Multicomponent bionanocomposites based on clay nanoarchitectures for electrochemical devices

• Giulia Lo Dico,
• Bernd Wicklein,
• Lorenzo Lisuzzo,
• Giuseppe Lazzara,
• Pilar Aranda and
• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1303–1315, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.129

• pH values are shown in Figure 5E. The polarization curves show the common behaviour of microbial fuel cells (MFCs) and EBCs and can be divided into three zones as shown in Figure 5E, commonly called the activation zone (I), ohmic losses (II), and the mass-transport zone (III) [72][73]. The open

Alloyed Pt₃M (M = Co, Ni) nanoparticles supported on S- and N-doped carbon nanotubes for the oxygen reduction reaction

• Stéphane Louisia,
• Yohann R. J. Thomas,
• Pierre Lecante,
• Marie Heitzmann,
• M. Rosa Axet,
• Pierre-André Jacques and
• Philippe Serp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1251–1269, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.125

• ; nickel; oxygen reduction reaction; platinum; proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC); Introduction Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) convert chemical energy from the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) into electrical energy. PEMFCs are one of the most

• performance and durability of PEM fuel cells [44][45]. These materials should combine some key characteristics such as: i) an adapted surface chemistry to allow high dispersion of the metallic phase at very high metal loading, ii) a good balance between hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity to allow water

Glucose-derived carbon materials with tailored properties as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

• Rafael Gomes Morais,
• Natalia Rey-Raap,
• José Luís Figueiredo and
• Manuel Fernando Ribeiro Pereira

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1089–1102, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.109

• developed using new and innovative materials. Fuel cells are outstanding conversion devices, as they convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy with high efficiency and low emission of pollutants (the by products are water and heat) [1][2]. Fuel cells offer the best advantages for use with

• nitrides [30], activated carbons [31] or mesoporous carbons [32][33]. Some of these materials are obtained from chemical compounds, fossil fuels or by complex and expensive synthesis procedures. In order to keep fuel cells as ecologically friendly as possible, the use of biomass as a carbon source appears

Tailoring the stability/aggregation of one-dimensional TiO₂(B)/titanate nanowires using surfactants

• Atiđa Selmani,
• Johannes Lützenkirchen,
• Kristina Kučanda,
• Dario Dabić,
• Engelbert Redel,
• Ida Delač Marion,
• Damir Kralj,
• Darija Domazet Jurašin and
• Maja Dutour Sikirić

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1024–1037, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.103

• because of their unique physicochemical properties compared to the bulk material. TNMs play an important role in various applications such as photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants [1][2], sensors [3][4], solid oxide fuel cells [5], water purification [6][7], adsorption of radioactive and heavy

Ceria/polymer nanocontainers for high-performance encapsulation of fluorophores

• Kartheek Katta,
• Dmitry Busko,
• Yuri Avlasevich,
• Katharina Landfester,
• Stanislav Baluschev and
• Rafael Muñoz-Espí

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 522–530, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.53

• excellent antioxidant properties, ideal for applications such as water-gas shift catalysis [40], combustion catalysis [41], oxygen ion conductors, and solid-oxide fuel cells [42]. Due to the valence and oxygen defect properties of cerium(IV) oxide, nanoparticles of this material are also used as efficient

Advanced scanning probe lithography using anatase-to-rutile transition to create localized TiO₂ nanorods

• Julian Kalb,
• Vanessa Knittel and
• Lukas Schmidt-Mende

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 412–418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.40

• ], fuel cells [20], lithium batteries [21][22][23][24][25][26], field-emission devices [27], data storage devices [28], gaso- and electrochromic displays [29][30], and nonlinear optical devices [31]. Even in the field of medical engineering, such structures are promising candidates for improving the

Metal-free catalysis based on nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials: a photoelectron spectroscopy point of view

• Mattia Scardamaglia and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2015–2031, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.191

• splitting of water to molecular hydrogen via hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction (HER and OER, respectively) are fundamental working mechanisms at the cathode of fuel cells, metal–air batteries and dye-sensitized solar cells [2]. However, the current working catalysts are based on expensive metals, such

