Biocatalytic oligomerization-induced self-assembly of crystalline cellulose oligomers into nanoribbon networks assisted by organic solvents

• Yuuki Hata,
• Yuka Fukaya,
• Toshiki Sawada,
• Masahito Nishiura and
• Takeshi Serizawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1778–1788, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.173

• below). To check the possible denaturation of CDP by the organic solvents as an explanation for the decreased monomer conversions, circular dichroism (CD) spectra of CDP solutions containing 10 vol % MeCN or EtOH were measured after incubation at 60 °C (Figure 4). Note that the light absorption of DMSO

Construction of a 0D/1D composite based on Au nanoparticles/CuBi₂O₄ microrods for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

• Weilong Shi,
• Mingyang Li,
• Hongji Ren,
• Feng Guo,
• Xiliu Huang,
• Yu Shi and
• Yubin Tang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1360–1367, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.134

• NPs, the visible-light absorption of the CBO photocatalyst is enhanced. At the same time, the hot electrons excited by Au NPs can be injected into the conduction band of CBO, thus increasing the photogenerated charge in the reaction process. In addition, in the 0D/1D heterostructure the Au

Photoactive nanoarchitectures based on clays incorporating TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles

• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Marwa Akkari,
• Nithima Khaorapapong and
• Makoto Ogawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1140–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.114

• the experimentally observed differences in the photoactivity are not yet clear due to the effect of complex parameters including light absorption, charge recombination, changes in the available surface area and chemical reactivity [44][45]. Another characteristic of ZnO is its lower chemical stability

CuInSe₂ quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy on amorphous SiO₂ surfaces

• Henrique Limborço,
• Pedro M.P. Salomé,
• Rodrigo Ribeiro-Andrade,
• Jennifer P. Teixeira,
• Nicoleta Nicoara,
• Kamal Abderrafi,
• Joaquim P. Leitão,
• Juan C. Gonzalez and
• Sascha Sadewasser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1103–1111, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.110

• , 20663 Casablanca, Morocco 10.3762/bjnano.10.110 Abstract The currently most efficient polycrystalline solar cells are based on the Cu(In,Ga)Se2 compound as a light absorption layer. However, in view of new concepts of nanostructured solar cells, CuInSe2 nanostructures are of high interest. In this work

Synthesis of novel C-doped g-C₃N₄ nanosheets coupled with CdIn₂S₄ for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

• Jingshuai Chen,
• Chang-Jie Mao,
• Helin Niu and
• Ji-Ming Song

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 912–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.92

• crystals on the surface of CCN nanosheets via a hydrothermal method. This unique architecture was able to efficiently promote the transfer and separation of photon-generated charges, enhance light absorption, and significantly increase photocatalytic H2 production. Detailed characterization was performed

• preparation process. UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) was used to investigate the optical absorption properties of g-C3N4, CCN and the series of CISCCN composites. As shown in Figure 6a, g-C3N4 exhibits an absorption edge at approximately 426 nm. For the CCN sample, however, the light absorption

• background strengthens in the longer wavelength region (λ > 450 nm), which can be obviously noticed. The light absorption in the prepared CCN sample is greatly improved, owing to the formation of large delocalized π bonds. Compared with pure CCN, all the CISCNN composites exhibit wider absorption in the

Polydopamine-coated Au nanorods for targeted fluorescent cell imaging and photothermal therapy

• Boris N. Khlebtsov,
• Andrey M. Burov,
• Timofey E. Pylaev and
• Nikolai G. Khlebtsov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 794–803, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.79

• obtained composite nanoparticles that have two important theranostic modalities. First, due to the strong light absorption by the AuNR core, the nanoparticles are suitable for photothermal treatment in the NIR tissue transparency window. Second, the nanocomposite shows strong fluorescence under visible

Ultraviolet patterns of flowers revealed in polymer replica – caused by surface architecture

• Anna J. Schulte,
• Matthias Mail,
• Lisa A. Hahn and
• Wilhelm Barthlott

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 459–466, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.45

• strongly absorbing surfaces. Keywords: biomimetics; hierarchical structures; light absorption; light harvesting; light reflection; Introduction The outer epidermal surface of plants, the cuticle, forms the first and crucial boundary to the abiotic environment [1][2]. In most cases, this cuticle is a

Reduced graphene oxide supported C₃N₄ nanoflakes and quantum dots as metal-free catalysts for visible light assisted CO₂ reduction

• Md Rakibuddin and
• Haekyoung Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 448–458, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.44

