In situ AFM visualization of Li–O₂ battery discharge products during redox cycling in an atmospherically controlled sample cell

• Kumar Virwani,
• Younes Ansari,
• Khanh Nguyen,
• Francisco José Alía Moreno-Ortiz,
• Jangwoo Kim,
• Maxwell J. Giammona,
• Ho-Cheol Kim and
• Young-Hye La

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 930–940, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.94

• ] using this in situ AFM set-up we monitored surface changes on the products of a Na–oxygen discharge reaction. The terms electrochemical cell and battery are used interchangeably in this study. Upon cell assembly, electrical connections were made between the lithium and carbon stainless steel contacts

Renewable energy conversion using nano- and microstructured materials

• Harry Mönig and
• Martina Schmid

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 771–773, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.76

• benefits arising from core–shell nanowire arrays for Si heterojunction solar cells. Contacts with a high surface-to-volume ratio can clearly be seen. Particularly in photovoltaics, they may be prone to increased recombination losses. For other applications, such as water splitting, porous materials may

Hydrophilicity and carbon chain length effects on the gas sensing properties of chemoresistive, self-assembled monolayer carbon nanotube sensors

• Juan Casanova-Cháfer,
• Carla Bittencourt and
• Eduard Llobet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 565–577, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.58

• coated with a mat of CNTs via airbrushing through a shadow mask. Once the sensors were sputtered with gold and functionalized with thiols, two-wire contacts were made on the samples using a conductive epoxy (Ag component metallization, Heraeus) and platinum wires. The samples were bonded to a 20 × 30 mm2

Mechanical and thermodynamic properties of Aβ₄₂, Aβ₄₀, and α-synuclein fibrils: a coarse-grained method to complement experimental studies

• Adolfo B. Poma,
• Horacio V. Guzman,
• Mai Suan Li and
• Panagiotis E. Theodorakis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 500–513, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.51

• achieve this by applying different types of deformation (e.g., tension, shearing and indentation) and analysing the intermolecular contacts between amino acids. Our simulations reveal significant differences in the mechanical behaviour between Aβ40 and Aβ42 and α-syn fibrils. Moreover, we find that the α

• capsids [35] and β-amyloids [36]. The strength of the repulsive non-native term, ε’, is set equal to ε. Our CG model takes into account native distances as in the case of a Gō-like model [37]. Hence, the native contacts are determined by the overlap criterion [48]. In practice, each heavy atom is assigned

• representation for some biological fibrils as well as their native interactions. These native contacts represent hydrogen bonds (HB), and hydrophobic and ionic bridges. Moreover, we consider contacts between amino acids in individual chains with sequential distance |i − j| > 4. The parameters σij are given by

Nanocomposite–parylene C thin films with high dielectric constant and low losses for future organic electronic devices

• Marwa Mokni,
• Gianluigi Maggioni,
• Abdelkader Kahouli,
• Sara M. Carturan,
• Walter Raniero and
• Alain Sylvestre

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 428–441, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.42

• to probe deeper the film structure. The surface morphology was analyzed using a non-contact mode AFM model C-21 (Danish Micro Engineering), mounting a DualScope Probe Scanner 95-50. Capacitance areas were defined in the top NCPC resulting in square 2 × 2 mm2 contacts. In order to assure a homogeneous

Relation between thickness, crystallite size and magnetoresistance of nanostructured La_1−xSr_xMn_yO_3±δ films for magnetic field sensors

• Rasuole Lukose,
• Valentina Plausinaitiene,
• Milita Vagner,
• Nerija Zurauskiene,
• Skirmantas Kersulis,
• Virgaudas Kubilius,
• Karolis Motiejuitis,
• Birute Knasiene,
• Voitech Stankevic,
• Zita Saltyte,
• Martynas Skapas,
• Algirdas Selskis and
• Evaldas Naujalis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 256–261, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.24

• % nitric acid. For the electric transport and magnetoresistance measurements, the Ag contacts with a Cr sublayer were thermally deposited and postannealed at 450 °C for 1 h in Ar atmosphere. The magnetoresistance (MR) measurements were performed under a permanent magnetic field up to 0.7 T using an

