Tin dioxide is a wide band semiconductor, with interesting chemical physical and mechanical properties, used in a variety of industrial, domestic, medical and agricultural applications, including gas detectors, transparent conductors, solar cells, anti-static films, nanoelectronic devices etc.
Synthesis of tin dioxide layers can be achieved though a variety of methods including sol-gel, sputtering from a SnO₂ target, tin metal nanoparticles/organometallic precursor oxidation, chemical vapour deposition, physical vapour deposition, solid state reactions.
The main problem with sol-gel, sputtering from a SnO₂ target, and CVD methods especially when they are used in thin layers, are quality problems due to high grain size and production of mixtures of amorphous and crystalline oxide. The high yield and the absence of organic matter involved in the synthesis using solid state reactions are among the advantages of the method. The organometallic precursor routes of SnO₂ production have as a main disadvantage the presence of organometallic precursors and the complex process control.
The main drawbacks with the bulk synthesis of nanowires e.g. using discharge, laser ablation, template, solution, carbon nanotube confined chemical reaction, vapour-liquid-solid (VLS) methods, or the growth of SnO₂ whiskers by VLS, is the requirement of very high temperatures (1110-1300^oC), the use of complex apparatus and the formation of large grain size products.
Literature review shows that exist a high interest for the development of new methods e.g. using redox reaction in inverse microemulsion systems, template method using copolymers, solid state process with active carbon and doping of SnO₂ with V₂O₅ and Dy³⁺ and other dopants. Among the main targets are, the use of low production temperature, better control of surface morphology and crystallinity, the simplicity of the process and the use of new dopants.

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