Synthesis and optoelectrical properties of SnO2 nanospheres derived by microwave-assisted hydrothermal method

SnO2 nanospheres have been synthesized by microwave-assisted hydrothermal method from the starting materials of citric acid and tin metallic particles. From the results of SEM and TEM images, it can be found that the SnO2 nanospheres are uniform with diameter of ~100 nm and aggregated by SnO2 nanocrystals with size of 8–10 nm. The photoluminescence spectrum of the nanospheres shows a peak at ~330 nm and a cutoff wavelength of around 400 nm. The pronounced photocurrent was recoded from the as-prepared SnO2 nanospheres assembled on a Mo thin sheet under the UV illumination, which is suggested for the potential application of UV photodetector.