coordinated tin sites. The result of the 119Sn Mِssbauer study correlates perfectly with those of X-ray electron probe microanalysis, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray powder diffraction for the formation of pure SnO2 from the decomposition of (1) and (2) in air or O2. However, in N2, evidences suggest the formation of a mixture of SnO2 and SnO.