Nanogenerator-based self-powered sensors for data collection

• Yicheng Shao,
• Maoliang Shen,
• Yuankai Zhou,
• Xin Cui,
• Lijie Li and
• Yan Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 680–693, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.54

• intelligence. Wang et al. proposed a hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene film and sponge-like graphene/polydimethylsiloxane composite material to prepare a multifunctional self-powered sensor [51]. The sensor can infer the performance of the material through the difference in the output of the electrical

Solution combustion synthesis of a nanometer-scale Co₃O₄ anode material for Li-ion batteries

• Monika Michalska,
• Huajun Xu,
• Qingmin Shan,
• Shiqiang Zhang,
• Yohan Dall'Agnese,
• Yu Gao,
• Amrita Jain and
• Marcin Krajewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 424–431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.34

• the formation of composite materials consisting of Co3O4 and different materials, including carbon-based materials, such as graphene [7][8], carbon nanotubes [9], carbon coatings [10], dictyophora indusiata-derived carbon [11], or other transition metal oxides [12]. This approach usually leads to a

Nickel nanoparticle-decorated reduced graphene oxide/WO₃ nanocomposite – a promising candidate for gas sensing

• Ilka Simon,
• Alexandr Savitsky,
• Rolf Mülhaupt,
• Vladimir Pankov and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 343–353, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.28

• Materials Research Center and Institute for Macromolecular Chemistry, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.12.28 Abstract We report for the first time the combination of WO3 sensing elements with a non-noble metal–carbon composite, namely a nickel metal nanoparticle

• –carbon composite (Ni@rGO). Previous work with WO3 had used either NiO (as part of the WO3 lattice), solely carbon, Pd-surface decorated WO3 (Pd@WO3), or Pd or Pt@carbon@WO3. We demonstrate the gas response for pure WO3, rGO/WO3 and Ni@rGO/WO3 sensing elements towards NO2 and acetone in air as well as

• towards CO in N2. The addition of 0.35 wt % Ni@rGO composite to WO3 enables the increase of the sensory response by more than 1.6 times for NO2 vapors. The gas response towards acetone using 0.35 wt % Ni@rGO/WO3 composite was 1.5 times greater for 3500 ppm than for 35,000 ppm acetone. For 0.35 wt % Ni@rGO

A review on the biological effects of nanomaterials on silkworm (Bombyx mori)

• Sandra Senyo Fometu,
• Guohua Wu,
• Lin Ma and
• Joan Shine Davids

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 190–202, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.15

• feeding silkworm larvae with unpurified composites of CNTs and lignosulfonate composite (LGS) resulted in excess LGS coating, which blocked CNTs from being embedded into the silk fiber. The purification of CNT/LGS composites resulted in a higher CNT content, which led to an ordered graphitic structure in

Paper-based triboelectric nanogenerators and their applications: a review

• Jing Han,
• Nuo Xu,
• Yuchen Liang,
• Mei Ding,
• Junyi Zhai,
• Qijun Sun and
• Zhong Lin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 151–171, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.12

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

• previously described in detail but analyzed in a different context by Cano Murillo and coworkers [19]. The sample is a binary composite consisting of PC and epoxy. At the beginning of the curing process, the two main components of epoxy, resin and hardener, have not yet reacted and the low molecular weight

• structural assignment are labeled in grey (PC or int) and in yellow (int or epoxy). The structural map shown in Figure 4e is, again, in very good agreement with the topography data and identifies the constituents of the composite epoxy (brown) and PC (blue) very well. The measuring points identified as

• , therefore, a mixed behavior. This is supported by the corresponding mixed mechanical behavior, as seen in the kr/Fattr diagram (Figure 4d, top right). It has to be taken into account that the topography only shows a cross section of a three-dimensional structured composite and PC spherulites might extend

ZnO and MXenes as electrode materials for supercapacitor devices

• Ameen Uddin Ammar,
• Ipek Deniz Yildirim,
• Feray Bakan and
• Emre Erdem

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 49–57, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.4

• less defective flakes were obtained. The volumetric capacitance of the delaminated Mo2CTx “paper” was measured as 700 F·cm−3 at 2 mV·s−1 [28]. Ramachandran et al. developed a MXene composite with non-peripheral octamethyl-substituted copper(II) phthalocyanine, MXene/N-CuMe2Pc, with different fractions

