Influence of water contamination on the sputtering of silicon with low-energy argon ions investigated by molecular dynamics simulations

• Grégoire R. N. Defoort-Levkov,
• Alan Bahm and
• Patrick Philipp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 986–1003, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.86

• profiling SIMS to resolve thin films in multilayered samples [14]. Another example is TEM sample preparation, where the achievement of the highest lateral resolutions in the subsequent TEM analysis requires lamellae thicknesses between 10 and 20 nm, but goes along with a typical amorphous layer of 2 to 4 nm

• formed during the sample preparation by FIB milling [15][16][17]. Such an amorphous layer represents a substantial part of the thickness of the sample and information coming from this part does not correspond to the initial sample structure. Minimizing the thickness of this amorphous layer during FIB

• milling is essential because most samples analysed in high-precision instruments are prepared using this method. This can be best achieved using low-beam energies, ideally in the sub-keV range [18], since low-energy ion beams (under 500 eV) produce a thinner amorphous layer due to their lower penetration

Design of a biomimetic, small-scale artificial leaf surface for the study of environmental interactions

• Miriam Anna Huth,
• Axel Huth,
• Lukas Schreiber and
• Kerstin Koch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 944–957, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.83

• . However, after deposition of the lowest wax mass, almost no plates were formed, indicating that the polar and amorphous substrate prevents the formation of a platelet structure. In contrast, higher wax masses lead to a growth of the platelets on the wax deposited below. It was clearly visible that the

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

• several times), and adaptation to specific functions, the amino acid sequence and protein structure varies considerably, resulting in a versatile class of proteins [112]. Silks are known as semicrystalline materials since they consist of ordered, crystalline structures embedded in an amorphous matrix. The

• a silk fibre, the unordered amorphous regions with less hydrogen bond density induce flexibility [109]. Besides considerable variations in arthropods, the silk of silkworms and related moths, and that of orb-weaving spiders share some features. Their silk proteins are often of high molecular weight

Temperature and chemical effects on the interfacial energy between a Ga–In–Sn eutectic liquid alloy and nanoscopic asperities

• Yujin Han,
• Pierre-Marie Thebault,
• Corentin Audes,
• Xuelin Wang,
• Haiwoong Park,
• Jian-Zhong Jiang and
• Arnaud Caron

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 817–827, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.72

• the respective stabilities of the oxides at the tip and at the liquid surface, respectively. Their stability can be discussed based on their respective melting points and enthalpies of fusion ΔHfus and formation at T = 298.15 K, For amorphous SiO2, the following values were reported: = 1726 K

Nanoarchitectonics of the cathode to improve the reversibility of Li–O₂ batteries

• Hien Thi Thu Pham,
• Jonghyeok Yun,
• So Yeun Kim,
• Sang A Han,
• Jung Ho Kim,
• Jong-Won Lee and
• Min-Sik Park

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 689–698, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.61

• crystallinity of ZnxCoy–C particles can be enhanced by decreasing the Zn/Co ratio during synthesis [35]. Unlike Zn4Co1–C particles (Figure 3a), which have a typical amorphous carbon structure, both Zn1Co1–C (Figure 3b) and Zn1Co4–C (Figure 3c) particles contain some short-range graphitic carbon structures with

• decomposition of amorphous carbon in the ZnxCoy–C particles. In this respect, the Zn1Co4–C/CNT composite was the most thermally stable because of its relatively higher fraction of robust graphitic carbon structure. Figure 6a–c shows the galvanostatic discharge profiles of the LOBs assembled with ZnxCoy–C/CNT

• electrocatalytic effects. In the Zn4Co1–C/CNT cathode with a large specific surface area, the formation of amorphous Li2O2 film could be favored rather than that of toroid-like Li2O2. Compared with toroid-like Li2O2, amorphous Li2O2 film has better ionic conductivity; therefore, it is able to effectively reduce

Influence of thickness and morphology of MoS₂ on the performance of counter electrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells

• Lam Thuy Thi Mai,
• Hai Viet Le,
• Ngan Kim Thi Nguyen,
• Van La Tran Pham,
• Thu Anh Thi Nguyen,
• Nguyen Thanh Le Huynh and
• Hoang Thai Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 528–537, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.44

• MoS2/FTO. The resulting DSSCs showed a PCE of 7.16%, similar to that of a Pt/FTO CE (7.48%). The MoS2 film was amorphous and contained agglomerated clusters of nanoparticles [22]. Recently, Gurulakshmi et al. reported on DSSCs using a flexible CE fabricated by electrodeposition of a MoS2 thin film onto

