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

• 600 mV. The light source for sample irradiation was a green laser diode (wavelength = 500 nm, power density = 1.45 mW/mm2). Photo-assisted KPFM measurements were also performed in ambient conditions, with a Bruker multimode microscope controlled by a Nanoscope III unit coupled to a Nanonis control

Self-assembled quasi-hexagonal arrays of gold nanoparticles with small gaps for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• Emre Gürdal,
• Simon Dickreuter,
• Fatima Noureddine,
• Pascal Bieschke,
• Dieter P. Kern and
• Monika Fleischer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1977–1985, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.188

• -built dark-field spectroscopy setup. A 50× objective (Mitutoyo BD Plan APO SL 50X) was used for imaging and taking the spectra. The samples were illuminated by a laser driven light source (Energetiq EQ-99-FC) at an incident angle of light of about 45°. The spectra were taken with an Andor Shamrock SR

Electromigrated electrical optical antennas for transducing electrons and photons at the nanoscale

• Arindam Dasgupta,
• Mickaël Buret,
• Nicolas Cazier,
• Marie-Maxime Mennemanteuil,
• Reinaldo Chacon,
• Kamal Hammani,
• Jean-Claude Weeber,
• Juan Arocas,
• Laurent Markey,
• Gérard Colas des Francs,
• Alexander Uskov,
• Igor Smetanin and
• Alexandre Bouhelier

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1964–1976, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.187

• electrically characterize the transport properties of the junctions in the light of the Fowler–Nordheim representation and the Simmons model for electron tunneling. We demonstrate light emission from the feedgap upon electron injection and show examples of how this nanoscale light source can be coupled to

Numerical analysis of single-point spectroscopy curves used in photo-carrier dynamics measurements by Kelvin probe force microscopy under frequency-modulated excitation

• Pablo A. Fernández Garrillo,
• Benjamin Grévin and
• Łukasz Borowik

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1834–1843, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.175

• milliseconds and a few hundreds of milleseconds) under frequency-modulated excitation (light source, electrical bias), yielding an averaged time-integral value of the instantaneous photovoltage. One can obtain a spectroscopy curve of the average surface photovoltage (SPVAV) by sweeping the excitation source

Know your full potential: Quantitative Kelvin probe force microscopy on nanoscale electrical devices

• Amelie Axt,
• Ilka M. Hermes,
• Victor W. Bergmann,
• Niklas Tausendpfund and
• Stefan A. L. Weber

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1809–1819, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.172

• observed fundamental differences in the potential distribution when using FM sideband KPFM as compared to AM lift mode KPFM (Figure 1). The cell was under short circuit conditions and could be illuminated with a white light source from the side. Further details on the solar cell, the sample preparation and

Direct AFM-based nanoscale mapping and tomography of open-circuit voltages for photovoltaics

• Katherine Atamanuk,
• Justin Luria and
• Bryan D. Huey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1802–1808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.171

• (Asylum Research MFP-3D-IO) is custom-mounted on an optical microscope (Nikon TE-2000) that has a broad-spectrum LED light source (Cree MK-R 12). The LED illuminates an area of ca. 1·104 µm2, including the sample/tip junction, from below through a 40× objective to provide an intensity of ca. 1 equivalent

• be directly determined by engaging the secondary feedback loop as previously described. Since the notations ISC and VOC are technically defined for 1 equivalent sun, all results and discussions indicate an effective ISC* and VOC* because the light source is not a true solar simulator. In any case

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

• LED lamp was used as the light source during the photocatalysis experiments. The concentration of RhB was monitored by UV–vis spectrophotometry (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Genesys 10S) during the reaction. (a–e) TEM images of as-synthesized TiO2 with different volume ratios of ethanol to acetonitrile

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

• AFM (nc-AFM) combined with KPFM. MAPbBr3 has been selected for these experiments since its absorption band edge [12] falls well below the wavelength of the AFM light source (840 nm for the Omicron VT-AFM setup used here). A specific protocol allowing simultaneous recording of the spectroscopic curves

Friction force microscopy of tribochemistry and interfacial ageing for the SiO_x/Si/Au system

• Christiane Petzold,
• Marcus Koch and
• Roland Bennewitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1647–1658, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.157

• minimize movement during hold times, the system was allowed to stabilize for prolonged times after turning on the light source for detecting the cantilever bending and after piezo repositioning. Furthermore, the temperature in the laboratory was kept stable to less than ±1 °C. The relative tip movement was

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

• ) were recorded on an UV–vis spectrophotometer (Shimadzu, UV-2600). Photocatalytic tests The photocatalytic activity of the as-prepared samples was evaluated by the removal of RhB, MO or 4-CP under visible-light irradiation. A 300 W Xe lamp with a cut-off filter (λ > 400 nm) was used as the light source

