Preparation of SnO2 nanowires synthesized by vapor-solid mode and its growth mechanism

Single crystal SnO2 nanowires with diameters of 20 similar to 100nm have fabricated by the reaction of vapor SnO with the oxygen. Vapor-Solid (VS) mechanism is applied to explain to the growth process. Scan electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Selected area diffraction (SAED) and High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) studies show that the SnO2 nanowires grow along [100] or [010] orientation, which is not; in agreement with the symmetry Of SnO2 crystal structure. We prove that the low vapor saturation is the key growth condition of the SnO2 nanowires which prevents the two dimensional nucleation on the side faces and causes one dimensional large aspect ratio.