LAUSR

Abstract Ball- and sheet-like Sn1-xCrxO were successfully prepared by one-step hydrothermal method. The SEM and TEM results show that the diameter of ball-like unit is about 15 μm and the unit was assembled by several nanosheets with a thickness of about 0.5 μm. Raman pattern displays that there are two intense Raman mode Eg (~114 cm−1) and A1g (~211 cm−1) in the SnO, and the A1g peak shifted significantly. UV–Visible spectrum illustrates that the bandgap of the Cr-doped SnO firstly decreases and then increases as the Cr concentration increases, which is attributed to the sp-d exchange interactions and Burstein-Moss theory. The analysis of XPS also provides evidence for the incorporation of Cr into the system. Furthermore, it is found that oxygen vacancy (VO) decreases with the increase of Cr content. Based on Krӧger-Vink notation system, the competition mechanism between VO and VSn could explain the origin and variation of magnetism of Sn1-xCrxO from structural defects.