Ionic liquid-assisted synthesis of SnO2 particles with nanorod subunits for enhanced gas-sensing properties

An ionic liquid-assisted synthetic route is proposed for the synthesis of SnO2 particles. Specifically, the SnO2 particles with nanorod subunits could be synthesized by the present route. The ionic liquid is found to play a key role in the formation of these interesting particles. This is the first time that these interesting structures have been reported. The formation mechanism for these interesting particles is investigated in detail. A gas-sensing analysis for the detection of various organic vapors shows that the sensors based on the synthesized SnO2 particles exhibit remarkable sensitivity, low detection limits and fast response/recovery times, which is attributed to their nanorod subunits.