Molten salt synthesis of Zn₂SnO₄ micro crystals with regular octahedral morphology

Inverse cubic spinel Zn₂SnO₄ micro crystals with regular octahedral morphology were prepared by the molten salt method. The influences of the molten salt system and calcination temperature on Zn₂SnO₄ crystalline phase composition and particle morphology were studied. The results show that the molten salt constituent has an important effect on the end products, and high pure Zn₂SnO₄ micro crystals with regular octahedral morphology can be synthesized at about 900 °C in KCl-ZnCl₂ salt system. The formation of octahedron Zn₂SnO₄ microstructures might result from the crystal growth mechanism “dissolution–diffusion–crystallization–dissolution–recrystallization”. Compared to the conventional solid phase reaction process, the formation temperature of pure octahedron Zn₂SnO₄ micro crystals of average grain size of about 2 μm, via the molten salt method is decreased for more than 200 °C.