TiO₂/GO-coated functional separator to suppress polysulfide migration in lithium–sulfur batteries

• Ning Liu,
• Lu Wang,
• Taizhe Tan,
• Yan Zhao and
• Yongguang Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1726–1736, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.168

• scan rate of 0.1 mV s−1. All the CV curves exhibit two cathodic peaks, which can be ascribed to the transformation of elemental sulfur, S8, into soluble high-order polysulfides and then into Li2S and Li2S2 [41]. On the other hand, the anodic peaks can be assigned to the reversible transformation of

Precise local control of liquid crystal pretilt on polymer layers by focused ion beam nanopatterning

• Maxim V. Gorkunov,
• Irina V. Kasyanova,
• Vladimir V. Artemov,
• Alena V. Mamonova and
• Serguei P. Palto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1691–1697, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.164

• appropriate polarized optical interference patterns, induce planar LC alignment with the director rotating within the substrate plane. Recently, we have reported on LC metasurfaces formed due to local transformation of polymer–LC anchoring from planar to vertical by focused ion beam (FIB) [31]. While the

• particular microscopic mechanism of this transformation is yet to be revealed, it is hard to underestimate the emerging application prospects. Modern FIB devices of deeply submicrometer resolution are digitally controlled with preprogrammed raster templates and can straightforwardly “imprint” arbitrary high

• within a raster consisting of up to 4096 × 3536 pixel2 as well as the time spent by the beam on each pixel (the so-called dwell time). According to our previous comparative study [31], a relatively small dose of Ga+ ions is sufficient for the required polymer transformation and we adopt here the same

Nanoporous smartPearls for dermal application – Identification of optimal silica types and a scalable production process as prerequisites for marketed products

• David Hespeler,
• Sanaa El Nomeiri,
• Jonas Kaltenbach and
• Rainer H. Müller

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1666–1678, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.162

• in the pores and complete transformation of the active agent into the amorphous state, thus co-grinding was excluded as a potential production method. Also excluded was supercritical CO2 processing, due to production cost reasons, complexity of the process and cost of a production unit. Ideally, the

Chiral nanostructures self-assembled from nitrocinnamic amide amphiphiles: substituent and solvent effects

• Hejin Jiang,
• Huahua Fan,
• Yuqian Jiang,
• Li Zhang and
• Minghua Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1608–1617, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.156

• was closely related to the choice of solvent, and the photo-dimerization of the cinnamic amide moiety only occurred for methanol and ethanol. Other solvents could not be shown to induce this kind of transformation. We speculated that methanol or ethanol may affect the hydrogen bonding between the

Kelvin probe force microscopy work function characterization of transition metal oxide crystals under ongoing reduction and oxidation

• Dominik Wrana,
• Karol Cieślik,
• Wojciech Belza,
• Christian Rodenbücher,
• Krzysztof Szot and
• Franciszek Krok

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1596–1607, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.155

• transformation from (1×1) to (√5×√5)R26.6°, and in the vicinity of extended defects in a crystal (dislocations) which act as easy conduction paths for electrons. Oxygen vacancy formation, and therefore Ti3+ valence, results in the appearance of new t2g electron states within Ti 3d, which are below the conduction

Materials nanoarchitectonics at two-dimensional liquid interfaces

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Michio Matsumoto,
• Taizo Mori and
• Lok Kumar Shrestha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1559–1587, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.153

• mechanisms of formation and transformation of zero-dimensional structures within two-dimensional media (dot-dispersed monolayers of block copolymers) [200]. Self-assembled monolayers of polystyrene-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine) and its supramolecular complex with 3-n-pentadecylphenol at the air–water interface

• fullerene assemblies through liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation have been successfully reported. Shrestha et al. reported the synthesis of highly integrated three-dimensional Bucky cubes through liquid–liquid interfacial precipitation and structural transformation by post-solvent treatment (Figure 20

• transformation upon exposing them to aliphatic alcohols of low molecular weight. The transformation of smooth-faced crystals to interpenetrated networks of one-dimensional needle crystals occurred while preserving the cubic shape. Several potential applications based on their electronic and optical properties

Flexible freestanding MoS₂-based composite paper for energy conversion and storage

• Florian Zoller,
• Jan Luxa,
• Thomas Bein,
• Dina Fattakhova-Rohlfing,
• Daniel Bouša and
• Zdeněk Sofer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1488–1496, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.147

• der Waals spaces between the MoS2 layers forming LixMoS2 accompanied by a phase transformation from trigonal prismatic (2H) to octahedral (1T) (see the following Equation 2) [8][20][21]. The peak at ≈0.3 V corresponds to the conversion of the previously formed LixMoS2 into metallic Mo and LiS2 (see

Energy distribution in an ensemble of nanoparticles and its consequences

• Dieter Vollath

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1452–1457, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.143

• properties of such an “isothermal” ensemble can be predicted. The width of the energy distribution decreases with increasing particle size. This particle size dependence of the energy per particle controls phase fluctuations in the vicinity of the transformation temperature. Additionally, applying the

• temperature profile of a phase transformation, it is possible to calculate the particle size distribution of the ensemble with a precision within the scattering range of the experimental data. This is the most important application of this analysis and coincidently a proof of the basic premise. The basic

