Facile synthesis of tin oxide nanofibres

Abstract In this paper, we present a facile method to synthesize SnO 2 nanofibres. Unlike the conventional CVD process for synthesizing nanofibres, the present synthesis method needs neither specific source gas nor substrates. Sn–Ag alloys or powder mixtures were heat-treated at temperatures above their melting point in a vertical or horizontal alumina tube furnace. During the heat treatment, a small amount of oxygen in an atmospheric gas reacted with tin in the alloys to form SnO 2 nanofibres. Silver in the tin alloys acts as a catalytic material to facilitate the formation of nanofibres. An excess amount of oxygen in the gas resulted in the formation of SnO 2 nanoparticles instead of nanofibres. The synthesized nanofibres have straight form with high purity.