Stochastic excitation for high-resolution atomic force acoustic microscopy imaging: a system theory approach

• Edgar Cruz Valeriano,
• José Juan Gervacio Arciniega,
• Christian Iván Enriquez Flores,
• Susana Meraz Dávila,
• Joel Moreno Palmerin,
• Martín Adelaido Hernández Landaverde,
• Yuri Lizbeth Chipatecua Godoy,
• Aime Margarita Gutiérrez Peralta,
• Rafael Ramírez Bon and
• José Martín Yañez Limón

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 703–716, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.58

• spring constant of 0.2 N/m were used. All experiments were carried out in dry air at a temperature of 21.0 ± 0.1 °C and a relative humidity of (2 ± 1)%. It is very important to define the appropriate signal to perturb the system. This allows for gathering sufficient information about the system dynamics

Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic performance of heterostructured CuO–ZnO-loaded composite nanofiber membranes

• Wei Fang,
• Liang Yu and
• Lan Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 631–650, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.50

• needle tip to collector were, respectively, maintained at 20 kV and 18 cm. The electrospinning experiments were carried out at room temperature (25 ± 2 °C) and a relative humidity of (55 ± 5%), and the electrospun Cu(Ac)2/Zn(Ac)2/PVDF/PAN CNFMs were collected and carefully peeled off from the aluminium

Recent progress in perovskite solar cells: the perovskite layer

• Xianfeng Dai,
• Ke Xu and
• Fanan Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 51–60, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.5

• only 2.2% after 1,512 hours without encapsulation when exposed to ambient conditions with 55% relative humidity (RH). Very recently, Stoumpos et al. [60] reported a novel 2D perovskite that adopted the Dion–Jacobson (DJ) structure, which is considered to be more stable and more efficient than its RP

Evaluation of click chemistry microarrays for immunosensing of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)

• Seyed Mohammad Mahdi Dadfar,
• Sylwia Sekula-Neuner,
• Vanessa Trouillet,
• Hui-Yu Liu,
• Ravi Kumar,
• Annie K. Powell and
• Michael Hirtz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2505–2515, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.241

• –streptavidin–biotin sandwich technique previously prepared via different click reaction methods (samples of routes 1–6). b–g) Fluorescence microscope images of the micropatterns obtained at the optimum incubation time and temperature. All microarrays were spotted at a relative humidity of 20%. The ink

• spots with fluorescently labeled AFP. a) Fluorescence intensity of the microarrays at different concentrations of fluorescently labeled AFP (12.5, 25, 50, 100, 200, 400 and 800 μg/mL). b) Fluorescence microscope images of the micropatterns. All microarrays were spotted at a relative humidity of 20%. The

• Nanosciences) [45][46]. Prior to use, the cantilevers were activated by oxygen plasma (10 sccm O2, 0.2 mbar, 100 W, 2 min) and used immediately. The pen reservoir was filled with 0.2 μL of ink solution. For all patterns, a probe dwell time of 0.1 s was applied. Spotting was performed at an optimized relative

Self-assembly of a terbium(III) 1D coordination polymer on mica

• Quentin Evrard,
• Giuseppe Cucinotta,
• Felix Houard,
• Guillaume Calvez,
• Yan Suffren,
• Carole Daiguebonne,
• Olivier Guillou,
• Andrea Caneschi,
• Matteo Mannini and
• Kevin Bernot

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2440–2448, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.234

• deposition (Figure 1) was carried out at room temperature by drop casting of a 0.35 mM cyclohexane solution of [Tb(hfac)3·2H2O]n onto the mica surface. Key parameters were the 24-hour aging of the samples at room temperature and the relative humidity of 90%. AFM was used to study the deposited material

• , the presence of these disordered areas could be minimized, thus optimizing the overall quality of the deposit. We stress here, that the moisture conditions are crucial for the development of ordered features on the mica surface. Indeed, as soon as drier conditions (ambient relative humidity or dry

• water condensation [39]. Indeed, it has been demonstrated that epitaxial adsorption of water on the hexagonal lattice of mica [40] is observed above 45% of relative humidity [41][42]. These findings were confirmed by theoretical simulations [43]. Accordingly, this is a favorable thermodynamic

