The photoluminescence characteristic of the SnOx/Sn nanoparticles deposited on a solid supported liquid-crystalline phospholipid (1,2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) membrane was probed after plasma etching the nanoparticle monolayer. It was shown that the plasma etching of the nanoparticle surface greatly altered the particle morphology and enhanced the PL effect, especially when the particle size was below 10 nm in spite of strong presence of surrounding carbon. The enhancement mainly stemmed from the growth of a new PL peak due to the additional defect states produced on the nanoparticle surface by the plasma etching. It was also shown that hydrating the SnOx/Sn nanoparticles similarly improved the PL response of the nanoparticles as the hydration produced an additional oxygen-rich oxide layer on the particle surface. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.