Synthesis of high surface area tin oxide powders via water-in-oil microemulsions

Nanoparticles of tin oxide have been synthesized from water-in-oil microemulsions consisting of water, AOT (surfactant), and n-heptane (oil). The aqueous cores of microemulsions were used as constrained microreactors for the precipitation of precursor hydroxide particles. When these precursor powders were calcined at 600°C for 2 h, they exhibited a higher Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET) surface area of 86 m2/g. On the other hand, the powders obtained from the conventional precipitation method showed a lower surface area of 19 m2/g.