Synthesis and sensing properties of spherical flowerlike architectures assembled with SnO2 submicron rods

Uniform spherical flowerlike SnO2 architectures with the diameters of 1.7-2.0 μm were synthesized by a hydrothermal reaction of SnCl4 with NaOH and H2O in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). These flowerlike architectures are assembled from submicron rods with the diameters of 300-600 nm. The constituent submicron rods are single crystalline SnO2 with the tetragonal structure, and grow along the direction perpendicular to (1 0 1) facet. The spherical flowerlike architectures constructed with SnO2 submicron rods are formed via the oriented attachment process. The response performance of the sensors based on the SnO2 spherical flowerlike architectures toward ethanol and triethylamine is better than that of SnO2 powders and can be further enhanced by improving their crystallinity. The sensor response is 3.65 and 2.97 when the concentration of ethanol and triethylamine is 105 and 45 ppm, respectively.