Structural and optical characterization of tin dioxide nanoparticles prepared by a surfactant mediated method

In this study tin dioxide nanoparticles were synthesized using a cationic surfactant (cetyl-trimethyl ammonium bromide) as the organic template and the hydrous tin chloride and liquid ammonia as the inorganic precursor. Samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and UV–visible absorption, photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction pattern of the as prepared sample is indexed to rutile phase of tin dioxide without any trace of an extra phase and particle size 7–8 nm which is further confirmed by electron microscopy. The UV–visible spectrum shows that the absorption edge is blue shifted and the band gap of the prepared sample is 4.0 eV which is larger than the bulk tin dioxide (3.6 eV).