Lead-free hybrid perovskites for photovoltaics

• Oleksandr Stroyuk

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

• stability, the cells retaining their characteristics after 30 days of exposure to ambient conditions (relative humidity of 50–60%) [160]. The structure and characteristics of (MA)2KBiCl6 perovskite [166] are very similar to MAPbCl3, however, the high bandgap of this material (3.04 eV) is more suitable for

Electrospun one-dimensional nanostructures: a new horizon for gas sensing materials

• Muhammad Imran,
• Nunzio Motta and
• Mahnaz Shafiei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2128–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.202

• functionalized MOx NFs with superior sensitivity and fast response in a high humidity environment (95% relative humidity (RH)). WO3 NFs functionalized by RuO2 [189] and Rh2O3 [106] NPs show improved response toward acetone at 350 °C. The fibers have an average diameter in the range 250–300 nm with no significant

Electrostatic force spectroscopy revealing the degree of reduction of individual graphene oxide sheets

• Yue Shen,
• Ying Wang,
• Yuan Zhou,
• Chunxi Hai,
• Jun Hu and
• Yi Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1146–1155, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.106

• adiabatic hoses, forming the gas transmission loop. The temperature fluctuations were below 0.2 °C and the error of humidity control was about 2% relative humidity (RH). To avoid influences on EFM or SPFM imaging from the dielectric constant change of the mica substrate, all the SPM-based operations were

• carried out under room temperature at 23 °C and at a relative humidity of 15% in order to ensure constant substrate surface properties (especially regarding the dielectric constant of the mica surface) [20]. In all the SPM operations, the NSC18/Ti-Pt (MikroMasch Co.) tip was used, which employed a silicon

Imaging of viscoelastic soft matter with small indentation using higher eigenmodes in single-eigenmode amplitude-modulation atomic force microscopy

• Miead Nikfarjam,
• Enrique A. López-Guerra,
• Santiago D. Solares and
• Babak Eslami

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1116–1122, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.103

• deformational timescale in our studies (previous studies have quantified the dependence of characteristic times on the molecular weight for polystyrene [30]). In order to ensure a homogenous surface, the relative humidity was controlled to be approximately 30% during the spin-coating process. A portion of the

Scanning speed phenomenon in contact-resonance atomic force microscopy

• Christopher C. Glover,
• Jason P. Killgore and
• Ryan C. Tung

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 945–952, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.87

• cyanoacrylate. A razor blade was then used to cleave the sample, leaving behind a pristine sample surface. The sample was placed in a closed AFM flow-cell with an integrated relative humidity sensor. A cantilever with spring constant kL = 1.7 ± 0.2 N/m and first free resonance = 61.85 ± 0.1 kHz was mounted to

• eigenmode placed further constraints on the selection of the cantilever. A gas mixing apparatus was used to mix streams of dry and saturated N2 to achieve various levels of relative humidity in the cell. The cantilever was brought into contact with the sample at 100 nN and 300 nN. The NIST SPRITE circuit

• indented into a mica surface with a force of 100 nN in an environment with a relative humidity (RH) of 41% and scanned in a direction orthogonal to the long axis of the cantilever (scan angle of 90°). The resulting in-contact natural frequencies of the cantilever are measured while the tip is moved across

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

• conventional AFM modes, which is attributed to the larger tip–sample distance [30]. Moreover, in ambient electrical AFM scanning, relative humidity usually has a strong impact on image resolution and contrast [31][32]. We propose that fast mapping of the local dielectric distribution on a sample surface can be

• 18–25 °C, and relative humidity (RH) 35–60%) (Figure 2a,c). However, the contrast of the corresponding adhesion images increases significantly (Figure 2b,d). When the tip bias was lowered back to 0 V, both height and adhesion images returned to the original state before the dc voltage was applied

• at 150 nm, the Z-piezo oscillation frequency at 2.0 kHz, and the scan rate at 1 Hz. Voltage to the tip was applied using the scan parameter “tip bias”. All AFM experiments were conducted under ambient conditions at a room temperature of 18–25 °C and relative humidity of 35–60%. AFM images of the

Tuning adhesion forces between functionalized gold colloidal nanoparticles and silicon AFM tips: role of ligands and capillary forces

• Sven Oras,
• Sergei Vlassov,
• Marta Berholts,
• Rünno Lõhmus and
• Karine Mougin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 660–670, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.61