Semitransparent Sb₂S₃ thin film solar cells by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis for use in solar windows

• Jako S. Eensalu,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Erki Kärber,
• Lothar Weinhardt,
• Monika Blum,
• Clemens Heske,
• Wanli Yang,
• Ilona Oja Acik and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2396–2409, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.230

• at rest in VOC condition for 230 days at room temperature (RT), relative humidity (RH) <30%, and exposed to both indoor light and daylight incident through the laboratory windows (Figure 6). In the 7.1 mm2 cell, over 230 days, VOC increased slightly, whereas JSC was halved, FF decreased slightly due

Four self-made free surface electrospinning devices for high-throughput preparation of high-quality nanofibers

• Yue Fang and
• Lan Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2261–2274, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.218

• for SEM analysis. All FSE experiments were carried out at room temperature (20 °C) and at a relative humidity of 60%. The spinning processes of the different devices were recorded using a high-speed camera at a frame rate of 100 frames/s (VRI-Phantom-VEO-L, Ametek, California, USA), as shown in Figure

Ion mobility and material transport on KBr in air as a function of the relative humidity

• Dominik J. Kirpal,
• Korbinian Pürckhauer,
• Alfred J. Weymouth and
• Franz J. Giessibl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2084–2093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.203

• force microscopy; material transport; relative humidity; Introduction Defining surface properties under ambient conditions is challenging as they are heavily influenced by the environment. In general, there are various contributing factors such as temperature, air pressure and air composition

• . Typically, air is composed of different gases, a small fraction of aerosols and water vapor. The relative humidity (RH) usually ranges from about 25% to 70%, depending on weather and season. A thin film of water molecules adsorbs on every surface exposed to humid gases [1][2][3]. The thickness of these

• water layers depends on many factors including the relative humidity, surface roughness, hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity, meniscus formation (as described later) and also air pressure and temperature [2]. In the case of freshly cleaved or dried surfaces the amount of adsorbed water also relates to the

Review of advanced sensor devices employing nanoarchitectonics concepts

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Tatsuyuki Makita,
• Masato Ito,
• Taizo Mori,
• Shun Watanabe and
• Jun Takeya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2014–2030, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.198

• photoluminescence. The sensing films consisting of paper and ZnO could realize a very sensitive water detection with a relative humidity of less than 1% and the detection of trace-level water of less than 0.05%. In addition, the interference from any small molecules other than water is also avoided. The precise

High-temperature resistive gas sensors based on ZnO/SiC nanocomposites

• Vadim B. Platonov,
• Marina N. Rumyantseva,
• Alexander S. Frolov,
• Alexey D. Yapryntsev and
• Alexander M. Gaskov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1537–1547, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.151

• (XPS). The electrophysical and gas sensing properties of the materials were investigated by in situ conductivity measurements in the presence of the reducing gases CO and NH3 (20 ppm), in dry conditions (relative humidity at 25 °C RH25 = 0) and in humid air (RH25 = 30%) in the temperature range 400–550

• ,d) in dry air (Figure 8a,c) and at relative humidity RH25 = 30% (at 25 °C, Figure 8b,d). In all cases, in the presence of a reducing gas, CO or NH3, a decrease in the material resistance is observed due to reaction of the target gases with the oxygen chemisorbed on the surface of n-type

• nanofibers and ZnO/SiC nanocomposites in the temperature range 400–550 °C. Change in the resistance of ZnO nanofibers and ZnO/SiC nanocomposites with a periodic change in the composition of the gas phase in the presence of 20 ppm NH3 (a,b) and 20 ppm CO (c,d) in dry air (a,c) and at relative humidity RH25

Development of a new hybrid approach combining AFM and SEM for the nanoparticle dimensional metrology

• Loïc Crouzier,
• Alexandra Delvallée,
• Sébastien Ducourtieux,
• Laurent Devoille,
• Guillaume Noircler,
• Christian Ulysse,
• Olivier Taché,
• Elodie Barruet,
• Christophe Tromas and
• Nicolas Feltin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1523–1536, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.150

