One-pot Hydrothermal Synthesis of SnO and SnO2 Nanostructures: Enhanced H2 Sensing Attributed to in-situ p-n Junctions

Herein, we present a novel hydrothermal synthetic approach for the formation of SnO/SnO2 nanorods and their assembly into micro cubes as an effective gas sensing material. The synthesized materials were characterized by powder x-ray diffraction, Micro-Raman, FT-IR, XPS, and thermogravimetry. Morphological evaluations by SEM revealed the rods of about 10 nm and cube about 6 um. Electrical characterization results attribute the enhanced hydrogen gas sensing response to the formation of SnO2/SnO local p-n junctions. Significantly improved sensor response and sensitivity could be achieved using Pd functionalization. Further, the anomalous room temperature ferromagnetic behavior of the as synthesized materials and its consequence on the enhanced sensing property is discussed.