• bridges between the tip and particle [37]. The AFM force-curves are conducted at a rate of 2 kHz allowing a contact of both surfaces in the order of the milliseconds [38][39] at ambient temperature (20 °C) and relative humidity around 35 ± 5%. A pure equilibrium state ensuring the constant formation of

Humidity-dependent wound sealing in succulent leaves of Delosperma cooperi – An adaptation to seasonal drought stress

• Olga Speck,
• Mark Schlechtendahl,
• Florian Borm,
• Tim Kampowski and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 175–186, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.20

• relative humidity is 57%, and the precipitation is about 500 mm per year with 58 rainy days. In the dry winter month of September, statistically, only 2 rainy days and a relative humidity of 46% occur close to the town of Bloemfontain [16]. In the context of our experiments on self-sealing efficiency, high

• values of relative humidity can be associated with fog and the liquid water droplets with rain. The fast sealing of injuries in order to prevent dehydration might be an effective adaptation and selective advantage for D. cooperi plants growing in such semi-arid habitats. An additional aspect that may

• increase the selection pressure on an efficient self-sealing mechanism is the finding that, in the dry winter months, birds feed from D. cooperi leaves and thereby cause frequent injuries [17]. In addition to other adaptations, the ability to efficiently seal injuries, especially at low relative humidity

A robust AFM-based method for locally measuring the elasticity of samples

• Alexandre Bubendorf,
• Stefan Walheim,
• Thomas Schimmel and
• Ernst Meyer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1–10, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.1

• Young’s modulus of 500 MPa was used to determine parameter α(A1). The measurements were performed in non-dry air with a relative humidity of 36% at an ambient temperature of 27 °C. Results and Discussion Force–distance and frequency shift–distance curves Before starting the investigation of the sample

Dry adhesives from carbon nanofibers grown in an open ethanol flame

• Christian Lutz,
• Julia Syurik,
• C. N. Shyam Kumar,
• Christian Kübel,
• Michael Bruns and
• Hendrik Hölscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2719–2728, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.271

• temperatures (above ca. 25 °C) and humidity values (above ca. 50%). The critical relative humidity of this salt is about 54% at 20 °C [43]. Therefore, condensed water might oxidize the bottom copper layer in this humidity and temperature range. Such an oxide layer might, subsequently, prevent CNF growth

• ). All experiments are compiled in a diagram of absolute humidity as a function of the temperature. The thin solid lines represent the relative humidity. In general, CNFs grow at lower temperature and humidity. All experiments conducted with an absolute humidity larger than about 10 g/m3 were not

Exploring wear at the nanoscale with circular mode atomic force microscopy

• Olivier Noel,
• Aleksandar Vencl and
• Pierre-Emmanuel Mazeran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2662–2668, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.266

• less than 100 nm) [26]. The surface roughness, Ra, of the samples, determined from AFM topographic images of 5 × 5 µm, is 2.9 ± 0.6 nm. Wear experiments were performed with the CM-AFM mode implemented on a DI-3100 Nanoscope V controller Bruker AFM, in air, at ambient temperature and at a relative

• humidity of 30%. The AFM tips were either a unique DLC coating tip with a rectangular cantilever (from NT-MDT) or a unique silicon nitride (Si3N4) probe with a triangular cantilever. Both nominal tip radius values were 100 nm and 70 nm for the DLC and Si3N4 probes, respectively, and the cantilever

Strategy to discover full-length amyloid-beta peptide ligands using high-efficiency microarray technology

• Clelia Galati,
• Natalia Spinella,
• Lucio Renna,
• Danilo Milardi,
• Francesco Attanasio,
• Michele Francesco Maria Sciacca and
• Corrado Bongiorno

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2446–2453, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.243

• particular, immediately after the spotting of the amyloid solution, the epoxysilane and the reference slides were inserted into a dark humidity chamber and incubated overnight at 22 °C and 95% relative humidity to immobilize the amyloid spot arrays. The slides were then blocked with BSA buffer following the

• have been stored in a humidity chamber that was provided with a constant-humidity environment at a controlled temperature (22 °C and 95% relative humidity, RH). The physical state of the amyloid peptides was then tested by TEM. TEM analysis was performed with a Jeol JEM 2010 electron microscope

Involvement of two uptake mechanisms of gold and iron oxide nanoparticles in a co-exposure scenario using mouse macrophages

• Dimitri Vanhecke,
• Dagmar A. Kuhn,
• Dorleta Jimenez de Aberasturi,
• Sandor Balog,
• Ana Milosevic,
• Dominic Urban,
• Diana Peckys,
• Niels de Jonge,
• Wolfgang J. Parak,
• Alke Petri-Fink and
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2396–2409, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.239

