Morphological zinc stannate: synthesis, fundamental properties and applications

Abstract

Zinc stannate (ZnSnO₃ and Zn₂SnO₄), which is generally called zinc tin oxide (ZTO), possesses unique physical and chemical properties that have received much attention in recent decades. Efforts have been devoted to exploration and investigation of morphological ZTO micro/nanostructures because of their high electron mobility, high electrical conductivity, attractive optical properties and good stability compared with their binary counterparts. Consequently, ZTO-based micro/nanostructures with well-tuned composite, crystalline phase and morphology have been rationally developed and used in the fields of solar cells, sensing, anode materials for lithium batteries, nanodevices and catalysts. However, a comprehensive review on morphological ZTO micro/nanostructure is lacking, and this is imperative to highlight progress in function-oriented ZTO micro/nanostructures. The present review highlights significant advancements in morphological ZTO micro/nanostructures, including synthetic strategies leading to growth of different ZTO micro/nanostructures, the fundamental properties, and their current applications. Several emerging issues and prospective research directions in this field are also discussed.