Tin selenide synthesized by a chemical route: the effect of the annealing conditions in the obtained phase

The effects of different annealing conditions over the tin selenide obtained from a chemical route are presented in this work. The tin selenide was annealed at 300 and 600 °C under hydrogen, nitrogen and argon atmospheres. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction and 119Sn Mössbauer spectroscopy. In the 'as synthetized' material a considerably amount of tin oxide (57%) was detected by Mössbauer spectroscopy. After thermal annealing the amount of these oxides varied according to the temperature and atmosphere used. At 600 °C/hydrogen the smallest amount of tin oxide was obtained (20%). These oxides were formed during the synthetic procedure through the hydrolysis of tin chloride used as reagent.