• significant findings, there have been few studies focused on the improvement of the visible light absorption of g-C3N4/rGO hybrid materials [28][29][30][31] and g-C3N4 QDs, and their CO2 photoreduction ability has not yet been reported. Hence, in our present study, metal-free hybrid catalysts consisting of

• due to its quantum size. Additionally, the production of HCHO is improved almost five-fold (10.3 mmol h−1 g−1) in the presence of rGO with CN-5. It is expected that the QD size of the CN-5 sample promotes a higher number of catalytic active sites and enhanced light absorption, and the rGO provides

Geometrical optimisation of core–shell nanowire arrays for enhanced absorption in thin crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells

• Robin Vismara,
• Olindo Isabella,
• Andrea Ingenito,
• Fai Tong Si and
• Miro Zeman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 322–331, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.31

• characteristic radial junction configuration can lead to higher device performance, by increasing light absorption and, at the same time, improving the collection efficiency of photo-generated charge carriers. This work investigates the performance of ultra-thin solar cells characterised by nanowire arrays on a

• intensity inside the device, resulting in the enhancement of light absorption [4]. Of particular interest is the employment of elongated nanostructures, such as nanowire arrays. While their nanoscale dimensions can excite various types of resonances of the EM field within the absorber, such as wave-guiding

• optical simulation of NW-based solar cells demonstrated that NWs amplify Fabry–Perót resonances and, at the same time, excite wave-guided modes inside the thin absorber layers. A study of the effect of the NW geometrical parameters on light absorption was carried out. For a given periodicity (Λ = 800 nm

The nanoscaled metal-organic framework ICR-2 as a carrier of porphyrins for photodynamic therapy

• Jan Hynek,
• Sebastian Jurík,
• Martina Koncošová,
• Jaroslav Zelenka,
• Ivana Křížová,
• Tomáš Ruml,
• Kaplan Kirakci,
• Ivo Jakubec,
• František Kovanda,
• Kamil Lang and
• Jan Demel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2960–2967, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.275

• light absorption at the surface of microcrystalline particles, which results in a small portion of the molecules actively taking place in the photosensitizing process. One of the successful strategies to overcome these effects is the use of MOFs as nanoparticles, which also provides easier

Hybrid Au@alendronate nanoparticles as dual chemo-photothermal agent for combined cancer treatment

• Anouchka Plan Sangnier,
• Romain Aufaure,
• Laurence Motte,
• Claire Wilhelm,
• Erwann Guenin and
• Yoann Lalatonne

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2947–2952, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.273

• within the biological transparency windows of 650–950 nm or 1000–1350 nm, to minimize light absorption by surrounding biological tissues [27]. The principal limitation of PTT is that it requires direct light irradiation, which reduces its effect against disseminated metastatic tumors. A promising

• , in the form of PTT, we first evaluated the specific photothermal properties of Au@alendronate NPs. In cancer therapy, it is desirable to use NPs that are active in the near-infrared (NIR) region to minimize light absorption of the laser radiation by surrounding tissues [27][34]. The plasmonic

Time-resolved universal temperature measurements using NaYF₄:Er³⁺,Yb³⁺ upconverting nanoparticles in an electrospray jet

• Kristina Shrestha,
• Arwa A. Alaulamie,
• Ali Rafiei Miandashti and
• Hugh H. Richardson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2916–2924, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.270

• components of the system, T is temperature, t is time, QI and Qext are the rates of energy supplied and flowing out of the system respectively. The energy supplied to the system is by light absorption of water at 980 nm and is given by Equation 2. P0 is the laser power at 980 nm (0.27 W), σabs is the

• excitation at the tip of the Taylor cone sets up a WGM cavity increasing the optical path length by the Q-factor of the cavity [39]. The increased path length results in more light absorption at the tip of the Taylor cone and an increased instead of a decreased temperature as expected. This change of path

Optimization of Mo/Cr bilayer back contacts for thin-film solar cells

• Nima Khoshsirat,
• Fawad Ali,
• Vincent Tiing Tiong,
• Mojtaba Amjadipour,
• Hongxia Wang,
• Mahnaz Shafiei and
• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2700–2707, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.252

• is its optical reflectance. A back contact layer with high optical reflectance can contribute effectively to the light absorption by reflecting the non-absorbed photons back to the absorber layer. The optical reflectance of the the Mo/Cr bilayer was measured in the wavelength range of 200–1800 nm. As

Impact of the anodization time on the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ nanotubes

• Jesús A. Díaz-Real,
• Geyla C. Dubed-Bandomo,
• Juan Galindo-de-la-Rosa,
• Luis G. Arriaga,
• Janet Ledesma-García and
• Nicolas Alonso-Vante

