Growth of Less than 20 nm SnO Nanowires Using an Anodic Aluminum Oxide Template for Gas Sensing

Stannous oxide (SnO) nanowires were synthesized by a template and catalyst-free thermal oxidation process. After annealing a Sn nanowires-embedded anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template in air, we obtained a large amount of SnO nanowires. SnO nanowires were first prepared by electrochemical deposition and an oxidization method based on an AAO template. The preparation of SnO nanowires used aluminum sheet (purity 99.999%) and then a two-step anodization procedure to obtain a raw alumina mold. Finally, transparent alumina molds (AAO template) were obtained by reaming, soaking with phosphoric acid for 20 min, and a stripping process. We got a pore size of < 20 nm on the transparent alumina mold. In order to meet electroplating needs, we produced a platinum film on the bottom surface of the AAO template by using a sputtering method as the electrode of electroplating deposition. The structure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) with X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) were used to observe the morphology. The EDS spectrum showed that components of the materials were Sn and O. FE-SEM results showed the synthesized SnO nanowires have an approximate length of ~10–20 μm with a highly aspect ratio of > 500. SnO nanowires with a Sn/O atomic ratio of ~1:1 were observed from EDS. The crystal structure of SnO nanowires showed that all the peaks within the spectrum lead to SnO with a tetragonal structure. This study may lead to the use of the 1D structure nanowires into electronic nanodevices and/or sensors, thus leading to nano-based functional structures.