Tailoring of physical properties of RF-sputtered ZnTe films: role of substrate temperature

• Kafi Devi,
• Usha Rani,
• Arun Kumar,
• Divya Gupta and
• Sanjeev Aggarwal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 333–348, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.25

• orientation in that particular (hkl) direction, that is, more crystallites grow in this particular direction, while TC values less than one indicate that the orientation is random. The TC value of the (111) planes is greater than one, which indicates that [111] is the preferred orientation for all ZnT/Qz film

Orientation-dependent photonic bandgaps in gold-dust weevil scales and their titania bioreplicates

• Norma Salvadores Farran,
• Limin Wang,
• Primoz Pirih and
• Bodo D. Wilts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 1–10, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.1

• crystallites with different lattice orientations. The reciprocal space images and reflection spectra obtained from single domains indicated a partial photonic bandgap in the wavelength range from 450 to 650 nm. Light reflected from {111}-oriented domains is green-yellow. Light reflected from blue, {100

• or multiple crystallites with varying lattice orientations under a structured enveloping cortex. Each crystallite contributes to the overall optical properties of the scale (Figure 3). The crystallites can feature different orientations, which has strong consequences for interference and, thus, the

• investigated material, many factors (e.g., local periodicity imperfections, optical crosstalk between crystallites, and optical effects of the lamina, or, in the case of replicas, depth-dependent etching) may additionally scramble the measured spectra. Comparing the experiments and the model, we therefore

Investigation of Hf/Ti bilayers for the development of transition-edge sensor microcalorimeters

• Victoria Y. Safonova,
• Anna V. Gordeeva,
• Anton V. Blagodatkin,
• Dmitry A. Pimanov,
• Anton A. Yablokov and
• Andrey L. Pankratov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1353–1361, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.108

• . Titanium was deposited on hafnium at a growth rate of 0.5 Å/s. The roughness of hafnium films coated with titanium decreased compared to hafnium-only films. Because of the slow deposition rate of Ti, small crystallites with sizes below 10 nm are visible in Figure 2. The A1–A4 samples of square geometry

The role of a tantalum interlayer in enhancing the properties of Fe₃O₄ thin films

• Hai Dang Ngo,
• Vo Doan Thanh Truong,
• Van Qui Le,
• Hoai Phuong Pham and
• Thi Kim Hang Pham

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1253–1259, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.101

• %, corresponding to the Fe3O4(311) and Fe3O4(004) peaks, respectively, than samples 1 and 2 with values of −0.19% and −0.01%, respectively. Sample 3 exhibits a decrease in d-spacing for both the (311) and (400) peaks, in comparison to sample 1 and sample 2. The presence of compressive stress in the crystallites of

Effect of repeating hydrothermal growth processes and rapid thermal annealing on CuO thin film properties

• Monika Ozga,
• Eunika Zielony,
• Aleksandra Wierzbicka,
• Anna Wolska,
• Marcin Klepka,
• Marek Godlewski,
• Bogdan J. Kowalski and
• Bartłomiej S. Witkowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 743–754, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.62

• nanocrystallites are not as clearly distinguishable. Under the influence of temperature, atoms can diffuse along the boundaries between particular crystallites, which leads to their coalescence. Moreover, annealing of polycrystalline films can lead to grain boundary migration to reduce the surface energy of the

Electron-induced deposition using Fe(CO)₄MA and Fe(CO)₅ – effect of MA ligand and process conditions

• Hannah Boeckers,
• Atul Chaudhary,
• Petra Martinović,
• Amy V. Walker,
• Lisa McElwee-White and
• Petra Swiderek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 500–516, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.45

• ]. Autocatalytic growth (AG) of high-purity deposits leads to formation of individual crystallites as a consequence of precursor surface mobility at room temperature [21][24][25]. This mobility is suppressed when the surface is held at sufficiently low temperature. This was demonstrated by UHV experiments that

A combined gas-phase dissociative ionization, dissociative electron attachment and deposition study on the potential FEBID precursor [Au(CH₃)₂Cl]₂

• Elif Bilgilisoy,
• Ali Kamali,
• Thomas Xaver Gentner,
• Gerd Ballmann,
• Sjoerd Harder,
• Hans-Peter Steinrück,
• Hubertus Marbach and
• Oddur Ingólfsson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1178–1199, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.98

• amorphous matrixes of carbon with embedded metal crystallites and a gold content of 2–3 atom % [19], 10–40 atom % [20], and 8–20 atom % [21], respectively. This is most likely due to the fact that the CVD process is thermally driven, while in FEBID, the precursor fragmentation is primarily electron driven

Density functional theory study of Au-fcc/Ge and Au-hcp/Ge interfaces

• Olga Sikora,
• Małgorzata Sternik,
• Benedykt R. Jany,
• Franciszek Krok,
• Przemysław Piekarz and
• Andrzej M. Oleś