Sputtering of silicon nanopowders by an argon cluster ion beam

• Xiaomei Zeng,
• Vasiliy Pelenovich,
• Zhenguo Wang,
• Wenbin Zuo,
• Sergey Belykh,
• Alexander Tolstogouzov,
• Dejun Fu and
• Xiangheng Xiao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 135–143, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.13

• the nanoparticles are filled by debris, which due to the limited lateral resolution cannot be observed. Such filling of the voids results in densification of the top surface layer. Therefore, as the number of contacts between neighbor nanoparticles increases, consequently, we can expect the weakening

Pull-off and friction forces of micropatterned elastomers on soft substrates: the effects of pattern length scale and stiffness

• Peter van Assenbergh,
• Marike Fokker,
• Julian Langowski,
• Jan van Esch,
• Marleen Kamperman and
• Dimitra Dodou

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 79–94, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.8

• material is used for the micropattern, the Eeff is low, leading to better defect control, stress distribution, and contact stiffness compared to micropatterns made of stiffer materials [22]. Also, the strength of the contacts formed between the adhesive and the substrate is affected by the material

• -microscale and microscale dimples without a terminal layer do not generate significantly higher pull-off forces than flat samples. We assume that, for both dimple sizes, the soft substrate fully conforms to the dimples, and the formation of independent contacts does not happen. Sub-microscale dimples have a

Contact splitting in dry adhesion and friction: reducing the influence of roughness

• Jae-Kang Kim and
• Michael Varenberg

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1–8, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.1

• different boundary conditions. However, it provides a useful example that qualitatively illustrates the effect we may expect to see. Shearing an original and a split flap against an uneven substrate, we may expect that they will form contacts similar to those shown in Figure 4a, with the original flap being

Apparent tunneling barrier height and local work function of atomic arrays

• Neda Noei,
• Alexander Weismann and
• Richard Berndt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 3048–3052, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.283

• transport through nanoscale constrictions [32] and was suggested to affect the apparent barrier height in single-atom contacts [33]. Atomistic transport calculations have been performed for Au contacts in [34]. Symmetric junctions comprised of two (001) surfaces, either planar or with an adatom or with a

Charged particle single nanometre manufacturing

• Philip D. Prewett,
• Cornelis W. Hagen,
• Claudia Lenk,
• Steve Lenk,
• Marcus Kaestner,
• Tzvetan Ivanov,
• Ahmad Ahmad,
• Ivo W. Rangelow,
• Xiaoqing Shi,
• Stuart A. Boden,
• Alex P. G. Robinson,
• Dongxu Yang,
• Sangeetha Hari,
• Marijke Scotuzzi and
• Ejaz Huq

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2855–2882, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.266

Near-infrared light harvesting of upconverting NaYF₄:Yb³⁺/Er³⁺-based amorphous silicon solar cells investigated by an optical filter

• Daiming Liu,
• Qingkang Wang and
• Qing Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2788–2793, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.260

• prepared (Figure 3a). One a-Si:H layer of ca. 350 nm is sandwiched between two aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) contacts. The thickness of the AZO contacts is approximately 1.5 μm. From Figure 3b, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the a-Si:H solar cell is calculated to be 6.68% at the maximum power

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

• , the back contact material should have a higher work function than the neighboring light-absorbing semiconductor layer [3]. Accordingly, different metal contacts (such as Al, Au, Cr, Mn, Mo, Pt, Ti, V and W) have been used as back contact layer in thin-film solar cells [4][5][6][7]. Among these

• substrate to the absorber layer and its effect on the adhesion of the back contact was not studied. In spite of the importance of this topic for the development of thin-film solar cells, there are very few reports regarding the application of Cr as an adhesion layer in back contacts [29][30]. Notably, the

• bilayer and the adhesion of the film to the substrate while we could reduce the required thickness to 600 nm. That is at most two thirds of reported thickness for Mo back contacts for thin-film solar cells. Experimental Film deposition A 10–15 nm thick layer of Cr was deposited on a 2.5 × 2.5 cm SLG

Characterization of the microscopic tribological properties of sandfish (Scincus scincus) scales by atomic force microscopy

• Weibin Wu,
• Christian Lutz,
• Simon Mersch,
• Richard Thelen,
• Christian Greiner,
• Guillaume Gomard and
• Hendrik Hölscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2618–2627, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.243

