A review on the green and sustainable synthesis of silver nanoparticles and one-dimensional silver nanostructures

• Sina Kaabipour and
• Shohreh Hemmati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 102–136, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.9

• sol–gel method is one of the most common techniques to synthesize AgNPs. The sol–gel process is considered to be a multifaceted approach for the synthesis of nanoparticles in various forms – especially complex compounds – such as metal-complex oxides, inorganic nanocomposites, and chalcogenides [144

• pressure), it can synthesize AgNPs at a lower temperature compared to the sol–gel process alone [144]. Nevertheless, there are some disadvantages regarding the application and feasibility of sol–gel-produced nanoparticles and nanocomposites. For instance, in industrial applications of nanoparticle-doped

Bulk chemical composition contrast from attractive forces in AFM force spectroscopy

• Dorothee Silbernagl,
• Media Ghasem Zadeh Khorasani,
• Natalia Cano Murillo,
• Anna Maria Elert and
• Heinz Sturm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 58–71, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.5

• the tip radius R of the AFM probe (typically 4 nm ≤ R ≤ 40 nm). These methods are increasingly interesting for nanoscopic heterogeneous materials, such as nanocomposites. These materials are known to show nano-effects which improve the macroscopic properties of the composites beyond the rule of

• mixture. The mechanisms which cause the nano-effects are often described and hypothesized but seldom directly shown [11][12][13][14]. High-resolution measurements of the mechanical properties of nanocomposites give insights into these mechanisms, since they are able to separately measure material phases

• Figure 7d can be found at the borders of the main components, representing the interphases of the nanocomposites. Conclusion In this study we introduced and used two analytical tools which can significantly improve force spectroscopy measurements. First, we demonstrated the merit of a statistical

Unravelling the interfacial interaction in mesoporous SiO₂@nickel phyllosilicate/TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures for photocatalytic activity

• Bridget K. Mutuma,
• Xiluva Mathebula,
• Isaac Nongwe,
• Bonakele P. Mtolo,
• Boitumelo J. Matsoso,
• Rudolph Erasmus,
• Zikhona Tetana and
• Neil J. Coville

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1834–1846, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.165

• [24][25]. One method to maximize the SiO2–TiO2 interaction is via the synthesis of core–shell nanostructures or nanocomposites [18][19][26][27]. Ikeda et al. [26] reported an improved photodecomposition of acetic acid by using a titania core@hollow silica shell nanostructured catalyst. Similarly, Ren

• surface [23]. Thus, silica-based core–shell nanocomposites offer added advantages of manipulating the pore structure, surface area, morphology, and catalyst reactivity [28]. Unlike the metal oxide–metal oxide composites, the use of metal oxide core@metal nanocomposites as dopants for titania

Fabrication of nano/microstructures for SERS substrates using an electrochemical method

• Jingran Zhang,
• Tianqi Jia,
• Xiaoping Li,
• Junjie Yang,
• Zhengkai Li,
• Guangfeng Shi,
• Xinming Zhang and
• Zuobin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1568–1576, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.139

• a KCl-saturated Ag/AgCl rod are used as the working, counter, and reference electrodes, respectively. Using this approach, Au/TiO2 nanocomposites formed on Pt substrates yielded a SERS enhancement factor of 1.8 × 108 for R6G molecules [34]. Chang et al. [35] fabricated different Ag nanostructures on

Antimicrobial metal-based nanoparticles: a review on their synthesis, types and antimicrobial action

• Matías Guerrero Correa,
• Fernanda B. Martínez,
• Cristian Patiño Vidal,
• Camilo Streitt,
• Juan Escrig and
• Carol Lopez de Dicastillo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1450–1469, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.129

• important antibacterial properties against drug-resistant bacteria due to their size, shape and surface-capping agents [129][130]. Emamifar et al. (2010) developed orange juice packages based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) nanocomposites with ZnO NPs. This packaging material presented a significant

• reduction in the microbial growth rate of Lactobacillus plantarum for up to 112 days of storage [112]. Star-like ZnO NPs were synthesized by the facile molten salt method and used to prepare synthetic nanocomposites with 2 or 4 wt % of ZnO NP load. Nanocomposites with 4 wt % of ZnO NPs exhibited the best