• Raman spectrum of the MoS2 thin film deposited from solution 5.0 are presented in Figure 4. The XRD pattern of the MoS2/FTO samples shows only the peaks of the FTO substrate because the MoS2 thin film is amorphous or too thin (Figure 4a) [22][23][24]. Thus, the electrodeposited thin film was further

Investigation of electron-induced cross-linking of self-assembled monolayers by scanning tunneling microscopy

• Patrick Stohmann,
• Sascha Koch,
• Yang Yang,
• Christopher David Kaiser,
• Julian Ehrens,
• Jürgen Schnack,
• Niklas Biere,
• Dario Anselmetti,
• Armin Gölzhäuser and
• Xianghui Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 462–471, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.39

• black) with sizes smaller than 10 nm. These slightly affected domains seem to be “embedded” in a rather amorphous matrix, which appears darker compared to the ordered domains and cannot be molecularly resolved by STM. At a dose of 10 mC/cm2, we observed the occurrence of subnanometer-sized voids within

• . Dark spots appeared in the initial stage of cross-linking. The cross-linked regions speedily grow and form an amorphous carbon matrix with reduced structural order. The fully cross-linked monolayer is characterized by the formation of subnanometer-sized voids preferably in regions of lower structural

• constraints. (a) At low doses, cross-linked molecules appear as dark spots in the STM image. (b) At intermediate doses, the cross-linked branches spread in random directions and the size of pristine domains continues to decrease. (c) At high doses, the SAM is transformed into an amorphous network of carbon

Tubular glassy carbon microneedles with fullerene-like tips for biomedical applications

• Sharali Malik and
• George E. Kostakis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 455–461, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.38

• graphitic rather than amorphous carbon [19]. XRD of glassy carbon tubules, including the calculation of the interlayer spacing. Interlayer spacing data characteristic for selected carbon materials. Acknowledgements It is a pleasure to thank Arthur Bötcher for running the flow reactor experiments and for

A non-enzymatic electrochemical hydrogen peroxide sensor based on copper oxide nanostructures

• Irena Mihailova,
• Vjaceslavs Gerbreders,
• Marina Krasovska,
• Eriks Sledevskis,
• Valdis Mizers,
• Andrejs Bulanovs and
• Andrejs Ogurcovs

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 424–436, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.35

• amorphous background indicates a high degree of crystallinity of the obtained samples. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows a large number of crystallographic planes corresponding to the CuO (tenorite) lattice; however, the dominant orientation corresponds to the direction perpendicular to the (002) and (111

Electrostatic pull-in application in flexible devices: A review

• Teng Cai,
• Yuming Fang,
• Yingli Fang,
• Ruozhou Li,
• Ying Yu and
• Mingyang Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 390–403, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.32

• collapse, the preparation technology is complex. Li et al. [30] prepared cantilever GR-NEM switches with two or three terminals using amorphous silicon as sacrificial layer. Sun et al. [6] prepared a three-terminal switch using PMMA polymer as the sacrifice layer. The graphene beam area was 2.5 µm × 0.5 µm

Investigation of a memory effect in a Au/(Ti–Cu)Ox-gradient thin film/TiAlV structure

• Damian Wojcieszak,
• Jarosław Domaradzki,
• Michał Mazur,
• Tomasz Kotwica and
• Danuta Kaczmarek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 265–273, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.21

• requirements of the different characterization methods, thin gradient layers were deposited on silicon (Si), amorphous silica (SiO2) and conductive metallic substrates (Ti6Al4V). The resulting thickness of the prepared thin films was about 610 nm as measured using a Talysurf optical profiler (Tylor Hobson CCI

• testifying the predominantly amorphous nature of the deposited thin films. The microstructure of the (Ti–Cu)Ox films was further analyzed with the aid of a TECNAI G2 FEG Super-Twin (200 kV) transmission electron microscope equipped with EDS attachment. The local chemical composition of the cross section was

• three areas: (1) a polycrystalline area located from the surface to the near center of the structure, (2) an amorphous area located from the center to the near-substrate region, and (3) a void-rich area located from the near-substrate to the substrate region. In the middle of the structure there is a

Effects of drug concentration and PLGA addition on the properties of electrospun ampicillin trihydrate-loaded PLA nanofibers

• Tuğba Eren Böncü and
• Nurten Ozdemir

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 245–254, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.19

• 125.58 °C specific to pure ampicillin trihydrate on the DSC thermograms of PLA, PLGA, PLA nanofibers, and PLA/PLGA nanofibers proves that ampicillin trihydrate was loaded in the nanofibers in an amorphous form. Mechanical properties of nanofibers The mechanical properties of nanofibers depend on their

Relationship between corrosion and nanoscale friction on a metallic glass

• Haoran Ma and
• Roland Bennewitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 236–244, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.18