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1093–1105, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.90

• , involving a hexagonal AuGe β phase present during the intermediate stages of growth. Interestingly, while the fcc crystallites were randomly oriented with respect to the Ge substrate, the hcp nanostructures were typically found with (001) planes at 60–65° to the (111) Ge planes [22]. In a recent experiment

Exploring internal structures and properties of terpolymer fibers via real-space characterizations

• Michael R. Roenbeck and
• Kenneth E. Strawhecker

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1004–1017, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.83

• molecular chains rather than optimizing crystallites. This strategy aimed to explore new chemistries that could enhance multifunctional aspects of fibers without adversely affecting fiber mechanical properties. Indeed, in developing Technora®, Teijin Ltd. had four principal aims: to manufacture a (i) cost

• crystallites, as random sequences of molecules including the DPE monomer (which locally changes chain orientation) would prevent neighboring molecules from forming cohesive extended crystals. This would lead to a mixture of ordered and disordered subdomains with varying alignment, as schematized in Figure 9

• , we see sudden topographical jumps up to tens of nanometers. This indicates that, when the fiber is separated after FIB notching, the crack that forms the exposed surface follows these interfaces rather than fracturing crystallites within the fibrils. In contrast, the exposed plane within Technora® is

Isolation of cubic Si₃P₄ in the form of nanocrystals

• Polina K. Nikiforova,
• Sergei S. Bubenov,
• Vadim B. Platonov,
• Andrey S. Kumskov,
• Nikolay N. Kononov,
• Tatyana A. Kuznetsova and
• Sergey G. Dorofeev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 971–979, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.80

• . This is consistent with the average size of crystallites of 4 nm determined from the XRD data using the Scherrer equation. The electron diffraction ring pattern (Figure 6b) corresponds to a cubic lattice with a parameter of 5.05 Å (apart from the (111), (220) and (311) reflections discussed earlier

Titania nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of ethanol under simulated solar light

• Evghenii Goncearenco,
• Iuliana P. Morjan,
• Claudiu Teodor Fleaca,
• Florian Dumitrache,
• Elena Dutu,
• Monica Scarisoreanu,
• Valentin Serban Teodorescu,
• Alexandra Sandulescu,
• Crina Anastasescu and
• Ioan Balint

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 616–630, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.51

• with high purity, which did not require thermal treatment after synthesis (ca. 1 atom % of impurities). These nanoparticles show an increased anatase phase content (77.33–87.42%) and crystallite sizes of 23–45 nm. The TEM images showed that in both series small crystallites form spheroidal

• (point defects), there are some deviations. The small oxygen deficiency observed even after calcination is related to remaining chlorine impurities and Ti3+ ions that resisted calcination. Phase composition and crystallites sizes of the TiO2 powders were investigated. The X-ray diffractograms of the

• , respectively, with increasing pressure in the reaction chamber. The TEM analysis reveals that the TiO2 crystallites tend to arrange in bigger spherical particles (Figure 2a,b). This tendency is more pronounced as the pressure in the reaction chamber increases. The average particles sizes for TO-250-a, TO-450-a

Combining physical vapor deposition structuration with dealloying for the creation of a highly efficient SERS platform

• Adrien Chauvin,
• Walter Puglisi,
• Damien Thiry,
• Cristina Satriano,
• Rony Snyders and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 83–94, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.10

• growth of Ag–Al crystallites in a truncated octahedron shape at low temperatures (below 170 °C) [32][33]. Due to the rather short distance between the substrate and the target (i.e., 10 cm), particles have greater mobility, resulting in the growth of crystalline structures [34]. This induces the faceting

Upper critical magnetic field in NbRe and NbReN micrometric strips

• Zahra Makhdoumi Kakhaki,
• Antonio Leo,
• Federico Chianese,
• Loredana Parlato,
• Giovanni Piero Pepe,
• Angela Nigro,
• Carla Cirillo and
• Carmine Attanasio

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 45–51, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.5

• more direct access to the order parameter in these systems. Regarding the aforementioned purpose, while in the case of NbRe it is now even more evident that films with larger crystallites are mandatory [7][8][12], detailed analyses of the NbReN crystal structure are still lacking and need to be

Two-step single-reactor synthesis of oleic acid- or undecylenic acid-stabilized magnetic nanoparticles by thermal decomposition

• Mykhailo Nahorniak,
• Pamela Pasetto,
• Jean-Marc Greneche,
• Volodymyr Samaryk,
• Sandy Auguste,
• Anthony Rousseau,
• Nataliya Nosova and
• Serhii Varvarenko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 11–22, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.2

• were uniform and the single spots were not visible proved that the crystallites were very small. These results correspond well with data from X-ray diffraction (XRD), according to which the average size of the crystallites for all prepared nanoparticles was 4.5–9 nm. The average crystallite size did

