Fabrication of nanocrystalline SnO_2 using electron stimulated oxidation

摘要

Fabrication of nanocrystalline SnO_2 using electron stimulated oxidation was investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy. SnO _2 nanocrystals ranging from several to dozens of nanometers were transformed from single crystalline tin under 200 keV electron irradiation. This process includes crystallization of the surface amorphous SnO_2 layer and oxidation of the inner tin crystal substrate. On stimulation by electron irradiation, newly formed SnO_2 is supposed to act as a catalyst to oxidize the tin atoms underneath with lattice oxygen, and then be re-oxidized by absorbed oxygen from the residual gas of the microscope. This provides a new method to fabricate nanocrystalline SnO_2 materials and structures.