A general sonochemical approach to rapid synthesis of 1D single-crystalline MSn(OH)6 (M = Ba, Ca, Sr) nanostructures

A general sonochemical approach that allows for a facile, rapid synthesis of MSn(OH)6 (M = Ba, Ca, Sr) one-dimension (1D) nanostructures has been developed. The resulting CaSn(OH)6 products possessed a nanotubular structure while SrSn(OH)6 and BaSn(OH)6 showed nanowire-like structures. The as-synthesized MSn(OH)6 products were characterized by XRD, SEM and TEM techniques. Owing that BaSn(OH)6 nanowires, CaSn(OH)6 nanotubes, and SrSn(OH)6 nanowires takes different crystal structures respectively, they share different growth mechanisms. However, we found that in all three growing processes, both ultrasound irradiation and the presence of Na2CO3 in the synthetic procedure had an significant impact on the homogeneous nucleation and fast growth of 1D MSn(OH)6 nanostructures. This approach represents a successful example for the fast construction of innovative inorganic nanostructures in the absence of any surfactants.