Tin dioxide nanoparticles embedded in silica matrix were fabricated by ion implantation combined with thermal oxidation. Silica substrate was implanted with a 150 keV Sn+ ions beam with a fluence of 1.0 × 10 17 ions/cm2. The sample was annealed for 1 h in a conventional furnace at a temperature of 800 °C under flowing O2 gas. According to the structural characterization performed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques, metallic tetragonal tin nanoparticles with a volume average size of 12.8 nm were formed in the as-implanted sample. The annealing in oxidizing atmosphere promotes the total oxidation of the tin nanoparticles into tin dioxide nanoparticles with a preferential migration toward the surface of the matrix, where large and coalesced nanoparticles were observed, and a small diffusion toward the bulk, where smaller nanoparticles were found. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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