Origin of room temperature d0 ferromagnetism and characteristic photoluminescence in pristine SnO2 nanowires: A correlation

► SnO2 NWs are fabricated by wet chemical AAO template assisted route. ► SnO2 NWs exhibit d0 ferromagnetism at room temperature. ► Origin of ferromagnetism is correlated with photoluminescence and EPR studies. ► Oxygen vacancy clusters are attributed to boost ferromagnetism in SnO2 NWs.