A room temperature solid-state reaction has been used to prepare crystalline tin-doped ZnO. Zinc nitrate hexahydrate, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide, stannic chloride pentahydrate and sodium hydroxide with proper ratios were ground together. As-synthesized samples were characterized by inductively coupled plasma analysis (ICP), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD); The products were of different morphologies, well dispersed and exhibited good crystallinity, it is also found that the growth direction and morphology of ZnO depend on the amount of Sn doped, which is mainly caused by the difference in sizes between Zn and Sn atoms as well as the change of pH value. Moreover, gas sensing and photocatalytic properties of the obtained products were studied. The materials showed a high gas response to ethanol vapor, and the gas response can reach a maximum of R(a)/R(g) = 124. In addition, tin-doped ZnO materials exhibited improved photocatalytic performance toward methyl orange (MO) solution under a current density of 0.03 mg L(-1) comparison with undoped ZnO. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.