• multiple chemical processes. Because the number of active sites is increased, a faster ionic transport is observed. Also, a specific capacitance of 260 F·g−1 was measured [21]. Jiang et al. developed a layered Co(OH)2/Ti3C2Tx composite material via growing Co(OH)2 nanosheets onto Ti3C2Tx MXene. The total

• retention [30]. Yan et al. used a composite material comprising MXene family Ti3C and CNTs as an electrode material to enhance the performance of a supercapacitor. They reported a high volumetric capacitance of 393 F·cm−3 and increased rate capability, as well as excellent cycling stability [31

Scanning transmission imaging in the helium ion microscope using a microchannel plate with a delay line detector

• Eduardo Serralta,
• Nico Klingner,
• Olivier De Castro,
• Michael Mousley,
• Santhana Eswara,
• Serge Duarte Pinto,
• Tom Wirtz and
• Gregor Hlawacek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1854–1864, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.167

• created using the three different DF directions as color channels. Using appropriate azimuthal angles for the channels, this composite image shows the grains that are steering the beam to directions between two directions used for individual channels presented in Figure 4c–e. For instance, grain 5 appears

• -processed DF images with polar angle θ > 6° and azimuthal angle ϕ from (c) 135 to 225°, (d) 315 to 45°, (e) 225 to 315°. (f) Composite colored image using (c), (d), and (e) as RGB color channels. The inset shows the color mapping used in Figure 6f for the areas on the detector. The scale bars are 250 nm

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

• @NiPS/TiO2) core–shell nanostructures. The TEM results showed that the mSiO2@NiPS composite has a core–shell nanostructure with a unique flake-like shell morphology. XPS analysis revealed the successful formation of 1:1 nickel phyllosilicate on the SiO2 surface. The addition of TiO2 to the mSiO2@NiPS

• yielded the mSiO2@NiPS/TiO2 composite. The bandgap energy of mSiO2@NiPS and of mSiO2@NiPS/TiO2 were estimated to be 2.05 and 2.68 eV, respectively, indicating the role of titania in tuning the optoelectronic properties of the SiO2@nickel phyllosilicate. As a proof of concept, the core–shell nanostructures

• nanostructures (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S1a,b). The mSiO2@NiPS/TiO2 composite comprises spherical mSiO2@NiPS with aggregates of TiO2 on the surface (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S1c). The TEM images of the mesoporous SiO2 spheres show more clearly that the sample comprises an inner solid

Self-standing heterostructured NiC_x-NiFe-NC/biochar as a highly efficient cathode for lithium–oxygen batteries

• Shengyu Jing,
• Xu Gong,
• Shan Ji,
• Linhui Jia,
• Bruno G. Pollet,
• Sheng Yan and
• Huagen Liang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1809–1821, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.163

• NiFe-PBA core was converted to the NiFe alloy coated by N-doped carbon. Compared with the composite structure of the NiFe alloy and N-doped carbon in NiFe@NC/PPC [40], the introduction of NiCx may bring more heterointerfaces [29], which may be the source of enhanced performance. The reversibility and

Application of contact-resonance AFM methods to polymer samples

• Sebastian Friedrich and
• Brunero Cappella

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1714–1727, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.154

• compliant samples such as polymers, as will be shown later. This is a serious drawback when characterizing composite samples with large differences in the moduli of the components. Results In order to test Equation 16, in a first approach, measurements in DART mode have been performed on several polymer

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

• et al. produced coated sheets of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) which formed a composite compound containing ZnO [24][25]. One method that facilitates the large-scale production of nanoparticles is the MCP technique. This method is based on a chemical exchange reaction that occurs due to the heat and

Analysis of catalyst surface wetting: the early stage of epitaxial germanium nanowire growth

• Owen C. Ernst,
• Felix Lange,
• David Uebel,
• Thomas Teubner and
• Torsten Boeck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1371–1380, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.121

• applications. Surface treatment, for example, modifies the wetting behaviour of active fluids on composite materials or porous media to increase the efficiency and selectivity of catalytic processes [1]. Droplet-based microfluidics, including on-chip and off-chip incubation in immiscible phases, even developed

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

• Yi Wang Yanhua Song Chengwei Ye Lan Xu National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, College of Textile and Engineering, Soochow University, 199 Ren-ai Road, Suzhou 215123, China 10.3762/bjnano.11.112 Abstract Ordered carbon/graphene composite nanofibers (CGCNFs) with different porous