• as platinum or its alloys, or metal oxides, which affect the engineering cost of fuel cells being also energy consuming and not highly selective [3]. Therefore, research efforts have been devoted towards alternative highly active catalysts from non-precious metals [4]. Repeatedly reported potential

• compared the ORR activity of the fibers grown with and without iron. The latter showed significant ORR activity, although they were less performant than the iron-containing catalyst [18]. The first metal-free catalyst that showed an ORR activity superior to commercial Pt in alkaline fuel cells was reported

Synthesis of carbon nanowalls from a single-source metal-organic precursor

• André Giese,
• Sebastian Schipporeit,
• Volker Buck and
• Nicolas Wöhrl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1895–1905, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.181

• batteries, electrochemical sensors or fuel cells [3][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Due to the high aspect ratio and the sharp top edges of the CNWs, a possible application could also be seen as electron field emitters [16]. Depending on the chosen deposition parameters, CNWs can have superhydrophobic or

Electrodeposition of reduced graphene oxide with chitosan based on the coordination deposition method

• Mingyang Liu,
• Yanjun Chen,
• Chaoran Qin,
• Zheng Zhang,
• Shuai Ma,
• Xiuru Cai,
• Xueqian Li and
• Yifeng Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1200–1210, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.111

• nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, manganese oxides nanoparticles, and carbon dots) on electrodes through codeposition with chitosan, which offers attractive applications in antimicrobial coatings, biosensors, microbial fuel cells, and energy storage materials [14][15][16][17][18]. Among the studies on the

Single-crystalline FeCo nanoparticle-filled carbon nanotubes: synthesis, structural characterization and magnetic properties

• Rasha Ghunaim,
• Maik Scholz,
• Christine Damm,
• Bernd Rellinghaus,
• Rüdiger Klingeler,
• Bernd Büchner,
• Michael Mertig and
• Silke Hampel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1024–1034, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.95

• magnetic storage [6][7], fuel cells [8], electromagnetic wave absorption [9], sensors for magnetic force microscopy [10] and human tumor therapy [11][12][13]. Fe–Co binary alloys are of particular interest due to their high saturation magnetization, large permeability and high magnetophoretic mobility [14

Comparative study of sculptured metallic thin films deposited by oblique angle deposition at different temperatures

• Susann Liedtke,
• Christoph Grüner,
• Jürgen W. Gerlach and
• Bernd Rauschenbach

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 954–962, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.89

• , such thin films are the basis for surface enhanced Raman sensors, which are highly sensitive in the detection of environmental toxics [2] or glycated hemoglobin [3]. It has also been shown that highly porous metallic thin films can be used to improve the electrode’s performance for applications in fuel

• cells [4][5][6] or Li-ion batteries [7][8]. Oblique angle deposition (OAD) [9][10][11] opens the opportunity to grow such films in an elegant and easy to handle way. During the OAD process, the substrate is tilted to an oblique incidence angle θ between incoming particle flux and normal of the substrate

Nanoscale mapping of dielectric properties based on surface adhesion force measurements

• Ying Wang,
• Yue Shen,
• Xingya Wang,
• Zhiwei Shen,
• Bin Li,
• Jun Hu and
• Yi Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 900–906, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.84

• fuel cells [41][42]. Results and Discussion A schematic diagram indicating the working principle of dielectric property mapping based on the adhesion force in the PF-QNM mode is shown in Figure 1. A dc voltage can be applied to the AFM tip in the PF-QNM mode under ambient conditions (Figure 1a). The

A review of carbon-based and non-carbon-based catalyst supports for the selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide

• Shahreen Binti Izwan Anthonysamy,
• Syahidah Binti Afandi,
• Mehrnoush Khavarian and
• Abdul Rahman Bin Mohamed

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 740–761, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.68

• alumina) [67]. In recent years, many industrial applications have used carbon as a support material for catalysts. These catalysts are applied during the reaction process of oxidising organic compounds, desulphurisation, halogenation, and as fuel cells [64][66][67]. Unfortunately, all these industrial

