Facile synthesis of tin oxide nanoparticles stabilized by dendritic polymers.

Tin(IV) oxide nanoparticles were synthesized via the reaction of carbon dioxide with stannate ions immobilized by dendritic polymers. For PAMAM and PPI dendrimer hosts, resultant nanoparticle diameters were 2.5-3 nm; 3-3.5 nm nanoparticles resulted from use of a poly(ethyleneimine) hyperbranched polymer. Our conditions represent the only precedent for SnO2 nanoparticulate growth using dendritic architectures, as well as a novel application for CO2 as a reactive gas for the controlled growth of metal oxide nanoparticles.