Surfactant-assisted fabrication of tin oxide nanowires through one-step electrochemically induced chemical deposition

Tin oxide nanowires were successfully fabricated at the potentials of -0.6 to -0.8 V from nitric acid electrolytes containing 20 mM tin dichloride, 100 mM sodium nitrate, 75 mM nitric acid, and 5 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) through a one-step electrochemically induced chemical deposition. The addition of SDS surfactant to the nitric acid electrolyte led to a dramatic change in the shapes of the deposits, resulting in the formation of the tin oxide nanowires. Field emission scanning electron microscope and tunneling electron microscope images of the deposits showed that the diameter and the length of the tin oxide nanowires were within the range of 30-400 nm and several tens to hundreds of micrometers, respectively. X-ray diffraction and the selected area electron diffraction patterns of the deposits revealed that the tin oxide nanowire had a polycrystalline tetragonal structure. The shapes of the obtained samples changed with the SDS surfactant concentrations. The formation mechanism of the tin oxide nanowires is also discussed.