SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF PURE AND Zn-DOPED SnO₂ NANOPOWDERS

Pure and 4.5 wt% Zn- doped SnO₂ nanopowders were synthesized by sol-gel method. These nanopowders were characterized by X- ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, I-V measurements and R-T measurements. XRD results confirmed the formation of tetragonal rutile type SnO₂ with the average crystallite size of 14 ± 1 nm which decreased to 9 ± 1 nm with 4.5 wt% Zn addition. Increase in band gap is observed from UV-Vis spectroscopy. Electrical characterizations revealed increase in resistivity with Zn addition. Temperature dependent resistance measurement showed that both the pure and the Zn- doped samples are suitable for gas sensing applications. A detailed study of these synthesized nanostructured samples is presented and discussed in the paper.