• surface area of CGCNFs, thereby significantly increasing their specific capacitance. In addition, the ordering of CGCNFs within the electrode improved the electron transfer efficiency, resulting in a higher specific capacitance. Keywords: carbon/graphene composite nanofibers; carbonization

• ]. 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

High permittivity, breakdown strength, and energy storage density of polythiophene-encapsulated BaTiO₃ nanoparticles

• Adnanullah Khan,
• Amir Habib and
• Adeel Afzal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1190–1197, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.103

• dielectric capacitors. To overcome these problems, BTO-polymer composite-based dielectric materials have been developed and extensively investigated. Organic polymers offer many advantages including higher breakdown strength, lighter mass, greater flexibility, processability, and cost efficiency [8]. However

• BTO nanoparticles. For instance, Dang et al. [9] achieved a permittivity value of ca. 40 at 10 kHz with 50 vol % loading of BTO in polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). However, such a high content of BTO nanoparticles has severe effects on the overall performance of the composite dielectric materials [9

• nanoparticles, but they noticed that breakdown strength of the composite was critically affected at a high concentration of filler due to free charge accumulation at the interface. Therefore, to improve breakdown strength and energy storage density of BTO, we propose the design of polythiophene (PTh

Nonadiabatic superconductivity in a Li-intercalated hexagonal boron nitride bilayer

• Kamila A. Szewczyk,
• Izabela A. Domagalska,
• Artur P. Durajski and
• Radosław Szczęśniak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1178–1189, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.102

• form of hBN was obtained at the University of Manchester [32]. Monolayers of graphene and hBN have a very similar crystal lattice structure. Their compatibility is estimated to be 98.5% [23]. In a graphene/hBN composite, a homogeneous distribution of charge on the graphene surface is observed. This

Plant growth regulation by seed coating with films of alginate and auxin-intercalated layered double hydroxides

• Vander A. de Castro,
• Valber G. O. Duarte,
• Danúbia A. C. Nobre,
• Geraldo H. Silva,
• Vera R. L. Constantino,
• Frederico G. Pinto,
• Willian R. Macedo and
• Jairo Tronto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1082–1091, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.93

• auxin 1-naphthalenoacetic acid (ZnAl-NAA-LDH), (ii) the coating of bean seeds (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) with composite films produced from mixtures of alginate polymer and ZnAl-NAA-LDH, and (iii) the evaluation of the plant response by bioassays. The hybrid ZnAl-NAA-LDH was characterized by a set of

• analytical techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis coupled to differential scanning calorimetry and mass spectrometry, specific surface area measurement, and scanning electron microscopy. Bioassays were performed with the seeds coated with the composite film to assess the

• action of auxin in plants, we examined in this work the intercalation of NAA in inorganic layers of LDHs, with the subsequent production of a composite film with alginate [16][17] to provide physical and chemical protection for the intercalated auxin substances. It is expected that the application of

Highly sensitive detection of estradiol by a SERS sensor based on TiO₂ covered with gold nanoparticles

• Andrea Brognara,
• Ili F. Mohamad Ali Nasri,
• Beatrice R. Bricchi,
• Andrea Li Bassi,
• Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay,
• Matteo Ghidelli and
• Nathalie Lidgi-Guigui

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1026–1035, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.87

• use of composite systems of dielectrics (TiO2, ZnO) and metallic NPs has gathered increasing attention regarding SERS applications, because the plasmonic enhancement provided by metallic NPs can be combined with the optical properties of the semiconductor such as light trapping, scattering, and

• antireflection abilities [13][14][15]. These composite microstructures have also shown to maximize the path of the Raman excitation laser beam within the substrate, leading to signals with higher intensity. Samransuksamer et al. [16] used TiO2 nanorods decorated with Au NPs, deposited via precipitation by

• soaking in HAuCl4 solution, as composite SERS substrates for the detection of methylene blue. They reported a successful SERS enhancement, compared to bare Si substrates, with an enhancement factor of ca. 106 and a lower detection limit of 100 nM. Li et al. [15] studied Au NP-coated TiO2 nanotube arrays

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

• biotechnological and tissue engineering applications. However, there are only a few methods available for the production of biocompatible helical microfibers. Given that, we present here a simple technique for the fabrication of helical chitosan microfibers with embedded magnetic nanoparticles. Composite fibers

• of nanometers to a few micrometers [21]. Blends of chitosan with alginate, silk, fibroin, cellulose or collagen can also be processed into composite fibers by electrospinning [22]. Wet-spinning is another well-established method of fabricating chitosan fibers with a diameter in the micrometer range