• crystallites obtained by estimating the expansion of the X-ray diffraction line (DXRD calculated with Scherer, optionally Rietveld, refinement), which indicated a single magnetic domain characteristic of the TMO-I nanoparticle sample. When a stabilizer with a shorter carbon chain (i.e., UA) is used under the

• same synthesis conditions, particles of larger sizes (11–16 nm) are formed. These particles are characterized by a significantly higher polycrystalline index (IPCR = 1.9–2.9) and it seems that they are aggregates of smaller crystallites. This result also correlates with a higher polydispersity index

Electrical and optical enhancement of ITO/Mo bilayer thin films via laser annealing

• Abdelbaki Hacini,
• Ahmad Hadi Ali,
• Nurul Nadia Adnan and
• Nafarizal Nayan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1589–1595, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.133

• size obtained by XRD analysis. Figure 4 shows the correlation between the grain size evolution and crystallite size corresponding to the (400) orientation. This variation is due to the rearrangement of the crystallites during the laser annealing of the IM bilayer thin film structure. Moreover, both

• analyses show that the ITO/Mo has a polycrystalline structure. As well, it can be seen from the grain size analysis that the energy of 120 mJ gives the highest grain size and good crystallinity because most of the orientation of the crystallites appears in the XRD results. Figure 5 shows the optical

Non-stoichiometric magnetite as catalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of phenol and 2,6-dibromo-4-methylphenol – a new approach in water treatment

• Joanna Kisała,
• Anna Tomaszewska and
• Przemysław Kolek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1531–1540, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.126

• the facets (220), (311), (400), (422), (511), and (440) of Fe3O4, respectively [21]. The absence of the (210) and (211) peaks confirms that the catalysts were indeed magnetite. The mean size of the catalyst crystallites (D) was calculated from the high-reflection X-ray diffraction profiles by

In search of cytotoxic selectivity on cancer cells with biogenically synthesized Ag/AgCl nanoparticles

• Mitzi J. Ramírez-Hernández,
• Mario Valera-Zaragoza,
• Omar Viñas-Bravo,
• Ariana A. Huerta-Heredia,
• Miguel A. Peña-Rico,
• Erick A. Juarez-Arellano,
• David Paniagua-Vega,
• Eduardo Ramírez-Vargas and
• Saúl Sánchez-Valdes

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1505–1519, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.124

• enables the formation of a Ag nuclei and the growth of crystallites. In contrast, higher temperatures result in a higher reaction rate, causing a rapid conversion of Ag+ into metallic Ag [33], as shown by the color change in Figure 1. This latter may be the cause of the impediment in the growth of

• crystallites at 100 °C. On the other hand, the different contents of Ag and AgCl depend on the presence of chloride ions in the extract and their ability to form AgCl instead of metallic Ag. The qualitative and quantitative energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) chemical analysis of Ag/AgCl products at different

Hydroxyapatite–bioglass nanocomposites: Structural, mechanical, and biological aspects

• Olga Shikimaka,
• Mihaela Bivol,
• Bogdan A. Sava,
• Marius Dumitru,
• Christu Tardei,
• Beatrice G. Sbarcea,
• Daria Grabco,
• Constantin Pyrtsac,
• Daria Topal,
• Andrian Prisacaru,
• Vitalie Cobzac and
• Viorel Nacu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1490–1504, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.123

• decomposition of HA into TCP. The average size of the crystallites (Dhkl) and the crystallinity fraction (Xc) are presented in Table 3. The obtained data can be summarized as follows: (i) The average size of the crystallites proves the nanocrystalline structure of the composites, (ii) the crystallinity fraction

• is somewhat higher for HAP composites (HAPCs) than for HAG composites (HAGCs), and it drops for both HAPCs and HAGCs sintered at 1250 °C, and (iii) the average size of the crystallites is slightly larger for HAGCs than for HAPCs and for TCP than for HA. SEM investigations Figure 3 presents SEM images

• (c) 15 days. (d) EDX spectrum from the region indicated by the circle in panel (c). Relative viability of bone marrow STEM cells exposed to HAP- and HAG-based composites after 24, 48, and 72 h of cell culture. Bioglass oxide composition. Sintering program. Average size of the crystallites and

Structural studies and selected physical investigations of LiCoO₂ obtained by combustion synthesis

• Monika Michalska,
• Paweł Ławniczak,
• Tomasz Strachowski,
• Adam Ostrowski and
• Waldemar Bednarski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1473–1482, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.121

• decreases, and, hence, the size of the crystallites increases. XRD analysis showed that phase-pure LiCoO2 material was maintained without additional phases. EPR studies revealed the presence of two Ni3+ complexes resulting from Ni impurities. The electrical properties of the studied LiCoO2 samples were

