General route to single-crystalline SnO nanosheets on arbitrary substrates

Novel pure tin monoxide (SnO) nanosheets for use in future functional nanoscale devices were produced on indium tin oxide/glass and SiO₂/Si substrates by a thermal chemical vapor deposition process without the use of catalysts or a vacuum system. The SnO nanosheets were grown purely on the substrates without the coexistence of other nanostructures. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy investigations revealed that the structurally uniform SnO nanosheets without planar defects that were produced had preferred growth directions of ±[110] and ±[1̄10] as well as a single-crystalline tetragonal structure. This work provides a general route for the facile synthesis of single-crystalline SnO nanosheets on arbitrary substrates with single, poly, or amorphous crystal structures. In addition, the selective formation of SnO nanosheets on Pt-deposited patterned SiO ₂/Si substrates was successfully accomplished.