Single crystalline tin oxide (SnO2) nanowires have been synthesized by the carbothemial reduction of SnO2 nanopowder followed by thermal evaporation of the reduced precursor and growth via the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism. The nanowires are deposited on amorphous SiO2 and single-crystalline Al2O3 and TiO2 substrates of different orientations that are coated with a thin film of gold catalyst. While the SnO2 single crystal nanowires grow randomly oriented on SiO2, they exhibit a definite epitaxial relationship for growth on lattice-matched Al2O3 and TiO2 substrates. Selective-area growth of the nanowires in specific regions of the substrates has been accomplished by lithographically patterning the Au catalyst layer. For nanowires deposited on (100) and (110)-oriented TiO2 substrates, the morphology of nanowires is sensitively dependent on the growth direction and also on the substrate-precursor distance. By using gold colloids with a narrow size distribution, instead of a thin film, monodisperse SnO2 nanowires that are well isolated have been synthesized. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.