Effect of metal catalysts on the morphological and structural properties of tin oxide nanowires

•Tin oxide is deposited on silicon substrates with a variety of metal catalysts.•The experimental results are theoretically justified for the growth of SnO2 NWs.•Ni/Si metal catalyst is the best for the growth of SnO2 NWs.•Cu/Si did not support the growth due to large diameters of droplets.•Vapor pressure and chemical potential are attributed for the radius of SnO2 NWs. In the present work, structural and morphological studies of grown tin oxide nanowires have been carried out with gold (Au), copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) metals as catalysts. We have deposited tin oxide onto different metal catalysts (Au, Cu and Ni) coated silicon substrates through the thermal evaporation technique. The growth of tin oxide nanostructures on different catalysts has been analyzed at an optimized temperature. With the help of data of chemical and physical parameters of these catalysts, we developed a model which supports the experimental results for the growth of tin oxide nanowires. It has been found that among these catalysts, Ni shows highest aspect ratio nanostructure. Results are also supported by the optical studies.