Artifacts in time-resolved Kelvin probe force microscopy

• Sascha Sadewasser,
• Nicoleta Nicoara and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1272–1281, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.119

• difference between the CPD under illumination and in the dark – after switching on and off a laser light source. The CPD change resulting from the separation of the excited charge carriers was monitored in real time over the course of several minutes. Similar experiments were also performed using

A novel copper precursor for electron beam induced deposition

• Caspar Haverkamp,
• George Sarau,
• Mikhail N. Polyakov,
• Ivo Utke,
• Marcos V. Puydinger dos Santos,
• Silke Christiansen and
• Katja Höflich

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1220–1227, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.113

• light source is a linearly polarized laser, emitting at a wavelength of 457 nm. A 100× objective lens (numerical aperture 0.9) is used to focus the laser beam onto the sample, resulting in a spot size of about 700 nm. The spectra were taken with an Horiba iHR 320 spectrometer. Transmission electron

Valley-selective directional emission from a transition-metal dichalcogenide monolayer mediated by a plasmonic nanoantenna

• Haitao Chen,
• Mingkai Liu,
• Lei Xu and
• Dragomir N. Neshev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 780–788, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.71

• only inside the gap between the bars could in principle serve as efficient light source with tunable emission directions. To further understand our system and seek for possible ways to improve the average directionality, we compare the total radiation power for the emitters at different positions

Surface-plasmon-enhanced ultraviolet emission of Au-decorated ZnO structures for gas sensing and photocatalytic devices

• T. Anh Thu Do,
• Truong Giang Ho,
• Thu Hoai Bui,
• Quang Ngan Pham,
• Hong Thai Giang,
• Thi Thu Do,
• Duc Van Nguyen and
• Dai Lam Tran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 771–779, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.70

• counting (TCSPC) technique was used. We used 350 nm frequency doubled femtosecond pulses from a 76 MHz mode locked Ti:sapphire laser system as a light source. The PL was collected by using lenses, and then dispersed by a 15 cm monochromater, and finally detected by a UV enhanced multichannel plate

Heavy-metal detectors based on modified ferrite nanoparticles

• Urszula Klekotka,
• Ewelina Wińska,
• Elżbieta Zambrzycka-Szelewa,
• Dariusz Satuła and
• Beata Kalska-Szostko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 762–770, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.69

• using a high-resolution continuum-source atomic absorption spectrometer ContrAA 700 (Analytik Jena AG, Jena, Germany) equipped with a flame atomizer (burner length: 100 mm). The optical system comprises a continuum light source 300 W high-pressure xenon short-arc lamp XBO 301 (GLE, Berlin, Germany

Perovskite-structured CaTiO₃ coupled with g-C₃N₄ as a heterojunction photocatalyst for organic pollutant degradation

• Ashish Kumar,
• Christian Schuerings,
• Suneel Kumar,
• Ajay Kumar and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 671–685, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.62

• provided in Figure S5, Supporting Information File 1. It can be seen from the absorption plots presented in Figure 9a–c and Figure S5a–c, Supporting Information File 1, that a shift in the absorption maximum of RhB along with the decrease in intensity is observed upon irradiation under any light source [52

Mechanistic insights into plasmonic photocatalysts in utilizing visible light

• Kah Hon Leong,
• Azrina Abd Aziz,
• Lan Ching Sim,
• Pichiah Saravanan,
• Min Jang and
• Detlef Bahnemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 628–648, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.59

• nanoparticles takes place on the semiconductor surface. The most common light source used is a UV lamp producing a high-energy spectrum. Since most contemporary research promotes sustainable and green synthesis routes, replacing the UV lamp as the source of photons with renewable energy could be an alternative

• localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) evolution in a noble metal particle irradiated by a light source. Reprinted with permission from [15], copyright 2003 American Chemical Society. (b) LSPR decay processes. Reprinted with permission from [16], copyright 2014 Nature Publishing Group. The metallic

Facile phase transfer of gold nanorods and nanospheres stabilized with block copolymers

• Yaroslav I. Derikov,
• Georgiy A. Shandryuk,
• Raisa V. Talroze,
• Alexander A. Ezhov and
• Yaroslav V. Kudryavtsev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 616–627, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.58

• (JEOL, Japan). Optical analysis Absorption spectra of nanoparticle sols in the visible light range were recorded on an optical absorbance USB 2000 spectrometer (Ocean Optics, USA) equipped with a LS-1 halogen light source and a cuvette holder. The spectral data were processed using a SpectraSuite

Facile synthesis of ZnFe₂O₄ photocatalysts for decolourization of organic dyes under solar irradiation

