Synthesis of high surface area amorphous tin-zinc oxides by a sol-gel method

A new method to synthesize conducting oxide nanoparticles with low photocatalytic activity was investigated. Initially, the preparation of amorphous ZnO-SnO₂ solid solution nanoparticles was studied using a sol-gel technique. It was found that X-ray amorphous nanopowders with low photocatalytic activity were produced when the precipitates were heat treated below 500°C. However, FT-IR data showed that the sample may not be an oxide semiconductor. A mixture of ZnO and SnO₂ crystalline nanoparticles was also produced at 800°C and found to have much reduced photoactivity than commercial ZnO nanoparticles having a similar specific surface area.