Preparation of Highly Dispersed Antimony-doped Tin Oxide Nano-powder via Ion-exchange Hydrolysis of SnCl4 and SbCl3 and Azeotropic Drying

Antimony-doped tin hydroxide colloid precipitates have been synthesized by hydrolysis of SnCl4 and SbCl3 using: (1) an ion-exchange hydrolysis to remove chlorine ions, and (2) isoamyl acetate as an azeotropic solvent to obviate water. The obtained dried powder is of high dispersivity without any need for further grinding. The size and dispersivity of the final particles are investigated with the aid of TG-DTA, BET, XRD and TEM. After having calcined, the antimony-doped tin oxide nanopowder possesses a tetragonal rutile structure with high dispersivity, uniform particles and low hard agglomeration.