The chemical behavior of surface-located tin dopant ions depends strongly on their valence state. At room temperature all Sn(II) ions readily react with gaseous hydrogen chloride while, under similar conditions, the predominant part of Sn(IV) ions is not affected by this gas. The results of this study, along with those previously obtained for both valence states of tin dopant exposed to a H2S atmosphere, suggest that lower reactivity of Sn(IV) ions is essentially due to their higher coordination number and concomitant steric hindrance effects.