LOW-TEMPERATURE SYNTHESIS OF SnO NANOSHEETS VIA CHEMICAL DEPOSITION: MORPHOLOGY, STRUCTURE, AND THERMAL STABILITY

The formation process of SnO nanosheets was studied using the direct chemical precipitation, employing tin(II) chloride as the tin source and sodium hydroxide as the base. The obtained powder was characterized in terms of its crystalline structure and microstructure using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Spectral characteristics were examined by infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy, and thermal behavior was analyzed using simultaneous thermal analysis (TGA/DSC) in an air flow. It was established that the synthesized SnO is resistant to oxidation at temperatures up to 250°C. According to XRD data, the product formed has a tetragonal crystal lattice corresponding to tin monoxide, with an average coherent scattering region (CSR) size of 21.7 ± 1.3 nm. SEM and AFM analyses revealed that the powder possesses a hierarchically organized microstructure consisting of nanoplates with a thickness of 26.2 ± 2 nm and lateral dimensions ranging from 0.6 to 4.3 μm. The work function of the materials surface was estimated using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and found to be 3.79 ± 0.02 eV.