Bombyx mori silk/titania/gold hybrid materials for photocatalytic water splitting: combining renewable raw materials with clean fuels

• Stefanie Krüger,
• Michael Schwarze,
• Otto Baumann,
• Christina Günter,
• Michael Bruns,
• Christian Kübel,
• Dorothée Vinga Szabó,
• Rafael Meinusch,
• Verónica de Zea Bermudez and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 187–204, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.21

• population and the corresponding increasing energy demand worldwide there is a need for alternative, sustainable, and cheap fuels [1][2]. Hydrogen (H2) is the most attractive fuel for fuel cells to produce “clean” electricity and water as an environmentally friendly reaction product [1][3]. However, one of

Review on optofluidic microreactors for artificial photosynthesis

• Xiaowen Huang,
• Jianchun Wang,
• Tenghao Li,
• Jianmei Wang,
• Min Xu,
• Weixing Yu,
• Abdel El Abed and
• Xuming Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 30–41, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.5

• and better hydrogen production rate than the conventional ones. CO2 reduction Optofluidic microreactors have been firstly applied for water purification [50], water splitting [73], photocatalytic fuel cells [75] and then CO2 reduction [76]. Chen et al. combined the optofluidics with the TiO2/carbon

Synthesis of metal-fluoride nanoparticles supported on thermally reduced graphite oxide

• Alexa Schmitz,
• Kai Schütte,
• Vesko Ilievski,
• Juri Barthel,
• Laura Burk,
• Rolf Mülhaupt,
• Junpei Yue,
• Bernd Smarsly and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2474–2483, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.247

• important technical applications [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. They can be used as composite materials [23][24], in chemical sensors [25], electrodes for fuel cells [26][27][28], for catalysis [29][30][31][32] or for hydrogen storage [33]. Because of their high ionic charge, polarity and dielectric

In situ controlled rapid growth of novel high activity TiB₂/(TiB₂–TiN) hierarchical/heterostructured nanocomposites

• Jilin Wang,
• Hejie Liao,
• Yuchun Ji,
• Fei Long,
• Yunle Gu,
• Zhengguang Zou,
• Weimin Wang and
• Zhengyi Fu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2116–2125, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.211

• these exposed atoms could serve as high activity positions and might be used in future research in the fields of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, surface chemical modification and functionalization [18][19]. Moreover, the internal and external components were TiB2 and TiN, respectively. The crystal

• highly active material could possibly be further used in the research fields of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, structural and functional performance integrated composite ceramics and/or films, surface chemical modification and functionalization. Another point worth noting is that the detailed

Fabrication of carbon nanospheres by the pyrolysis of polyacrylonitrile–poly(methyl methacrylate) core–shell composite nanoparticles

• Dafu Wei,
• Youwei Zhang and
• Jinping Fu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1897–1908, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.190

• batteries [3][4][5], fuel cells [6][7], supercapacitors [8][9], catalysis carriers [10][11], drug delivery [12][13] and adsorption [14][15]. Various techniques, including arc discharge [16], laser ablation [17], chemical vapor deposition [18], and solvothermal method [19], have been developed for the

Two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic energy generation and environmental remediation applications

• Suneel Kumar,
• Ashish Kumar,
• Ashish Bahuguna,
• Vipul Sharma and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1571–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.159

• ], biosensors [25], molecular imaging [26], fuel cells [27] and catalysis [28]. The non-toxicity, abundance and the environmentally benign nature of these carbon-based materials makes them a remarkable class of materials with unique electrical and optical properties for diverse applications. In recent times

Low-temperature CO oxidation over Cu/Pt co-doped ZrO₂ nanoparticles synthesized by solution combustion

• Amit Singhania and
• Shipra Mital Gupta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1546–1552, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.156

• , cigarettes, proton-exchange membrane fuel cells, air purifiers, methanol production and water-gas shift reaction [1][2][3][4]. The catalytic oxidation of CO was revolutionized by Haruta et al. [5]. They worked on supported nanogold catalysts and found them to be highly active for CO oxidation. Till date

