Size-dependent photoconductance in SnO₂ nanowires

The synthesis and characterization of SnO₂ wires, coins, and ribbons by vapor transport synthesis at elevated temperatures has been offered for the improvements as the nanowires, tubes, or rods display the lowest dimensionability for electron transport. The tin oxide nanowires were obtained by ablating a metallic tin target with an Nd:YAG laser under an O₂/Ar atmosphere. The gaseous species liberated during the chemical vapor growth of SnO₂ nanowires were characterized by on-line mass spectrometric analysis. The growth of tin oxide nanowires follows vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism, where the VLS model requires the alloying of a metal catalysts with nanowire component for growing quasi-one-dimensional nanostructures. The photoconductance of SnO₂ NWs offers a strong modulation that dependends on the average radical dimensions. The results show that stable photoresponse of samples demonstrate their potential for applications in UV detectors.