Surface Structure of Zigzag SnO2 Nanobelts

SnO2 nanobelts are attracting much attention for their promising applications in gas-sensing nanodevices. However, at present, too little is known on the surface structure and charge of these as-grown nanostructures. Herein, the surfaces of zigzag rutile SnO2 nanobelts are investigated at atomic scale using the recently developed negative spherical-aberration imaging technique man aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope. It is found that most of the {101} surfaces of zigzag SnO2 nanobelts, synthesized by a solid-vapor process, are reduced surfaces terminated by Sn atoms, and the Sn-terminated surface is a nonpolar surface, i.e., electrostatically stable termination.