Abstract: Two types of tin oxide self-assembly nanostructures, lotus flower-shaped and chrysanthemum-shaped, were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition method using gold nanoparticles as catalyst. The lotus flower-shaped tin oxide nanostructure comprised a disc with meshes in nanoscale and a thin film of nanowires, whereas the chrysanthemum-shaped tin oxide nanostructure comprised nanowires or nanobelts in a radicalized arrangement. X-ray diffraction spectra indicated that the former was composed of Sn and SnO2 and the latter was composed of only SnO2. By adjusting these two suits of experimental parameters, such as pressure, temperature, flow rate carrier gas or oxygen in the carrier gas, and then characterizing the products with scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, possible growth mechanism for these two types of self-assembly tin oxide nanostructures was proposed.

Key words: Chemical vapor deposition, Tin oxide, Controllable growth