Structure and electrochemical performance of electrospun-ordered porous carbon/graphene composite nanofibers

• Yi Wang,
• Yanhua Song,
• Chengwei Ye and
• Lan Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1280–1290, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.112

• ]. Generally, the structures of nanocomposites used in electrochemical supercapacitors can influence their capacitance, charge and discharge rates, as well as their cycle stability. In our previous work [33], the ordered porous PAN/graphene composite nanofibers (OPPGCNFs) were prepared by a modified parallel

Magnetic-field-assisted synthesis of anisotropic iron oxide particles: Effect of pH

• Andrey V. Shibaev,
• Petr V. Shvets,
• Darya E. Kessel,
• Roman A. Kamyshinsky,
• Anton S. Orekhov,
• Sergey S. Abramchuk,
• Alexei R. Khokhlov and
• Olga E. Philippova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1230–1241, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.107

• batteries [8], preparation of hybrid organic–inorganic nanocomposites, and gels with polymer or surfactant-based matrices [20]. Among these applications, elongated particles (particularly nanorods) have many advantages over spherical nanoparticles [11][21][22]. Nanorods often have stronger magnetic

Photothermally active nanoparticles as a promising tool for eliminating bacteria and biofilms

• Mykola Borzenkov,
• Piersandro Pallavicini,
• Angelo Taglietti,
• Laura D’Alfonso,
• Maddalena Collini and
• Giuseppe Chirico

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1134–1146, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.98

• nanocomposites for the light-triggered eradication of bacteria and biofilms. Keywords: antibacterial activity; bacteria eradication; nanoparticles; NIR light; photothermal effect; Introduction Bacteria are considered the major source of hospital-acquired nosocomial infections and patients are at a risk higher

• formation are controversial as the Ag nanoparticles seem to be effective against the Gram-negative but not so much against the Gram-positive strains [6]. The antibacterial properties of a wide range of nanoparticles and their corresponding nanocomposites, such as ZnO [17][18], TiO2 [19][20], Fe3O4 [21][22

• nanomaterial used, for example, aqueous solutions, self-assembled monolayers or polymeric nanocomposites [33]. In the case of plasmonic nanoparticles, the plasmonic properties (i.e., the maximum position of the absorption band and the band shape) are strongly affected by the conditions under which the

Gram-scale synthesis of splat-shaped Ag–TiO₂ nanocomposites for enhanced antimicrobial properties

• Mohammad Jaber,
• Asim Mushtaq,
• Kebiao Zhang,
• Jindan Wu,
• Dandan Luo,
• Zihan Yi,
• M. Zubair Iqbal and
• Xiangdong Kong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1119–1125, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.96

• multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. In this regard, metal-oxide-based antibacterial nanomaterials have received potential research interest due to the efficient prevention of microorganism growth. In this study, splat-shaped Ag–TiO2 nanocomposites (NCs) were synthesized on the gram scale and the enhanced

• . The improvement in the antibacterial activity was attributed to the synergistic effect of the hybrid nature of TiO2 nanoparticles in the presence of Ag. Keywords: antimicrobial properties; biomaterials; nanocomposites; silver nanoparticles; titanium dioxide; Introduction The rapid industrial

• which have significant antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria [16][17]. Importantly, Ag and TiO2 NPs have been reported to be less toxic to humans [2][18][19][20]. In comparison to single NPs, the nanocomposites have advantages in terms of multifunctional use

Wet-spinning of magneto-responsive helical chitosan microfibers

• Dorothea Brüggemann,
• Johanna Michel,
• Naiana Suter,
• Matheus Grande de Aguiar and
• Michael Maas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 991–999, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.83

• dressings [36], and nanohydroxyapatite was embedded into chitosan fibers for bone tissue engineering applications [37]. Likewise, magnetic iron oxide particles have been blended with chitosan to prepare electrospun composite fibers [38][39] to form magneto-responsive polymer nanocomposites for bone tissue

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

• a high photocatalytic activity because of a better charge separation [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Liu et al. [23] prepared CuO/ZnO nanocomposites by homogeneous coprecipitation and used them for the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange. Wei et al. [24] fabricated CuO/ZnO composite nanofilms