• (µ = Ffric/Fload) of two bodies in contact. For a sandfish swimming in sand, however, there are numerous microscale contacts inducing friction without a defined load. The friction angle measurement introduced by Rechenberg [7] provides a simplified method to estimate a granular frictional coefficient

Pattern generation for direct-write three-dimensional nanoscale structures via focused electron beam induced deposition

• Lukas Keller and
• Michael Huth

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2581–2598, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.240

• the centered beam position for both Me3CpMePt(IV) and HCo3Fe(CO)12. The polar/azimuthal angles were −60°/45° and −60°/−39°, respectively. All depositions were done on p-doped Si wafers with thermally grown SiO2 of 200 nm thickness. Au/Cr contacts, as used for some deposition experiments, were grown by

Friction reduction through biologically inspired scale-like laser surface textures

• Johannes Schneider,
• Vergil Djamiykov and
• Christian Greiner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2561–2572, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.238

• biologically inspired surface morphology has the potential to reduce friction forces by more than 80%. However, under certain conditions, especially for slow-moving lubricated steel-on-steel and steel-on-ceramic contacts, these surface morphologies may increase friction as well. Similar to classical laser

• the potential to yield significant reduction in friction forces and are expected to spark future research in the field of biologically inspired surface morphologies applied to tribological contacts. Keywords: bioinspiration; friction; laser surface texturing; scales; tribology; Introduction Friction

• achieved for mixed lubrication contacts [15][16]. While these traditional texturing elements have been studied for decades and by numerous research groups worldwide, in recent years, a new paradigm has emerged. Researchers have started to look to biology in search for morphological textures that would

Evidence of friction reduction in laterally graded materials

• Roberto Guarino,
• Gianluca Costagliola,
• Federico Bosia and
• Nicola Maria Pugno

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2443–2456, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.229

• , display setae with a graded stiffness that optimises the adhesive performance on rough surfaces [1]. Hardness and stiffness gradients are of fundamental importance in the biomechanics of contacts, since they allow increased resistance against wear, impact, penetration and crack propagation [2][3][4][5][6

ZnO-nanostructure-based electrochemical sensor: Effect of nanostructure morphology on the sensing of heavy metal ions

• Marina Krasovska,
• Vjaceslavs Gerbreders,
• Irena Mihailova,
• Andrejs Ogurcovs,
• Eriks Sledevskis,
• Andrejs Gerbreders and
• Pavels Sarajevs

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2421–2431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.227

• push-in contacts (3) and a sealing system, which consists of chemically inert rubber seals (4) with holes of the same size as the electrode diameter and replaceable plastic cylinders (5). The sealing system prevents the solution from leaking, and allows for the application of the required amount of

• effective adsorbent of these ions on the other. Structure diagrams of the electrical measurement cell and electrodes. Measurement cell consists of the following parts: a corps (1), an interlayer (2) with push-in contacts (3) and a sealing rubber mask (4) with replaceable plastic cylinders (5). The complete

Adhesive contact of rough brushes

• Qiang Li and
• Valentin L. Popov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2405–2412, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.225

• modification due to finite size effect of the brush. Keywords: adhesion; brushes; contact splitting; pressure sensitive adhesion; roughness; Introduction The study of adhesive contacts has been largely enhanced by studies of the extremely effective adhesion pads of geckos [1]. For example, the adhesion can

• heights (simulating the relative roughness of surfaces in contact). We will show that the adhesion of statistical brushes can be described by a small number of simple analytical dependencies based both on Kendall’s theory of flat-ended stamps [20] and the Fuller and Tabor theory of adhesive contacts [15

• heights (see the side of the contact) one can see the “negative spikes” which stem from the not-yet-destroyed adhesive contacts of individual pillars loaded in tension. The scheme of indenting and pull-off stages of an adhesive contact of exponentially distributed pillars. An example of a pillar structure

Magnetism and magnetoresistance of single Ni–Cu alloy nanowires

• Andreea Costas,
• Camelia Florica,
• Elena Matei,
• Maria Eugenia Toimil-Molares,
• Ionel Stavarache,
• Andrei Kuncser,
• Victor Kuncser and
• Ionut Enculescu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2345–2355, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.219

