Synthesis of Highly Monodispersed Mesoporous Tin Oxide Spheres

• Published in: Chemistry of materials Vol. 21; no. 21; pp. 5252 - 5257
• Main Authors: Tatsuda, Narihito, Nakamura, Tadashi, Yamamoto, Daisuke, Yamazaki, Tatsufumi, Shimada, Tetsuya, Inoue, Haruo, Yano, Kazuhisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Chemical Society 10.11.2009
• Subjects: Optical Materials (including Non-Linear Optic, Photonic, and Optoelectronic Materials); Porous Materials (including Meso- and Micro-Porous Materials); Self-Assembly and Self-Assembled Materials
• ISSN: 0897-4756; 1520-5002
• DOI: 10.1021/cm902247k

Synthesis of monodispersed mesoporous tin oxide spheres and fabrication of close-packed mesoporous tin oxide opal is presented. By taking advantage of the oxidation of tin(II) chloride on the surface of monodispersed starburst carbon spheres (MSCS), which are produced using monodispersed mesoporous silica spheres as a host, nanocrystals of tin oxide accumulate into mesopores of MSCS. Calcination of the MSCS/SnO2 composite yields monodispersed mesoporous tin oxide spheres (MMTOS) that consist of SnO2 nanocrystals. Although the starburst structure of MSCS is lost during calcination, monodispersed spherical shape is retained. As a result of its uniformity, MMTOS can be self-assembled into a close-packed opal, which exhibits a stop band in the visible region.