Development of Fe-doped SnO2- based nanocomposites prepared by single-step laser pyrolysis

We report a new synthesis technique for the preparation of Fe-SnO2, namely the CO2 laser pyrolysis of gas phase reactants. Tetramethyl tin, air and iron pentacarbonyl were used as precursors. At increased oxygen in mixtures, the SnO2 phase (mean crystallite sizes about 12 nm) largely prevails over the other two crystallographic phases: SnO and Sn. Different Fe/Sn ratios (from about 0.01 to 0.08 in at %) were obtained by varying the process parameters. No iron compounds were identified by diffraction techniques. With increased Fe doping, an overall decrease of the diffraction peaks and an inhibited particle growth may be observed.