• . Hence, the averaging of the measurement results is inaccurate, and the results become unreliable [60]. SEM analysis The morphology of the LiCoO2 crystallites was determined using a scanning electron microscope Auriga CrossBeam Workstation (Carl Zeiss). Cross sections of the fabricated laminates were

• ), respectively. Phase impurities were not detected by XRD for any of the measured samples. The average size of the crystallites depends on the heating temperature used for the combustion synthesis of powders and lies between 37 and 90 nm (as calculated from the Scherrer formula taking into account instrumental

Bioselectivity of silk protein-based materials and their bio-inspired applications

• Hendrik Bargel,
• Vanessa T. Trossmann,
• Christoph Sommer and
• Thomas Scheibel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 902–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.81

• along the fibre axis and contain nanometre-sized β-sheet crystallites [113][114]. Silkworm silk contains mainly three different proteins, namely a heavy chain fibroin, a light chain fibroin linked via disulfide bonds to the former one, and a P25 glycoprotein associated via noncovalent hydrophobic

Sodium doping in brookite TiO₂ enhances its photocatalytic activity

• Boxiang Zhuang,
• Honglong Shi,
• Honglei Zhang and
• Zeqian Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 599–609, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.52

• magnetically stirred for 30 min in the dark to equilibrate the adsorption and desorption of MB on the surface of the crystallites. After switching on the UV light, samples were periodically collected and centrifuged. The concentration of the MB solution was analyzed based on the characteristic absorption peak

Selected properties of Al_xZn_yO thin films prepared by reactive pulsed magnetron sputtering using a two-element Zn/Al target

• Witold Posadowski,
• Artur Wiatrowski,
• Jarosław Domaradzki and
• Michał Mazur

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 344–354, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.29

• target, that is, on the target axis and within a distance of up to 30 mm from the target axis, had a mixture of ZnO crystallites of the size of 4.0–4.4 nm and Al2ZnO4 crystallites of the size of 4.8–5.2 nm. With increasing distance from the target axis, the crystallite size of both phases increased

• reaching the substrate and, therefore, an increase of the crystallites and grains sizes. That is also why thin films deposited directly above the target are composed of much smaller nanocrystallites of ca. 4–5 nm. Moreover, the area of the peaks related to the Al2ZnO4 and ZnO phases was calculated as the

The effect of metal surface nanomorphology on the output performance of a TENG

• Yiru Wang,
• Xin Zhao,
• Yang Liu and
• Wenjun Zhou

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 298–312, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.25

• with different shapes of nanoscale crystallites. (a1–c1) Models of pyramids, strips, and spheroids. (a2–c2) COMSOL simulation of the electric field distribution with a surface charge density of 12.5 μC·m−2 at the contact surface of PTFE. (a3–c3) COMSOL simulation of the displacement distribution under

Stability and activity of platinum nanoparticles in the oxygen electroreduction reaction: is size or uniformity of primary importance?

• Kirill O. Paperzh,
• Anastasia A. Alekseenko,
• Vadim A. Volochaev,
• Ilya V. Pankov,
• Olga A. Safronenko and
• Vladimir E. Guterman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 593–606, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.49

• File 1. Results and Discussion The X-ray diffraction patterns of the catalysts that we have synthesized and the commercial analogs with different platinum contents have a similar shape, typical for Pt/C materials (Figure 1). The presence of nanosized platinum crystallites causes a broadening of the

• 2.6 nm (G30–G40). The difference in the sizes of nanoparticles (crystallites) determined from the results of X-ray diffractometry and TEM is typical for nanostructured Pt/C materials. It is due to several factors: some nanoparticles can consist of several crystallites, so they have a larger size [19

Impact of GaAs(100) surface preparation on EQE of AZO/Al₂O₃/p-GaAs photovoltaic structures

• Piotr Caban,
• Rafał Pietruszka,
• Jarosław Kaszewski,
• Monika Ożga,
• Bartłomiej S. Witkowski,
• Krzysztof Kopalko,
• Piotr Kuźmiuk,
• Katarzyna Gwóźdź,
• Ewa Płaczek-Popko,
• Krystyna Lawniczak-Jablonska and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 578–592, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.48

• damaged or on an island-containing substrate (samples A3, B2, and B3). The uniform layers are composed of elongated and fusiform polycrystals, of approx. 50 nm long, which are randomly oriented. The round hills in the samples A3, B2, and B3 are not single crystallites but rather structures uniformly

• covered with a pattern of AZO crystallites. Worth mentioning are the samples bathed in NH4OH solution (A4, B4), as they exhibit a fine-grained uniform surface. In the cross-sections obtained by SEM (insets in Figure 3 and Figure 4), one can see the approx. 50 nm thick AZO layers for all the samples. The