• stage temperature was kept at 3 °C, and the pressure was set to a value between 700 and 740 Pa, in most cases 720 Pa. These pressure and temperature settings created 100% relative humidity in the ESEM chamber as needed to ensure the constant coverage of the cells with a thin film of water. For every

Identifying the nature of surface chemical modification for directed self-assembly of block copolymers

• Laura Evangelio,
• Federico Gramazio,
• Matteo Lorenzoni,
• Michaela Gorgoi,
• Francisco Miguel Espinosa,
• Ricardo García,
• Francesc Pérez-Murano and
• Jordi Fraxedas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1972–1981, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.198

• ranging between 40 and 180 s was applied while the stamp was gently (50 kPa) pressed upon the substrate. Relative humidity was kept above 70%. These parameters are similar to the parameters used to perform an oxidation scanning probe lithography (SPL) experiment [29]. The authors have already demonstrated

Miniemulsion copolymerization of (meth)acrylates in the presence of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes for reinforced coating applications

• Bertha T. Pérez-Martínez,
• Lorena Farías-Cepeda,
• Víctor M. Ovando-Medina,
• José M. Asua,
• Lucero Rosales-Marines and
• Radmila Tomovska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1328–1337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.134

• hybrid latexes MMA/BA/HEMA/MWCNT and from the blends were cast on Teflon molds and dried in a constant climate chamber (Espec Bench SH-641) at 25 °C and 80% of relative humidity for 3 days. Table 1 presents the nomenclature and characteristics of all the samples investigated throughout this study

Metal oxide nanostructures: preparation, characterization and functional applications as chemical sensors

• Dario Zappa,
• Angela Bertuna,
• Elisabetta Comini,
• Navpreet Kaur,
• Nicola Poli,
• Veronica Sberveglieri and
• Giorgio Sberveglieri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1205–1217, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.122

• compounds (SIAD, Italy) were injected inside the chamber for 30 min, followed by 1 h of recovery using synthetic air. The relative humidity was kept constant at 50%. Small sensor system The device we used in this work is a “Small Sensor System” (S3). The sensor array is located in a thermally controlled

• (300 °C) and Nb2O5 (400 °C)) and (b) (NO2; 1 ppm, NiO (200 °C) and Nb2O5 (400 °C)) measured at a relative humidity of 50% at 20 °C. Sensor response towards 50 ppm of CO (left) and 1 ppm of NO2 (right) as a function of the temperature. The relative humidity was kept constant at 50%, the temperature was

• 20 °C. Calibration curves and power-law fitting for CO (left) and NO2 (right). The relative humidity was kept constant at 50%, the temperature was 20 °C. Principal component analysis (PCA) score plot for drinking water (blue and green dots) and a solution with 500 CFU/mL pathogenic microorganisms

Study of the correlation between sensing performance and surface morphology of inkjet-printed aqueous graphene-based chemiresistors for NO₂ detection

• F. Villani,
• C. Schiattarella,
• T. Polichetti,
• R. Di Capua,
• F. Loffredo,
• B. Alfano,
• M. L. Miglietta,
• E. Massera,
• L. Verdoliva and
• G. Di Francia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1023–1031, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.103

• °C), the relative humidity (RH = 50%) and under controlled nitrogen environment at atmospheric pressure, by keeping the flow constant at 500 sccm. All devices, biased at 1 V, have been analyzed through a measurement protocol consisting of an exposure towards the analyte for 10 min, preceded and

CVD transfer-free graphene for sensing applications

• Chiara Schiattarella,
• Sten Vollebregt,
• Tiziana Polichetti,
• Brigida Alfano,
• Ettore Massera,
• Maria Lucia Miglietta,
• Girolamo Di Francia and
• Pasqualina Maria Sarro

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1015–1022, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.102

• , setting the flow rate at 500 sccm, the temperature at 25 °C and the relative humidity (RH) at 50%. An increase of the conductance response has been recorded upon exposure towards NO2, whereas a decrease of the signal has been detected towards NH3. The material appears totally insensitive towards CO

• testing chamber (V = 0.4 dm3), placed in a thermostatic box. Precise amounts of analyte were let into the chamber via a system of programmable mass flow controllers (MKS) and electro-pneumatic valves. Relative humidity can be adjusted as required through a water bubbler placed in a thermostatic bath. The