• for CO oxidation reaction in literature [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Recently, ZrO2 has been used as a catalyst and support in different catalytic reactions such as solid-oxide fuel cells, ethanol reforming, hydrogen generation and hydrogenation [13][14][15][16][17]. It is reported to be more inert in

First examples of organosilica-based ionogels: synthesis and electrochemical behavior

• Andreas Taubert,
• Ruben Löbbicke,
• Barbara Kirchner and
• Fabrice Leroux

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 736–751, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.77

• near-quantitative yields. [BmimSO3H][PTS] is the proton conducting species in the ionogel. By combining the stable organosilica matrix with the sulfonated ionic liquid, mechanically stable, and highly conductive ionogels with application potential in sensors or fuel cells can be prepared. Keywords

• of IL-based materials is the general area of advanced energy technology, such as proton-exchange membrane (PEM) or alkaline fuel cells, solar cells, or various battery types [1][5][6][7]. ILs offer, unlike conventional solvents and substances, easy access to virtually unlimited structural diversity

• molecular solvents, ILs often offer improved safety of a device by way of their low vapor pressure and low flammability [8]. As a result, ILs have been investigated as advanced electrolytes to replace traditional aqueous or organic electrolytes in batteries and fuel cells [5][6][7]. Among others, ILs are

Synthesis of graphene–transition metal oxide hybrid nanoparticles and their application in various fields

• Arpita Jana,
• Elke Scheer and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 688–714, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.74

• –TiO2 make use of its photocatalytic activity, there are also some applications of shape-controlled TiO2–graphene hybrids used in pollutant abatement [100], high-performance anodes for microbial fuel cells [101], and self-cleaning applications [102]. Vanadium oxide (VO, V2O3, VO2, V2O5)–graphene hybrids

• ) [118] and applications in energy storage [119]. ORR is the key step of renewable energy technologies including fuel cells and water splitting. For excellent electrocatalysts, one of the most important factors is long-term running stability. The long term running stability of the Cr2O3–rGO hybrid makes

• it a promising catalyst for fuel cells. Manganese oxide (MnO, Mn2O3, MnO2, Mn3O4, Mn2O7)–graphene hybrids Pyrolusite (MnO2), hausmanite (Mn3O4) and bixbyite (Mn2O3) are important minerals of manganese. These oxides have attracted great attention because of their environmental benignity and the high

Nanocrystalline ZrO₂ and Pt-doped ZrO₂ catalysts for low-temperature CO oxidation

• Amit Singhania and
• Shipra Mital Gupta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 264–271, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.29

• refractory metal [6], in thermal barrier coating [7], gas sensors [8], in solid oxide fuel cells [9], in ceramic production, insulation and abrasives. Carbon monoxide (CO) is considered a major pollutant and it causes serious health problems. It is important to control CO released from natural sources and

• different researchers in several important catalytic reactions such as autothermal reforming of ethanol [19], in solid oxide fuel cells [9] and hydrogenation reactions [20]. The addition of Pt to ZrO2 can increase the oxygen vacancies and oxygen storage capacity, which play a major role in lowering the CO

In situ formation of reduced graphene oxide structures in ceria by combined sol–gel and solvothermal processing

• Jingxia Yang,
• Johannes Ofner,
• Bernhard Lendl and
• Ulrich Schubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1815–1821, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.174

• capacity. It is mostly used together with other components, such as noble metals or transition metal oxides, such as NiO or Co3O4, because synergistic effects improve the catalytic properties. Graphene-modified CeO2 greatly enhances the performance in electrochemical devices (supercapacitors, fuel cells or

Microscopic characterization of Fe nanoparticles formed on SrTiO₃(001) and SrTiO₃(110) surfaces

• Miyoko Tanaka

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 817–824, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.73

• microscopy (TEM); Wulff construction; Introduction Metal nanoparticles on oxide substrates are one of the key materials in modern technology. Not only are they widely used in catalysis, there are also potential applications in nanoelectronics, spintronics, photonics, sensors, and fuel cells [1][2][3][4][5