• humidity and temperature are well controlled and stabilized (50 ± 5% relative humidity and 20 ± 0.15 °C for temperature). These precautions combined with the instrument performances make it possible to obtain low drifts and to carry out measurements with low noise. Basic measuring principle and data

Synthesis of P- and N-doped carbon catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction via controlled phosphoric acid treatment of folic acid

• Rieko Kobayashi,
• Takafumi Ishii,
• Yasuo Imashiro and
• Jun-ichi Ozaki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1497–1510, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.148

• cm2 cell was used for fuel-cell testing. Polarization curves were obtained at a cell temperature of 80 °C, a back pressure of 200 kPa, and a reactant gas relative humidity of 100% using H2 (1 L·min−1) and O2 (1 L·min−1) as anode and cathode gases, respectively. Characterization techniques The Brunauer

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

• -casting from the 0.2% w/v dispersion on polyester Petri dishes and dried at 30 °C and 60% relative humidity (RH) in a CLIMACELL EVO Stability Chamber (Incubator model 111L). The bionanocomposite foams were prepared by freeze-drying (Cryodos-80, Telstar) of the 8% w/v dispersion, which was cast in

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

On the transformation of “zincone”-like into porous ZnO thin films from sub-saturated plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition

• Alberto Perrotta,
• Julian Pilz,
• Stefan Pachmajer,
• Antonella Milella and
• Anna Maria Coclite

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 746–759, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.74

• layers, the THMS600 temperature stage was equipped with a custom-made humidity pump, and the principles of ellipsometric porosimetry (EP) were used. The relative humidity was monitored via a sensor in the measurement chamber (Sparkfun SHT-15) and tuned in the range of 0–95% [44]. In this way, pores with

• a diameter ≥0.33 nm were probed. Dry atmosphere (i.e., 0% relative humidity) was reached using a flow of N2, ensuring the removal of water from the measurement chamber. In order to tune the relative humidity, the flow of humid air is mixed with N2 and adjusted in equilibrium steps. The temperature

• of the stage was kept at room temperature, assuring that the measured relative humidity in the chamber was the same as on top of the samples. During EP with water, the variation of both refractive index (n) and water multilayer thickness/swollen thin films is reported as a function of the relative

Topochemical engineering of composite hybrid fibers using layered double hydroxides and abietic acid

• Liji Sobhana,
• Lokesh Kesavan,
• Jan Gustafsson and
• Pedro Fardim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 589–605, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.60

• solution. The newly formed wet hybrid fiber handsheets were pressed twice at a force of 400 ± 10 kPa between couch blotters for increased drying. Further, these handsheets were conditioned at 23 °C temperature in a room with 50% of relative humidity for 2 days. Functionalization of LDH grafted cellulose

Hydrophilicity and carbon chain length effects on the gas sensing properties of chemoresistive, self-assembled monolayer carbon nanotube sensors

• Juan Casanova-Cháfer,
• Carla Bittencourt and
• Eduard Llobet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 565–577, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.58

• humidified to 50% relative humidity (at 20 °C) and the same nitrogen dioxide concentrations that had been studied previously under dry conditions were measured again. These results are shown in Figure 7. As it could be expected, the presence of ambient moisture increases the sensitivity to a polar gas like

• of ambient moisture on the sensor response, the gas flow was humidified to a relative humidity of about 50%. The evolution of the sensor resistance was measured with an Agilent HP 34972A multimeter. TEM images of MWCNTs decorated with gold nanoparticles. Raman spectra for the different thiols studied

Temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy and sensor applications of PtSe₂ nanosheets synthesized by wet chemistry

• Mahendra S. Pawar and
• Dattatray J. Late

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 467–474, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.46

• annealed in a vacuum furnace at 170 °C to improve the contact resistance and adhesion of the nanosheets with the substrate. The humidity sensing performance was investigated by exposing the sensor device to various relative humidity (RH) levels ranging from 11.3–97.3% as described in detail previously [26