• , the deposition of Ti and Au contacts (100/200 nm) by RF magnetron sputtering and thermal vacuum evaporation, respectively, was performed. Individual contacted Ni–Cu alloy nanowires are thus obtained. The main steps of the EBL process are shown in Figure 8. The morphological and compositional

Intrinsic ultrasmall nanoscale silicon turns n-/p-type with SiO₂/Si₃N₄-coating

• Dirk König,
• Daniel Hiller,
• Noël Wilck,
• Birger Berghoff,
• Merlin Müller,
• Sangeeta Thakur,
• Giovanni Di Santo,
• Luca Petaccia,
• Joachim Mayer,
• Sean Smith and
• Joachim Knoch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2255–2264, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.210

• [27]. Buettiker probes, i.e., virtual contacts, are attached to each finite difference site in order to mimic inelastic scattering [28]. To this end, an additional self-consistent calculation of the quasi-Fermi level throughout the device is computed, ensuring that the net current flow into/out of

• the electrostatic integrity of the devices causes conventional doping to fail. Metal–Si contacts formed by, e.g., silicide formation [36] result in rather high Schottky-barriers at the source/drain-channel interfaces that deteriorate the switching behaviour and on-state performance. h-DFT calculations

• on NEGF device simulations are presented. NEGF device simulations NEGF simulations were realized considering a 1.7 nm thick undoped Si-NWire MISFET with a channel length of L = 5 nm in a wrap-gate architecture placed between two metallic contacts (Figure 8a). The channel is insulated by a SiO2 layer

Optimization of the optical coupling in nanowire-based integrated photonic platforms by FDTD simulation

• Nan Guan,
• Andrey Babichev,
• Martin Foldyna,
• Dmitry Denisov,
• François H. Julien and
• Maria Tchernycheva

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2248–2254, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.209

• photonic-crystal waveguide [28]. The authors integrated LEDs on top of a SiNx membrane photonic crystal and deposited electrical contacts. The photonic crystal waveguide was shown to efficiently guide the electroluminescence over a distance of about 20 µm. Brubaker et al. realized on-chip optical coupling

• encapsulating spin-on-glass layer partially covering the NW is considered (used as a mechanical support for the contacts). The NW LED is buried to one half of its diameter into this spin-on-glass (SiOx) layer, and the SiNx waveguide is positioned on top of the spin-on glass. In the optimization, calculations

Lead-free hybrid perovskites for photovoltaics

• Oleksandr Stroyuk

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

• the cell design without organic HTL and back contacts, both roles played by a carbon layer. Panels (c) and (d) in Figure 2 show CB/VB levels of selected lead-free perovskites based on Sn2+/Sn4+ (Figure 2c) and Sb3+/Bi3+ (Figure 2d) with respect to the acceptor/donor levels of a series of typical ETL

Interaction-induced zero-energy pinning and quantum dot formation in Majorana nanowires

• Samuel D. Escribano,
• Alfredo Levy Yeyati and
• Elsa Prada

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2171–2180, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.203

• of parameters as in the previous section but including the normal contacts. While in the central region of the wire a similar repulsive step-like evolution with VZ is found (corresponding to compressible/incompressible electron fluid behavior), significant attractive regions appear at the wire ends

• magnetic field (or the chemical potential of the wire). However, if the electrostatic screening is smaller inside the wire than at the contacts, a repulsive interaction arises that leads to zero-energy pinning around parity crossings in the spectrum of the wire. While the screening due to the parent SC

• central region but, due to the screening from the left/right metallic contacts, it becomes strongly negative at the edges. This creates potential wells that confine QD-like states at the ends of the wire, which appear in the spectrum as discrete states within the induced gap that disperse with Zeeman

Spin-coated planar Sb₂S₃ hybrid solar cells approaching 5% efficiency

• Pascal Kaienburg,
• Benjamin Klingebiel and
• Thomas Kirchartz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2114–2124, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.200

• transport between the contacts. A beneficial effect was demonstrated for the structurally identical Sb2Se3 [9]. A proper substrate choice or embedding a seed layer might be the key to directed growth in Sb2S3. Experimental Chemicals: All chemicals were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich except for KP115 which was