Thin films of nanocrystalline SnS2 on glass substrates were prepared from solution by dip coating and then sulfurized in H2S (H2S:Ar = 1: 10) atmosphere. The films had an average thickness of 60 nm and were characterized by X-ray diffraction studies, scanning electron microscopy, EDAX, transmission electron microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The influence of annealing temperature (150-300 degrees C) on the crystallinity and particle size was studied. The effect of CTAB as a capping agent has been tested. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the polycrystalline nature of the films with a preferential orientation along the c-axis. Optical transmission spectra indicated a marked blue shift of the absorption edge due to quantum confinement and optical band gap was found to vary from 3.5 to 3.0 eV with annealing temperature. Raman studies indicated a prominent broad peak at similar to 314 cm(-1), which confirmed the presence of nanocrystalline SnS2 phase. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.