Mesoporous SnO2/SnO-SiO2 with disordered pores and high thermal stability up to 600 degrees C were fabricated using hydrothermal treatment with/without impurity oxide (SiO2) doping. Neutral surfactant (tetradecylamine, TDA) was selected as the structure directing agent based on a sol-gel-derived process. The results showed that with careful control of the synthesis condition, mesoporous SnO2-SiO2 with small SnO2 nanocrystallites (similar to 25 angstrom). large specific surface area (211-340 m(2)/g), and pore volume (0.23-0.3 cm(2)/g) could be obtained after the removal of template at temperatures of 400-600 degrees C. The effects of synthesis parameters such as aging time, hydrothermal treatment, Si/Sn molar ratio and calcination temperature were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, wide/small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), HRTEM, and BET gas (N-2) adsorption/desorption measurements. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.