We report a mild template-free hydrothermal route for selective synthesis of SnO 2 hollow microspheres and nano-sheets using SnCl 2 and NaOH as initial materials. By switching the solvent from water to ethanol, the formed SnO 2 nanostructures changed from nano-sheets to hollow microspheres. The obtained nano-sheets were single crystalline in structure. On the basis of the characterization of intermediate products, the formation of SnO 2 hollow microspheres was ascribed to a crystal growth process, while the formation of SnO 2 nano-sheets was ascribed to the oxidation of SnO 2 sheets during the hydrothermal process. Further characterization of the SnO 2 hollow microspheres and nano-sheets by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy reveals different optical absorption properties and valence band electronic structures. In addition, the SnO 2 nano-sheets and hollow microspheres exhibit different sensing properties. The present work provides a facile and simple template-free method for the synthesis of nano-structured SnO 2 . SnO 2 , hydrothermal, nanostructure, sensing Citation: Li Y, Guo Y Q, Tan R Q, et al. Selective synthesis of SnO 2 hollow microspheres and nano-sheets via a hydrothermal route.Recently, nano-scale materials have attracted much attention because of their excellent and fascinating properties. Synthesis of nano-materials with controlled morphology, size, chemical composition and crystal structure is of great significance in nano-technological applications. As an n-type wide-bandgap semiconductor, SnO 2 is an important functional material, which has been extensively used in gas sensors and optoelectronic devices [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. In recent years, SnO 2 nanostructures with various geometrical morphologies have been reported, including hollow structures, nano-belt/ wire/tubes/rods, nano-diskettes, nano-sheets, and nano-particles [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. Various preparation methods have been explored, including hydrothermal methods, thermal evaporation, sol-gel methods, co-precipitation, and direct oxidation [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. The hydrothermal processes, especially starting from aqueous solutions, are the most widely investigated.To control the morphology of SnO 2 , template-assisted methods were usually adopted in previous studies. The use of templates has some disadvantages such as high cost and tedious synthetic procedures, which may limit their large-scale applications. However, experimental trials for the SnO 2 preparation by template-free routes are inadequate. The control of morphology using template-free hydrothermal routes for synthesis of SnO 2 nanostructure is still challenging. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel template-free (or surfactant-free) hydrothermal process for the selective synthesis of SnO 2 hollow microspheres and nano-sheets by simply changing the solvent. Their optical and electronic structural properties are also presented.