• resistance of the sensor device vs relative humidity plot. The resistance is significantly decreased from 3.75 GΩ to 0.83 MΩ. The humidity sensing mechanism for the PtSe2 sensor can be explained as follows. When the PtSe2 nanosheet sensor device was exposed to water molecules/vapors, a charge transfer

• between the water molecules and the PtSe2 nanosheets occurs. This results in the decrease in resistance of the PtSe2 nanosheet sensor device with an increase in the relative humidity. The interactions among the water molecules (electron donor) and the PtSe2 nanosheets results in an enhancement in the

Wet chemistry route for the decoration of carbon nanotubes with iron oxide nanoparticles for gas sensing

• Hussam M. Elnabawy,
• Juan Casanova-Chafer,
• Badawi Anis,
• Mostafa Fedawy,
• Mattia Scardamaglia,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Ahmed S. G. Khalil,
• Eduard Llobet and
• Xavier Vilanova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 105–118, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.10

• check the effect of humidity in the performance of the sensor, a new set of measurements for NO2 were performed. In this case, the relative humidity was set to 50%. Comparing these results with the ones performed with dry air (relative humidity was around 3%), one can realize that the sensor, when

A comparison of tarsal morphology and traction force in the two burying beetles Nicrophorus nepalensis and Nicrophorus vespilloides (Coleoptera, Silphidae)

• Liesa Schnee,
• Benjamin Sampalla,
• Josef K. Müller and
• Oliver Betz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 47–61, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.5

• experiments were carried out at room temperature (ca. 22 °C) and a relative humidity of ca. 50%. Friction was determined on the fore tarsus for five males and five females (n = 10). The measuring head was dragged over the surface with a load of 2 mN and a velocity of 100 µm/s. For each measurement, the

Contact splitting in dry adhesion and friction: reducing the influence of roughness

• Jae-Kang Kim and
• Michael Varenberg

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1–8, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.1

• ) operated for 180 seconds at 18 mA current and about 5 × 10−2 Pa Ar pressure. All tests were repeated at least four times. The temperature and relative humidity in the laboratory were 23–25 °C and 45–55%, respectively. Characteristic images of tested polyvinylsiloxane (PVS) adhesive microstructures in (a

Biomimetic surface structures in steel fabricated with femtosecond laser pulses: influence of laser rescanning on morphology and wettability

• Camilo Florian Baron,
• Alexandros Mimidis,
• Daniel Puerto,
• Evangelos Skoulas,
• Emmanuel Stratakis,
• Javier Solis and
• Jan Siegel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2802–2812, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.262

• surfaces were polished obtaining mirror-like quality with an average roughness Ra < 2 nm measured by an atomic force microscope (AFM, Agilent 5100 AFM/SPM in tapping mode). In order to avoid environmental oxidation by humidity, the samples were stored in a desiccator at 30% relative humidity. Before and

Characterization of the microscopic tribological properties of sandfish (Scincus scincus) scales by atomic force microscopy

• Weibin Wu,
• Christian Lutz,
• Simon Mersch,
• Richard Thelen,
• Christian Greiner,
• Guillaume Gomard and
• Hendrik Hölscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2618–2627, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.243

• (National Instruments, Austin, USA) code. The tests were conducted at room temperature and in air with 50% relative humidity. Sample preparation for the non-biological samples relied on grinding with SiC papers of #800 down to #4000 grid. Mechanical polishing was carried out with a 3 µm diamond suspension

Friction reduction through biologically inspired scale-like laser surface textures

• Johannes Schneider,
• Vergil Djamiykov and
• Christian Greiner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2561–2572, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.238

• experiments [16][23]. All tests were conducted at room temperature (25 °C) and at a relative humidity of approximately 45%. All tested pellets and discs were sonicated in isopropanol for 15 minutes before each tribological experiment in order to ensure a reproducible surface chemistry and clean samples

Nanocellulose: Recent advances and its prospects in environmental remediation

• Katrina Pui Yee Shak,
• Yean Ling Pang and
• Shee Keat Mah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2479–2498, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.232