Magnesium orthostannate Mg2SnO4 has the CAS
number of 12032-29-0 and a molecular weight of
191.0145 g/mol. It can be synthesized at 900°C with
high purity using the peroxide route:
MgO2
+ SnO2
+ heat?MgSnO4
The method involves mixed cation precursors,
derived using magnesium chloride, tin tetrachloride
and aqueous HCl. They are added to a basic solution
of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide and the lightyellow
precipitate is filtered, dried and calcined at relatively
low temperatures of about 700–1200°C to form
homogeneous crystalline MgSnO3 and Mg2SnO4. The
powder produced shows a large specific surface area
and small grain size, leading to a high sinterability. A
peroxo-precursor is formed during the synthesis by
a precipitation step from aqueous solution. The thermal
decomposition of the X-ray amorphous precursor leads
directly to Mg2SnO4. Magnesium metastannate,
MgSnO3, is formed after thermal degradation of a corresponding
peroxo-precursor at temperatures below
700°C. Further thermal treatment at temperatures above
700°C leads to the decomposition of MgSnO3 to
Mg2SnO4 and SnO2.
