An electron microscope study of tin dioxide and antimony-doped tin dioxide

Crystals of tin dioxide, SnO₂, have been grown pure or doped with a few percent of antimony using vapor growth methods in order to investigate the microstructures of reduced and oxidized SnO₂. They were examined by X-ray diffraction and by optical and electron microscopy. SnO₂ crystals were found to contain few faults, but the antimony-doped crystals were extensively twinned in some regions. Reduction of SnO₂ crystals to yield CS phases was unsuccessful. These results are discussed in terms of the known crystal chemistry of the oxides involved.