title: Fabrication of nanocrystalline SnO₂ using electron stimulated oxidation.
abstract: Fabrication of nanocrystalline SnO₂ using electron stimulated oxidation was investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy. SnO₂ 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 SnO₂ layer and oxidation of the inner tin crystal substrate. On stimulation by electron irradiation, newly formed SnO₂ 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 SnO₂ materials and structures.
authors.affiliation: Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Z Q
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Liu