Al-doped SnO2 nanocrystals from hydrothermal systems

Nanoparticles of Al-doped SnO2 have been hydrothermally synthesized. The influences of the hydrothermal reaction time, the molar ratio of Sn/Al as well as the pH value of the solution have been studied. During the hydrothermal synthesis, the particle’s core is rich in Sn and the surface is rich in Al. The Al-rich surface prevents the particles from further growing up either in the hydrothermal condition or during the calcination at 600 °C for a short period of time. The optimal hydrothermal synthesis condition of the nanoparticles is pH 5, Sn/Al=4:1 and 12 h at 160 °C. The products have been studied by XRD, TEM and 27Al solid-state NMR.