• gas flow (recovery). The measurements have been carried out in inert N2 environment, keeping the total flow at 500 sccm, at atmospheric pressure, relative humidity set at 50%, T = 25 °C. The devices have been kept at 1 V DC bias voltage. The sampling rate for the acquisition of the conductance values

BTEX detection with composites of ethylenevinyl acetate and nanostructured carbon

• Santa Stepina,
• Astrida Berzina,
• Gita Sakale and
• Maris Knite

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 982–988, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.100

• sensing measurement increases when the layer thickness of EVA–CB is decreased or the vinyl acetate (VA) content in the copolymer is increased. In addition, the environmental conditions can also influence the sensing effect. In particular, it was determined that relative humidity affects the sensing

• measurements [21]. In near 100% relative humidity proton conductivity dominates over the tunnelling current conduction mechanism typical for polymer–carbon nano-filler composites. This proves that sensing measurements do not increase with increased humidity, but the full mechanism is still unknown. The aim of

Synthesis of coaxial nanotubes of polyaniline and poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) by oxidative/initiated chemical vapor deposition

• Alper Balkan,
• Efe Armagan and
• Gozde Ozaydin Ince

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 872–882, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.89

• PANI nanotubes, the resistance changed parabolically with relative humidity because of competing effects of doping and swelling of the PANI polymer under humid conditions. Introducing a hydrogel inner layer increased the overall resistance, and enhanced swelling, which caused the resistance to

• continuously increase with relative humidity. Keywords: coaxial nanotubes; humidity sensors; initiated chemical vapor deposition; oxidative chemical vapor deposition; polyaniline; Introduction In recent years, with the advances in nanotechnology, the use of nanostructured materials has become widespread in

• the probes in the presence of gold electrodes. For PANI flat films, the actual resistance values (R) versus relative humidity (RH%) are plotted in Figure 7. The resistance slightly decreases as RH% increases up to a certain value (RH% of 84.3%). Above 84.3% resistance starts to increase with humidity

Measuring adhesion on rough surfaces using atomic force microscopy with a liquid probe

• Juan V. Escobar,
• Cristina Garza and
• Rolando Castillo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 813–825, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.84

• al. [33] measured Fadh = 26.6 ± 0.4 nN in air at a relative humidity of (46 ± 3)% (kc = 0.11 ± 0.02 N/m) with a tip curvature radius of 30 ± 5 nm. Eastman et al. [34] measured Fadh = 51 nN with commercial tips and Lomboy et al. [28] measured 50.7 ± 0.7 nN in air with a tip curvature radius of 35 nm

Phospholipid arrays on porous polymer coatings generated by micro-contact spotting

• Sylwia Sekula-Neuner,
• Monica de Freitas,
• Lea-Marie Tröster,
• Tobias Jochum,
• Pavel A. Levkin,
• Michael Hirtz and
• Harald Fuchs

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 715–722, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.75

• ) support (HEMA). Spotting was performed at 55–65% relative humidity. All patterning procedures were carried out with the sample stage tilted by 8° with respect to the SPT tip to minimize the probability of a contact between the ink reservoir and the sample surface. For all patterns, except the ones used

Graphene functionalised by laser-ablated V₂O₅ for a highly sensitive NH₃ sensor

• Margus Kodu,
• Artjom Berholts,
• Tauno Kahro,
• Mati Kook,
• Peeter Ritslaid,
• Helina Seemen,
• Tea Avarmaa,
• Harry Alles and
• Raivo Jaaniso

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 571–578, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.61

• concentration of N2 and O2 gases was held constant during measurements. The gas flow through the sample chamber was kept constant at 200 sccm while the concentration of the test gas was regulated by the ratio of the flow rates of individual gas components. The nominal relative humidity of the testing gas was 20

Impact of air exposure and annealing on the chemical and electronic properties of the surface of SnO₂ nanolayers deposited by rheotaxial growth and vacuum oxidation

• Monika Kwoka and
• Maciej Krzywiecki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 514–521, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.55

• 2 h. In order to improve their stoichiometry, an additional in situ vacuum oxidation was performed at a chosen optimal partial pressure of 10−2 mbar for the next 2 h (108 L). The samples were then examined by using XPS. At the next step the samples were exposed to dry air with a relative humidity of

Biological and biomimetic materials and surfaces

• Stanislav Gorb and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 403–407, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.42

• smooth vertical surfaces and ceilings. The functioning of the pads depends on various environmental factors. Heepe et al. showed that the attachment performance of the beetle Coccinella septempunctata depends on the relative humidity. The authors demonstrated that both low (15%) and high (99