Study of blueshift of optical band gap in stannic oxide nanosheets by an uncharged surfactant mediated alcohothermal process

Two-dimensional (2-D) nanostructures have attracted great attention in recent years. Herein, we report the synthesis of 2-D nanosheets of stannic oxide (SnO2) via an uncharged surfactant mediated alcohothermal process, by using stannic tetrachloride pentahydrate, alkali base pellets (caustic soda), ethyl alcohol as a solvent, and poly (oxy) ethylene glycol-200 as a surfactant. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) study shows the formation of the tetragonal rutile phase SnO2. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) study confirms the formation of Sn–O bond. The morphology and sizes of the SnO2 powder have been studied by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. A strong absorption peak was observed in the ultraviolet region at 335 nm from the optical absorption spectrum.