• in phosphate buffer. Pitting has been reported for many MG surfaces after polarization in chloride solutions [22][23][24][25]. Pitting corrosion is induced by heterogeneity or discontinuity of the amorphous matrix, for example, by crystalline inclusions [24]. On the surface shown in Figure 1b

• -spinning technique and provided by the Physics Institute at the University of Basel (Switzerland). The X-ray diffraction of Cu Kα radiation (XRD) verified the amorphous nature of the ribbons. All friction experiments were conducted at room temperature in 0.2 M phosphate buffer (Na2HPO4 + NaH2PO4, pH ≈ 7

Engineered titania nanomaterials in advanced clinical applications

• Padmavati Sahare,
• Paulina Govea Alvarez,
• Juan Manual Sanchez Yanez,
• Gabriel Luna-Bárcenas,
• Samik Chakraborty,
• Sujay Paul and
• Miriam Estevez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 201–218, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.15

• contact angle, which is reported to be favorable for biomedical applications. Likewise, Gatoo et al. proposed that amorphous titania materials are hydrophilic due to the presence of a higher concentration of hydroxy groups upon their surface and the high polarity of the O–Ti–O bond [23]. The surface

Tin dioxide nanomaterial-based photocatalysts for nitrogen oxide oxidation: a review

• Viet Van Pham,
• Hong-Huy Tran,
• Thao Kim Truong and
• Thi Minh Cao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 96–113, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.7

• investigated [67]. Zhang et al. [68] found that the crystalline/amorphous stacking structure of SnO2 microspheres can moderate surface absorption competition between oxygen gas and NO gas, contributing to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to oxidize NO to NO3− ions. Huy et al. [69] synthesized

Sputtering onto liquids: a critical review

• Anastasiya Sergievskaya,
• Adrien Chauvin and
• Stephanos Konstantinidis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 10–53, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.2

Chemical vapor deposition of germanium-rich CrGe_x nanowires

• Vladislav Dřínek,
• Stanislav Tiagulskyi,
• Roman Yatskiv,
• Jan Grym,
• Radek Fajgar,
• Věra Jandová,
• Martin Koštejn and
• Jaroslav Kupčík

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1365–1371, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.100

• . The nanowires possessed a complex structure, namely a thin crystalline germanium core and amorphous CrGex coating. The composition of the nanowire coating was [Cr]/[Ge] = 1:(6–7). The resistance of the nanowire–deposit system was estimated to be 2.7 kΩ·cm using an unique vacuum contacting system

• composed of crystalline cubic germanium that is covered with a thin layer of GeOx (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S5). Irregularly shaped particles are formed from several phases of germanium, that is, cubic, hexagonal, and amorphous Ge (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S6). A close look at the

• nanowire using SAED, dark-field HRTEM, and EDX analysis showed that it consisted of a crystalline germanium core sheathed with an amorphous Cr/Ge coating (Figure 3 and Supporting Information File 1, Figure S7) resembling SiNWs with similar structure [12]. The determined d-spacing of 0.326 nm fits precisely

Plasmon-enhanced photoluminescence from TiO₂ and TeO₂ thin films doped by Eu³⁺ for optoelectronic applications

• Marcin Łapiński,
• Jakub Czubek,
• Katarzyna Drozdowska,
• Anna Synak,
• Wojciech Sadowski and
• Barbara Kościelska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1271–1278, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.94

• centrosymmetric structures. This led to the conclusion that there might be some nanocrystal areas in the TiO2:Eu films. It is in line with our previous structural investigations. XRD measurements showed an amorphous or nanocrystalline structure of the oxide layers deposited by magnetron sputtering [31]. The

Electrical, electrochemical and structural studies of a chlorine-derived ionic liquid-based polymer gel electrolyte

• Ashish Gupta,
• Amrita Jain,
• Manju Kumari and
• Santosh K. Tripathi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1252–1261, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.92

• , researchers have been developing polymer electrolytes (solid/gel) as an alternative to commercial liquid-based electrolytes which are suitable for electrochemical devices, such as Li-ion batteries, solar cells, fuel cells, and supercapacitors [1][2][3][4][5]. The main aim is to increase the amorphous content

• the range of 200–300 °C [8][9][10][11]. Basically, ILs are room-temperature molten salts made up of bulky asymmetric organic cations and organic/inorganic anions. They act as plasticizers which help increase the amorphous nature of the polymer gel electrolytes, thereby increasing the ionic conduction

• predominantly crystalline PVdF phase and an amorphous HFP phase, which provides necessary mechanical strength and good ion transport matrix. Magnesium-based electrochemical devices are emerging as an alternative to lithium-based devices [26][27][28][29][30]. Magnesium can be an alternative due to its

The effect of cobalt on morphology, structure, and ORR activity of electrospun carbon fibre mats in aqueous alkaline environments