• using cathodic co-electrodeposition and observed their photocatalytic performance. Fierro et al. [25] synthesized CuO–ZnO composite catalysts by temperature-programmed reduction and applied them in photocatalytic degradation. Nanocomposites loaded with metal oxide semiconductors have excellent optical

•  22. When hydrophilic CuO and ZnO are loaded on the surface of nanofibers, water droplets can spread into the gaps of the flaky CuO–ZnO structures, leading to the hydrophilic character of the CNFMs. Photocatalytic degradation experiment Recently, researches on the application of CuO–ZnO nanocomposites

Silver-decorated gel-shell nanobeads: physicochemical characterization and evaluation of antibacterial properties

• Marta Bartel,
• Katarzyna Markowska,
• Marcin Strawski,
• Krystyna Wolska and
• Maciej Mazur

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 620–630, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.49

• inhibitory (MBIC) concentrations are comparable to those of non-incorporated silver nanoparticles. Keywords: Escherichia coli; gel-shell particles; minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC); minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC); nanocomposites; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; silver nanoparticles

• , respectively [25]. In another study, citrate-stabilized nanoparticles (average diameter of 9 nm) inhibited the growth of E. coli and S. aureus at 10 and 5 μg/mL, respectively [26]. We report herein on the synthesis of nanocomposites with antibacterial properties. The polystyrene nanobeads were modified with

Nanoarchitectonics: bottom-up creation of functional materials and systems

• Katsuhiko Ariga

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 450–452, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.36

• spectroscopy [37], bio-nanocomposites with clay nanoarchitectures for electrochemical devices [38], a biomimetic nanofluidic diode with polymeric carbon nitride nanotubes [39], and a unique Janus-micromotor applied as a luminescence sensor for sensitive TNT detection [40]. The variety of nanoarchitectonics

Size effects of graphene nanoplatelets on the properties of high-density polyethylene nanocomposites: morphological, thermal, electrical, and mechanical characterization

• Tuba Evgin,
• Alpaslan Turgut,
• Georges Hamaoui,
• Zdenko Spitalsky,
• Nicolas Horny,
• Matej Micusik,
• Mihai Chirtoc,
• Mehmet Sarikanat and
• Maria Omastova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 167–179, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.14

• of Mechanical Engineering, Ege University, 35100, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey 10.3762/bjnano.11.14 Abstract High-density polyethylene (HDPE)-based nanocomposites incorporating three different types of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) were fabricated to investigate the size effects of GnPs in terms of both

• lateral size and thickness on the morphological, thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties. The results show that the inclusion of GnPs enhance the thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties of HDPE-based nanocomposites regardless of GnP size. Nevertheless, the most significant enhancement of the

• ’ mechanical properties due to poorer dispersion compared to the others. In addition, the size of the GnPs had no considerable effect on the melting and crystallization properties of the HDPE/GnP nanocomposites. Keywords: electrical properties; graphene nanoplatelets; mechanical properties; polymer matrix

Gold and silver dichroic nanocomposite in the quest for 3D printing the Lycurgus cup

• Lars Kool,
• Floris Dekker,
• Anton Bunschoten,
• Glen J. Smales,
• Brian R. Pauw,
• Aldrik H. Velders and
• Vittorio Saggiomo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 16–23, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.2

• effect of the nanoparticles was attributed to their size and their particular dodecahedral shape. Although the green/red dichroism is visually excellent, the four months’ synthesis is a hindrance for fast production and screening of nanocomposites. Our previously reported dichroic AuNP were synthesised

• in a brown coloured solution. We speculate that, as both nanoparticles are not coated with strong ligands, they are prone to metallic exchange between them. To avoid this, we embedded gold and silver nanoparticles separately in PVA for manufacturing AuNP@PVA and Ag@PVA nanocomposites (Supporting

• micrographs of Ag and Au nanoparticles, SAXS data, pictures of the Lycurgus cup under different illumination, transmission and reflectance spectra of AuNP/AgNP @PVA nanocomposites. Supporting Information File 39: Video of dichroic Ag nanoparticles and 3D printed nanocomposites. Supporting Information File 40

