Structural and optical properties of SnO2 nanotowers and interconnected nanowires prepared by carbothermal reduction method

• SnO2 nanotowers and interconnected nanowires were prepared by carbothermal reduction.
• SnO2 nanotowers, consisting of nanosheets, formed by VS growth.
• Interconnected SnO2 nanowires involved VLS growth mediated by Ag3Sn nanodroplets.
• Nanotowers revealed intense PL peaks at 365 and 396 nm and a weak PL band at 545 nm.

Nanotowers and interconnected nanowires of SnO2 have been successfully synthesized using a simple carbothermal reduction method by heating mixtures of SnO2, graphite and Ag powders at 1050 °C. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) studies revealed that the synthesized nanotowers consist of layer-by-layer stacked SnO2 nanosheets of average thickness 100 nm. At higher Ag concentration, interconnected nanowires of SnO2 have been obtained. The formation of SnO2 nanotowers involves vapor–solid growth, while the interconnected SnO2 nanowires were formed by vapor–liquid–solid growth mediated by Ag3Sn liquid nanodroplets. Photoluminescence studies on SnO2 nanotowers revealed intense peaks at 365 and 396 nm and a very weak broad band around 545 nm. The synthesized SnO2 nanotowers and interconnected SnO2 nanowires have potential applications as functional blocks in future nanodevices.