• Markus Gehring,
• Tobias Kutsch,
• Osmane Camara,
• Alexandre Merlen,
• Hermann Tempel,
• Hans Kungl and
• Rüdiger-A. Eichel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1173–1186, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.87

• oxidation likely results in amorphous species explains the absence of reflexes attributed to oxidised species, such as Co3O4, CoO, or Co(OH)2, in the XRD diffractograms. This behaviour also explains the plateau in the cobalt metal values found for samples carbonised above 800 °C. At these temperatures the

• between amorphous and graphitic carbon. It is more ordered than amorphous carbon, especially in the short range [33]. However, it lacks long-range order, more specifically a 3D stacking order [35]. The graphitisation effects induced by cobalt and elevated temperatures become more distinct with increasing

• respective signal intensities of the XPS C 1s range of the fibres is considered as shown in Figure 6. As expected for an increasing graphitisation, the amount of graphitic carbon (sp2) increases with carbonisation temperature, while the amount of sp3 carbon, expected in more amorphous or polymer-like samples

Irradiation-driven molecular dynamics simulation of the FEBID process for Pt(PF₃)₄

• Alexey Prosvetov,
• Alexey V. Verkhovtsev,
• Gennady Sushko and
• Andrey V. Solov’yov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1151–1172, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.86

• ][8][9][10], which allow for simulations of the average characteristics of the process concerning local growth rates and the nanostructure composition. However, these approaches do not provide any molecular-level details regarding structure (crystalline, amorphous, or mixed) and the IDC involved. At

• , and amorphous carbon. A choice of the substrate affects the adsorption, desorption, and diffusion of precursor molecules on the surface as well as the yields of secondary and backscattered electrons. These quantities affect the fragmentation rate of the adsorbed precursor molecules and, hence, the

• amorphous substrates, for example, amorphous silica or amorphous carbon, which are commonly used in FEBID and surface science experiments. The structure of precursor molecules, their interaction with a substrate, and the dynamics of nanostructure formation and growth are influenced by interatomic

Assessment of the optical and electrical properties of light-emitting diodes containing carbon-based nanostructures and plasmonic nanoparticles: a review

• Keshav Nagpal,
• Erwan Rauwel,
• Frédérique Ducroquet and
• Protima Rauwel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1078–1092, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.80

• performance, ETL should have a high reduction potential and appropriate HOMO and LUMO values relative to the p-type emitter and HTL [68]. Other factors affecting their performance include a high electron mobility, an amorphous morphology, a high glass transition temperature, and the ability to be deposited as

Revealing the formation mechanism and band gap tuning of Sb₂S₃ nanoparticles

• Maximilian Joschko,
• Franck Yvan Fotue Wafo,
• Christina Malsi,
• Danilo Kisić,
• Ivana Validžić and
• Christina Graf

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1021–1033, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.76

• . Based on morphological and structural analyses, it is suggested that seed particles (type 0) formed immediately after injecting the antimony precursor into the sulfur precursor. These seeds fused to form amorphous nanoparticles (type I) that contained a lower percentage of sulfur than that corresponding

• to the expected stoichiometric ratio of Sb2S3. The reason for this possibly lies in the formation of an oxygen- or carbon-containing intermediate during the seeding process. Afterward, the type I nanoparticles aggregated into larger amorphous nanoparticles (type II) in a second hierarchical assembly

• process and formed superordinate structures (type III). This process was followed by the crystallization of these particles and a layer-like growth of the crystalline particles by an Ostwald ripening process at the expense of the amorphous particles. It was demonstrated that the kinetic control of the

Progress and innovation of nanostructured sulfur cathodes and metal-free anodes for room-temperature Na–S batteries

• Marina Tabuyo-Martínez,
• Bernd Wicklein and
• Pilar Aranda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 995–1020, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.75

• even higher than that of metal Na [9]. However, also phosphorous anodes suffer from large volume expansion (up to 490%), but in addition also from low electrical conductivity [76]. The use of amorphous (red) phosphorous can lessen the expansion problem and extend cycle life. For instance, a red

• carbon black and other amorphous carbons. While Na+ does not insert in graphite in contrast to Li+, hard carbon can store considerable amounts of sodium in the range of 300 mAh·g−1 (Figure 10D) [82]. For their use in sodium batteries hard carbon materials can be pre-sodiated prior to the cell assembly

Is the Ne operation of the helium ion microscope suitable for electron backscatter diffraction sample preparation?

• Annalena Wolff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 965–983, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.73

• steps are designed to reduce the thickness of the amorphous layer on each side of the TEM lamella and to minimize artefacts [24], procedures and induced artefacts for other techniques such as electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) polishing are not well documented in the literature. The work presented