Advanced hybrid nanomaterials

• Andreas Taubert,
• Fabrice Leroux,
• Pierre Rabu and
• Verónica de Zea Bermudez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2563–2567, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.247

• into a broad scientific and technological subject including important fields such as sol–gel chemistry [4][5], polymer nanocomposites [6][7], and hybrid nanomaterials [8][9]. Nowadays, hybrid materials are almost everywhere and provide a wide range of applications from biology and health, to photonic

• ]. The mesostructures are highly pH-sensitive, adopting 2D-hexagonal, wormlike or lamellar organization depending on the extent of the electrostatic complexing bonds and on the condensation rate. More complex assemblies involving ternary compositions in “Ternary nanocomposites of reduced graphene oxide

• nanostructuration and related issues. Nanofillers Nanocomposites remain a vast playground for research into new hybrid systems. A common approach for polymer fillers presented in this thematic issue is their use as organo-modified layered double hydroxides (LDHs) or new layered calcium phenylphosphonates, as well

Small protein sequences can induce cellular uptake of complex nanohybrids

• Jan-Philip Merkl,
• Malak Safi,
• Christian Schmidtke,
• Fadi Aldeek,
• Johannes Ostermann,
• Tatiana Domitrovic,
• Sebastian Gärtner,
• John E. Johnson,
• Horst Weller and
• Hedi Mattoussi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2477–2482, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.238

• cellular fate of these structures rather than appearance in solution. The confocal microscopy data were further exploited to generate a z-stack, to visualize the fluorescence distribution of the nanocomposites side-by-side with that of the Cy5 dye and cell nuclei. The 3D-stack, shown in Figure 2A, confirms

• a region, where the QD fluorescence staining is close to the Cy5-transferrin associated with the endosomal marker (Figure 2C). The two stainings corresponding to the nanohybrids and Cy-5-transferrin do not share the same compartments. Clearly, these findings combined show that the nanocomposites

pH-Controlled fluorescence switching in water-dispersed polymer brushes grafted to modified boron nitride nanotubes for cellular imaging

• Saban Kalay,
• Yurij Stetsyshyn,
• Volodymyr Donchak,
• Khrystyna Harhay,
• Ostap Lishchynskyi,
• Halyna Ohar,
• Yuriy Panchenko,
• Stanislav Voronov and
• Mustafa Çulha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2428–2439, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.233

• )-functionalized BNNTs Fluorescence microscopy of living cells has become an integral part of modern cell biology. Most often cellular imaging is provided using fluorescent labels, including fluorescent dyes, nanoparticles, nanocomposites or proteins [55]. This label must meet certain criteria, such as

Targeted therapeutic effect against the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 with a CuFe₂O₄/silica/cisplatin nanocomposite formulation

• B. Rabindran Jermy,
• Vijaya Ravinayagam,
• Widyan A. Alamoudi,
• Dana Almohazey,
• Hatim Dafalla,
• Lina Hussain Allehaibi,
• Abdulhadi Baykal,
• Muhammet S. Toprak and
• Thirunavukkarasu Somanathan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2217–2228, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.214

• materials have been reported to be effective for cancer therapeutics [3][4]. However, due to the poor crystallinity of SPIONs on silica supports, a low saturation value of magnetization occurs in the silica bound nanocomposites. For instance, the magnetometer (superconducting quantum interference device

• (SQUID)) analysis of silica/iron oxide nanocomposites showed the magnetization of 1.65 emu/g. Recently, we have showed that micrometer-sized spherical silica exhibit the highest magnetization of 1.44 emu/g, while silicalite showed the lowest value of 0.08 emu/g, respectively [5]. Although the saturated

• form aggregates, exert variable oxidation states and result in dose-dependent toxicity. Several supports, including silica and carbon, were used to reduce such aggregation. Notably, different types of nanocomposites were reported based on Co, Ni, Mn and Fe over mesoporous carbon capsules [8]. A carbon

Ultrathin Ni_1−xCo_xS₂ nanoflakes as high energy density electrode materials for asymmetric supercapacitors