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2628–2643, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.244

• generates charge carriers (electron–hole pairs) only under UV irradiation limiting the overall performance. This fact motivated the research on this material in order to increase the surface area and/or shift its light absorption toward the visible spectral region. Many reports are devoted to novel

• File 1), present an anodic (−0.08 V/Ag|AgCl) and a cathodic (−0.21 V/Ag|AgCl) peak associated to MB. These peaks become absent in the presence of light, supporting the idea of the oxidation of MB by holes. In the presence of MB, jph decreases due to its light absorption and a lower I0 reaches the

Enhancement of X-ray emission from nanocolloidal gold suspensions under double-pulse excitation

• Wei-Hung Hsu,
• Frances Camille P. Masim,
• Armandas Balčytis,
• Hsin-Hui Huang,
• Tetsu Yonezawa,
• Aleksandr A. Kuchmizhak,
• Saulius Juodkazis and
• Koji Hatanaka

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2609–2617, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.242

• = 230 mJ/cm2. The above presented analysis takes into account the host material and the electron–ion plasma through the definition of permittivity, where the ENZ region defines the strongest light absorption. Due to the fast interaction, the permittivity conditions corresponding to the ENZ are changing

Thickness-dependent photoelectrochemical properties of a semitransparent Co₃O₄ photocathode

• Malkeshkumar Patel and
• Joondong Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2432–2442, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.228

• potential region of 0.2–0.4 V vs RHE as described below in detail. It is fundamental to optimise the thickness of the Co3O4 film. In order to improve light absorption, a thicker film is better. However, the Co3O4 film has a short carrier diffusion length due to the slow electron extraction kinetics

Metal–dielectric hybrid nanoantennas for efficient frequency conversion at the anapole mode

• Valerio F. Gili,
• Lavinia Ghirardini,
• Davide Rocco,
• Giuseppe Marino,
• Ivan Favero,
• Iännis Roland,
• Giovanni Pellegrini,
• Lamberto Duò,
• Marco Finazzi,
• Luca Carletti,
• Andrea Locatelli,
• Aristide Lemaître,
• Dragomir Neshev,
• Costantino De Angelis,
• Giuseppe Leo and
• Michele Celebrano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2306–2314, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.215

• boost of the quality factors in these Mie resonators. This peculiar feature holds great potential to further enhance light–matter interaction. For this reason, these systems are currently the subject of intense investigations and strategies to attain light absorption enhancement [21], nonlinear

• pump wavelength. By engineering the geometrical parameters of dielectric nanoresonators working at the anapole mode, Wang and Dal Negro [21] demonstrated that light absorption can be enhanced. While this approach proved effective to finely tune the anapole condition, the pump light absorption and

Lead-free hybrid perovskites for photovoltaics

• Oleksandr Stroyuk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2209–2235, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.207

Localized photodeposition of catalysts using nanophotonic resonances in silicon photocathodes

• Evgenia Kontoleta,
• Sven H. C. Askes,
• Lai-Hung Lai and
• Erik C. Garnett

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2097–2105, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.198

• Evgenia Kontoleta Sven H. C. Askes Lai-Hung Lai Erik C. Garnett Center for Nanophotonics, AMOLF, Science Park 104, 1098 XG Amsterdam, Netherlands 10.3762/bjnano.9.198 Abstract Nanostructured semiconductors feature resonant optical modes that confine light absorption in specific areas called “hot

• light absorption and conversion to chemical energy take place. The photo-electrodes are in contact with an electrolyte that is the primary source of fuel together with the sunlight. In such a system, light absorption by the electrodes leads to the creation of electron–hole pairs, which after their

• on current density and often increases light absorption. This increased light absorption comes from optical resonances in nanomaterials, which have been studied extensively in both metallic (plasmonic) and dielectric material systems [9][10][11][12][13]. One hallmark of resonant absorption is the

A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO₂/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications

• Laurie Letertre,
• Roland Roche,
• Olivier Douhéret,
• Hailu G. Kassa,
• Denis Mariolle,
• Nicolas Chevalier,
• Łukasz Borowik,
• Philippe Dumas,
• Benjamin Grévin,
• Roberto Lazzaroni and
• Philippe Leclère

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2087–2096, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.197

• can easily form nanostructures, such as nanoporous layers, nanowires or nanocolumns [5][11][12]. Because of its large band gap (3.2 eV [13]), light absorption is carried out by an organic or inorganic dye. The nanostructuration of the acceptor material is crucial for the cell performance [11], as it