• Arjun Behera,
• Debasmita Kandi,
• Sanjit Manohar Majhi,
• Satyabadi Martha and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 436–446, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.42

• ) under solar irradiation was determined. To know the self-degradation of the dye, a control experiment was carried out by exposing Congo red solution to the light source for 30 min. The results showed that the Congo red solution could not be photo-degraded in the absence of the photocatalyst. In the next

Engineering of oriented carbon nanotubes in composite materials

• Razieh Beigmoradi,
• Abdolreza Samimi and
• Davod Mohebbi-Kalhori

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 415–435, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.41

• samples. This method gives significant information about molecular vibrations. The technique involves the excitation of a sample with a monochromatic light source (i.e., laser) and collecting the scattered light. The Raman spectra of CNTs can be identified with the radial breathing mode (RBM), tangential

Bombyx mori silk/titania/gold hybrid materials for photocatalytic water splitting: combining renewable raw materials with clean fuels

• Stefanie Krüger,
• Michael Schwarze,
• Otto Baumann,
• Christina Günter,
• Michael Bruns,
• Christian Kübel,
• Dorothée Vinga Szabó,
• Rafael Meinusch,
• Verónica de Zea Bermudez and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 187–204, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.21

• at an intensity of about 1000 W/m2 as light source. For comparison a 300 W Xe-lamp without the AM1.5G filter was also used. In a typical experiment, the catalyst and a stirring bar were placed in the reactor. Then the setup was evacuated three times and filled with argon (Ar) to remove residual

• oxygen. Thereafter, 53 mL of a 2:1 mixture of water and ethanol were added under an Ar stream, and the thermostat was set to 25 °C. Both water and ethanol were treated with Ar for at least 10 min to remove dissolved oxygen before injection into to the reaction chamber. The light source was placed at a

• activity and experimental setups show large variations in terms of, e.g., reactor design, feed design, light source, irradiation window, and water/organic solvent mixtures in the reactors [9]. Regardless of this, Silva et al. [24] reported that a higher amount of AuNPs results in a lower H2 yield, similar

Thermo- and electro-optical properties of photonic liquid crystal fibers doped with gold nanoparticles

• Agata Siarkowska,
• Miłosz Chychłowski,
• Daniel Budaszewski,
• Bartłomiej Jankiewicz,
• Bartosz Bartosewicz and
• Tomasz R. Woliński

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2790–2801, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.278

• experiment was focused on the comparison of the propagation spectra of the PLCFs with different infusions at room temperature. The experimental setup is shown in Figure 2b, in which we used a halogen lamp (Mikropak HL-2000) as a light source and the output spectra were recorded by a fiber optic spectrometer

• (Ocean Optics, USB4000). Setup for experiments in an electric field The experimental setup is shown in Figure 3. We used a green laser operating at a wavelength of 532 nm as a light source in this experiment due to the fact that at this wavelength all the samples (observed in the first part of the

CdSe nanorod/TiO₂ nanoparticle heterojunctions with enhanced solar- and visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Fakher Laatar,
• Hatem Moussa,
• Halima Alem,
• Lavinia Balan,
• Emilien Girot,
• Ghouti Medjahdi,
• Hatem Ezzaouia and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2741–2752, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.273

• simulated solar light source (light intensity = 5 mW/cm2). A polycarbonate filter was added for experiments conducted under visible light irradiation (light intensity = 10 mW/cm2). In a typical experiment, 50 mg of the CdSe/TiO2 composite were dispersed in 50 mL of aqueous solution of RhB (10 mg/L) in a 70

Patterning of supported gold monolayers via chemical lift-off lithography

• Liane S. Slaughter,
• Kevin M. Cheung,
• Sami Kaappa,
• Huan H. Cao,
• Qing Yang,
• Thomas D. Young,
• Andrew C. Serino,
• Sami Malola,
• Jana M. Olson,
• Stephan Link,
• Hannu Häkkinen,
• Anne M. Andrews and
• Paul S. Weiss

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2648–2661, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.265

• followed by incubation of 1 µM AlexaFluor® 488-labeled complementary DNA. Each substrate was positioned on the microscope sample holder such that the PDMS side was facing away from the light source and the rear side (glass side) of the substrate was facing toward the light source. The images were collected

Enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting performance using morphology-controlled BiVO₄ with W doping

• Xin Zhao and
• Zhong Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2640–2647, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.264

• electrode as a reference electrode. The light source for photoelectrochemical water splitting measurement is a solar simulator (HAL-320, Asahi Spectra Co., Ltd.) with a power intensity of 100 mW·cm−2. The photocurrent was measured in a 0.5 M Na2SO4 aqueous solution with a scan rate of 30 mV·s−1. The