Fabrication of porous BaSnO3 hollow architectures using BaCO3@SnO2 core-shell nanorods as precursors

We present a strategy to synthesize porous BaSnO₃ hollow architectures with that were 150-300 nm in diameter and 1.5-5 μm in length using precursor of BaCO₃@SnO₂ nanorods prepared by hydrothermal treatment. BaCO₃@SnO₂ nanorods, consisting of a BaCO₃ core and a SnO₂ shell, could be used effectively for the solid-state synthesis of polycrystalline BaSnO₃ powder at 800 °C (lower than convention for BaCO₃ and SnO₂ mixtures). The core/shell structure of the precursor could play a role as a structural directing template for preparing BaSnO₃ hollow architectures during the calcination process. The X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) are employed to characterize the structures and morphologies. When applied to DSSC, the porous BaSnO₃ hollow architectures exhibit distinct photovoltaic effect.