• 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

A 3D-polyphenylalanine network inside porous alumina: Synthesis and characterization of an inorganic–organic composite membrane

• Jonathan Stott and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 938–951, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.78

• polymer functionalization schemes for reversed-phase solid phase extraction applications. The adsorption capability of the functionalized composite membrane was increased from 16.7% to 38.1% compared to the native ALOX-membrane. Keywords: alumina; composite membrane; polymer-based sorbent

• -phenylalanine) were fabricated by a template method reported by Cui et al. [32]. In this study, we functionalize porous alumina substrates to induce the formation of three-dimensional supported organo-gels within their porous architecture to study a new inorganic–organic composite material. Such a surface

• -gels of such composite membranes can be further improved with regard to adsorption materials in medical and analytical applications or analytical separation processes. Results and Discussion Inorganic porous membranes of sintered corundum particles (ALOX-membranes) were used as substrates for polymer

Band tail state related photoluminescence and photoresponse of ZnMgO solid solution nanostructured films

• Vadim Morari,
• Aida Pantazi,
• Nicolai Curmei,
• Vitalie Postolache,
• Emil V. Rusu,
• Marius Enachescu,
• Ion M. Tiginyanu and
• Veaceslav V. Ursaki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 899–910, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.75

• 3.202 eV are related most likely to free-to-bound transitions due to some impurities in the ZnO crystallites. Therefore, the annealing temperature of 400 °C is not enough for the production of single phase ZnMgO films by sol–gel spin coating. On the other hand, ZnMgO:ZnO composite films with ZnO

Nickel nanoparticles supported on a covalent triazine framework as electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction and oxygen reduction reactions

• Secil Öztürk,
• Yu-Xuan Xiao,
• Dennis Dietrich,
• Beatriz Giesen,
• Juri Barthel,
• Jie Ying,
• Xiao-Yu Yang and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 770–781, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.62

• immobilized on the CTFs via the decomposition of the metal precursor in the IL (Scheme 1). The composites were designated Ni/CTF-1-400-X and Ni/CTF-1-600-X, where X represents the weight percentage of nickel in the composite material based on flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). Nickel loadings of 20

• framework. Furthermore, examination of the edges of the framework and of the nickel NPs revealed a partial oxidation. Figure S11d,f shows a correlation between Ni and O for the Ni/CTF-1-600-22 composite. This cannot be avoided, since the material was not handled under inert atmosphere (Figure S11 and Figure

• always shows strong satellites about 6 eV above the main electronic lines [47]. In composite materials, Ni2+ can arise from the combination of nickel coordinated with nitrogen and from the oxidation/hydroxylation of nickel (since the samples need to be briefly handled in air to be introduced into the XPS

Effect of Ag loading position on the photocatalytic performance of TiO₂ nanocolumn arrays

• Jinghan Xu,
• Yanqi Liu and
• Yan Zhao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 717–728, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.59

• , and Ag particles were loaded on the inside and the outside of the nanotubes by chemical deposition. The catalysis of this composite was carried out at a concentration of 1100 mM in AgNO3 solution. It was found that the loading position of precious metal particles in the TiO2 structure could not be

Effect of substitutional defects on resonant tunneling diodes based on armchair graphene and boron nitride nanoribbons lateral heterojunctions

• Majid Sanaeepur

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 688–694, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.56

• composite structurea.

A novel dry-blending method to reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion of polymer templates for OTFT electrodes

• Xiangdong Ye,
• Bo Tian,
• Yuxuan Guo,
• Fan Fan and
• Anjiang Cai

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 671–677, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.53

• . The SiO2 nanoparticles in the groove are extracted by curing and peeling off PDMS to prepare a PDMS/SiO2 composite template with a nanoparticle content of 83.8 wt %. The composite template has a CTE of 96 ppm/°C, which is a reduction by 69.23% compared with the original PDMS template. Finally, we

• achieved the alignment of OTFT electrodes using the composite template. Keywords: coefficient of thermal expansion; dry blending; organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs); OTFT electrodes; PDMS/SiO2 composite template; Introduction Organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) provide a platform to construct next

• in a polymer to obtain a composite. Shokrieh et al. [10] carried out a systematic theoretical study to investigate the influence of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the CTE of CNT/epoxy, and the results indicate that the addition of 1 wt % CNT causes a significant decrease of the CTE of the matrix