• Xiaoxiang Wang,
• Teng Wang,
• Rusen Zhou,
• Lijuan Fan,
• Shengli Zhang,
• Feng Yu,
• Tuquabo Tesfamichael,
• Liwei Su and
• Hongxia Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2207–2216, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.213

• , which makes it difficult to compare the electrochemical performance among the different nanostructures of transition metal chalcogenides. Herein, we have fabricated ultrathin Ni1−xCoxS2 nanoflakes by sulfurising a NiCo oxide precursor. We have found that the as-prepared Ni1−xCoxS2 nanocomposites well

Porous silver-coated pNIPAM-co-AAc hydrogel nanocapsules

• William W. Bryan,
• Riddhiman Medhi,
• Maria D. Marquez,
• Supparesk Rittikulsittichai,
• Michael Tran and
• T. Randall Lee

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1973–1982, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.194

• Interest in the preparation and utilization of uniquely structured nanocomposites continues to expand due to their potential use in electronics, optics, magnetism, medicine, catalysis, and energy applications [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The physical and chemical properties of these materials provide significant

• hydrogel and polymer nanocomposites with silver nanoparticles [70][71][72][73]. However, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports of NIR-active porous silver nanocapsules containing thermo-responsive hydrogel (or any kind of polymer) cores. The methods described herein illustrate the

Growth dynamics and light scattering of gold nanoparticles in situ synthesized at high concentration in thin polymer films

• Corentin Guyot,
• Philippe Vandestrick,
• Ingrid Marenne,
• Olivier Deparis and
• Michel Voué

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1768–1777, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.172

• solar infrared radiation [3][4], in random lasers [5][6], in non-linear optical applications [7][8][9] and in sensors or bio-medical diagnostics [10][11][12]. More recently, nanocomposites containing AuNPs received even more attention due to their saturable absorption. Indeed, plasmonic nanocomposites

• nanocomposites, which globally belong to two categories: the synthesis of NPs in a liquid medium, which provides good control during their growth, or the in situ synthesis of NPs, e.g., by thermal annealing of a noble metal-doped solid phase such as HAuCl4-doped polymer films. In the latter approach there is

• simpler. In a single step, both the gold salt and the polymer are mixed to prepare the nanocomposite. The simplicity of the method is regarded as a great advantage for the production of nanocomposites for various applications in nano-optics. The principle of in situ methods is the use of one of the matrix

Layered double hydroxide/sepiolite hybrid nanoarchitectures for the controlled release of herbicides

• Ediana Paula Rebitski,
• Margarita Darder and
• Pilar Aranda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1679–1690, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.163

• interphases as those provided by organoclays [12]. Besides typical 2D layered clays, fibrous (sepiolite, palygorskite) and tubular (halloysite, imogolite) clays are attracting growing interest in the development of a large variety of functional nanomaterials and nanocomposites for application in diverse

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

• dispersed silicon carbide (SiC). In this work, ZnO and SiC nanofibers were synthesized by electrospinning of polymer solutions followed by heat treatment, which is necessary for polymer removal and crystallization of semiconductor materials. ZnO/SiC nanocomposites (15–45 mol % SiC) were obtained by mixing

• °C. The ZnO/SiC nanocomposites were characterized by a higher concentration of chemisorbed oxygen, higher activation energy of conductivity, and higher sensor response towards CO and NH3 as compared with ZnO nanofibers. The obtained experimental results were interpreted in terms of the formation of

• composite materials with respect to temperature, radiation, chemical and mechanical effects [6][7]. It has been shown that in MO/SiC nanocomposites containing metal oxide (MO) and nanostructured SiC, the presence of silicon carbide inhibits the growth of MO crystallites at high temperatures [8]. The

Hierarchically structured 3D carbon nanotube electrodes for electrocatalytic applications

• Pei Wang,
• Katarzyna Kulp and
• Michael Bron

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1475–1487, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.146

• electrocatalysts. The bottom-up synthesis of these nanocomposites was monitored using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spectroscopy, and it is demonstrated that the hierarchical structures can be tuned with respect to thickness, length, and density of the CNTs. The activity of the Pt-CNT/CNT/GC