Room-temperature synthesis, photoluminescence and photocatalytic properties of SnO nanosheet-based flowerlike architectures

Flowerlike architectures constructed with SnO nanosheets were synthesized by a reaction of SnCl(2)a <...2H(2)O with NaOH in water at room temperature. The diameters of the flowerlike architectures are in the range of 7 to 9 mu m. The constituent nanosheets with diameters of 3 to 5 mu m and the thicknesses of 200 to 500 nm are single crystalline with tetragonal architecture. A possible mechanism was also proposed to account for the formation of the flowerlike superstructure. The as-synthesized SnO nanosheet-based flowerlike architectures display a strong emission at 390 nm and a very weak emission at 482 nm and a high photocatalytic activity in the photodegradation of malachite green.