• , its high hole mobility and its donor-like electronic properties [15]. Upon light absorption by the polymer, excitons are generated and they can be dissociated at the interface with TiO2, the polymer also acting as the hole-transporting layer. In this work, we investigated nanostructured TiO2 layers

• measurements on the TiO2/P3HT-COOH hybrid heterojunctions A 5 × 5 µm2 height image of a TiO2/P3HT-COOH HHJ is shown in Figure 6a. The corresponding current image in Figure 6b, obtained in short-circuit configuration upon illumination, shows values of photocurrent up to 25 pA. This confirms light absorption by

A visible-light-controlled platform for prolonged drug release based on Ag-doped TiO₂ nanotubes with a hydrophobic layer

• Caihong Liang,
• Jiang Wen and
• Xiaoming Liao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1793–1801, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.170

• enhanced by visible light. Characterization of light absorbance The absorbance spectra of TNTs, Ag-TNTs, Ag-Zn-TNTs and Ag-Zn-NDM-TNTs samples in the range of 300–800 nm are shown in Figure 6. The dark gray, orange, magenta and dark cyan lines correspond to the light absorption of the TNTs, Ag-TNTs, Zn-Ag

Controllable one-pot synthesis of uniform colloidal TiO₂ particles in a mixed solvent solution for photocatalysis

• Jong Tae Moon,
• Seung Ki Lee and
• Ji Bong Joo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1715–1727, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.163

• without charge recombination. Finally, each charge carrier can be consumed for surface redox reactions [9][15]. To achieve high performance in the overall photocatalysis system, the efficiency of each step should be improved [13]. Regarding the point of light absorption, the band gap energy range of the

• phase as well as a large surface area, should have beneficial effects including light absorption, charge separation and facile surface reaction, all resulting in the enhanced photocatalytic efficiency towards RhB degradation. As pointed out in the Introduction section and in our previous study, many

• on light absorption and charge separation by high anatase crystallinity with mixed phase composition as well as an additional large surface area, which would result in the enhanced photocatalytic efficiency towards RhB degradation. Conclusion We demonstrated the general synthesis of uniform TiO2

Multimodal noncontact atomic force microscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy investigations of organolead tribromide perovskite single crystals

• Yann Almadori,
• David Moerman,
• Jaume Llacer Martinez,
• Philippe Leclère and
• Benjamin Grévin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1695–1704, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.161

• be highly desirable to quantify the vertical extension of the space charge area at the origin of the spatial separation of the photocarrier and to check how it compares with the light absorption depth, and more importantly, with the photocarrier diffusion length. Regarding the photostrictive effect

Cr(VI) remediation from aqueous environment through modified-TiO₂-mediated photocatalytic reduction

• Rashmi Acharya,
• Brundabana Naik and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1448–1470, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.137

• charge carriers, extension of the light absorption range and intensity, increase of the surface active sites, and higher photostability. Advantages and limitations for photoreduction of Cr(VI) over modified TiO2 are depicted in the Conclusion. The various challenges that restrict the technology from

• photocatalytic activity and light absorption range of TiO2 towards reduction of Cr(VI). The importance of the combination of metal oxides with TiO2 for photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) was discussed in section three. Section four highlights the enhancement of photocatalytic activity and the light absorption

• modified TiO2 photocatalysts The photocatalytic activity of a photocatalyst is characterized by its optical and electrochemical properties. Modifications of titania can hinder the recombination of charge carriers and extend the light absorption range, which are evident from optical and photoelectrochemical

Ag₂WO₄ nanorods decorated with AgI nanoparticles: Novel and efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts for the degradation of water pollutants

• Shijie Li,
• Shiwei Hu,
• Wei Jiang,
• Yanping Liu,
• Yu Liu,
• Yingtang Zhou,
• Liuye Mo and
• Jianshe Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1308–1316, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.123

• (MO) and para-chlorophenol (4-CP). The high performance is attributed to the enhanced visible-light absorption properties and the promoted separation efficiency of charge carriers through the formation of the heterojunction between AgI and Ag2WO4. Additionally, AgI/Ag2WO4 exhibits durable stability

• Ag2WO4 has a clear absorption edge at about 400 nm [31], while AgI has a broader absorption band with the absorption edge located at around 460 nm [22]. For AgI/Ag2WO4 heterojunctions, a pronounced enhancement in visible-light absorption range is achieved when AgI content was progressively increased

• . This suggests that the introduction of AgI nanoparticles can optimize the light absorption capacity owing to the formation of a nanojunction between AgI and Ag2WO4. These facts indicate that AgI/Ag2WO4 heterojunctions can harvest more light and thus can be expected to be efficient VLD photocatalysts