Growth of tin oxide thin films composed of nanoparticles on hydrophilic and hydrophobic glass substrates by spray pyrolysis technique

Abstract In this paper, we have demonstrated the growth of tin oxide (SnO 2 ) thin films composed of nanoparticles on hydrophobic (siliconized) and hydrophilic (non-siliconized) glass substrates by using the spray pyrolysis technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the formation of SnO 2 thin films with tetragonal rutile-phase structure. Average particle size of nanoparticles was determined to be in the range of 3–4 nm measured from the front view images obtained by a field emission gun scanning electron microscope (FESEM), while the size of nanoparticle clusters, when present, were in the range of 11–20 nm. Surface morphology of SnO 2 films grown over hydrophobic substrates rev…