Work function engineering of SnO single crystal microplates with thermal annealing.

We synthesized black SnO single-crystal microplates via a sonochemical process and engineered the work function of the SnO microplates using thermal treatments. The as-synthesized SnO microplates have a wide (001) plane, as is clearly evident from TEM images and diffraction patterns. Surface potential measurements on the SnO microplates show that the work function changes as the annealing temperature increases. The TEM and XAS results after thermal treatments imply that the micro-sized SnO(001) single-crystals are stable up to about 400 °C in air, after which the surface starts to become locally oxidized. Consequently, the long-range ordering and lattice parameter of the SnO(001) single crystals started to change to make polycrystalline SnO2 at about 600 °C. These results demonstrate the ability to tune the work function of the microplates and suggest an intriguing way to engineer the electrical properties of nanostructures.