• individual particles. This is of particular relevance in the vicinity of the temperature of a phase transformation, because there are experimental indications of a broad temperature range for the transformation and not, as it is observed in bulk materials, a specific transformation temperature. Within this

Direct observation of oxygen-vacancy formation and structural changes in Bi₂WO₆ nanoflakes induced by electron irradiation

• Hong-long Shi,
• Bin Zou,
• Zi-an Li,
• Min-ting Luo and
• Wen-zhong Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1434–1442, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.141

• be a fundamental step for controllable engineering of defects. Electron-beam irradiation is a powerful technique to fabricate or modify materials at the nanoscale [21][22]. For example, electron irradiation can induce a phase transformation from crystalline to amorphous or vice versa [23][24]; the

• images of the irradiated specimens; (e) enlarged views of regions a1 and b1, where contrast variations (red curves) of atom columns pointing to the surface are overlaid to indicate the decrease of the Bi/O atom concentration; and (f) a schematic plot of the structure transformation from Bi2WO6 to WO3

BiOCl/TiO₂/diatomite composites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B

• Minlin Ao,
• Kun Liu,
• Xuekun Tang,
• Zishun Li,
• Qian Peng and
• Jing Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1412–1422, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.139

• temperature of TiO2 in the composites. This speculation is based on previous reports that some modification methods may lead to crystal transformation and grain size change [27][32]. The photocatalytic activity of the catalyst is related to its specific surface area. Generally, the larger the specific surface

• the transformation of TiO2 and BiOCl at higher temperatures (e.g., TiO2 transforms from anatase to rutile, and BiOCl also transforms to Bi2O3 with the generation of Bi2SiO5 and Bi2Ti2O7). The corresponding kinetic curves are shown in Figure 7d,e,f. The degradation of RhB conforms to the pseudo-first

• . This is a process of constant transformation into small molecules [39]. Total organic carbon (TOC), representing the total amount of organic matter in water by the amount of carbon, is a comprehensive indicator for rapid verification [40]. Supporting Information File 1, Figure S2b shows the change of

Highly ordered mesoporous silica film nanocomposites containing gold nanoparticles for the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

• Mohamad Azani Jalani,
• Leny Yuliati,
• Siew Ling Lee and
• Hendrik O. Lintang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1368–1379, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.135

• wastewaters due to its high solubility properties [33], it is very crucial to find an effective method for the degradation and transformation of 4-NP. Generally, the reduction of 4-NP by heterogeneous catalysts in powdered form usually involves a tedious and time-consuming recovery process such as filtration

Fabrication of phase masks from amorphous carbon thin films for electron-beam shaping

• Lukas Grünewald,
• Dagmar Gerthsen and
• Simon Hettler

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1290–1302, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.128

• regime, the simulated images were calculated by Fourier transformation of an electron wave that acquires a phase shift according to an ideal sinusoidal or saw-tooth shaped phase mask. Critical simulation parameters were taken from the experiment. For example, the focal length for the C2 lens was

Playing with covalent triazine framework tiles for improved CO₂ adsorption properties and catalytic performance

• Giulia Tuci,
• Andree Iemhoff,
• Housseinou Ba,
• Lapo Luconi,
• Andrea Rossin,
• Vasiliki Papaefthimiou,
• Regina Palkovits,
• Jens Artz,
• Cuong Pham-Huu and
• Giuliano Giambastiani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1217–1227, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.121

• relevant transformations. CTFs have been recently reported by some of us as highly stable and effective heterogeneous systems for promoting a challenging transformation such as the steam- and oxygen-free dehydrogenation (DDH) of ethylbenzene (EB) to styrene (ST) [30]. We demonstrated how the unique DDH

Photoactive nanoarchitectures based on clays incorporating TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles

• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Marwa Akkari,
• Nithima Khaorapapong and
• Makoto Ogawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1140–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.114

• transformation and for improved overall reaction efficiency. This article tries also to present new steps towards more sophisticated but efficient and highly selective functional nanoarchitectures incorporating photosensitizer elements for tuning the semiconductor–clay photoactivity. Keywords: clays

Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles as a saturable absorber for giant chirped pulse generation

• Ji-Shu Liu,
• Xiao-Hui Li,
• Abdul Qyyum,
• Yi-Xuan Guo,
• Tong Chai,
• Hua Xu and
• Jie Jiang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1065–1072, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.107

• InGaAs/GaAs-on-GaAs superlattice as a SA to realize 1557 nm, 1.2 ps, transformation-limited pulse generation [9]. Following this, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, topological insulators (TIs), transition metal disulfides (TMDs) and black phosphorus (BP) were used as SAs to realize passively mode-locked

Magnetic field-assisted assembly of iron oxide mesocrystals: a matter of nanoparticle shape and magnetic anisotropy

• Julian J. Brunner,
• Marina Krumova,
• Helmut Cölfen and
• Elena V. Sturm (née Rosseeva)

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 894–900, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.90

• orientational order of the nanocrystals can differ for different mesocrystals. The ED patterns obtained for different mesocrystals are visualized in Figure 4 and show the transformation from “self-assembled mesocrystals” to “directed mesocrystals”. For comparison, three structurally different mesocrystals with

Fabrication of silver nanoisland films by pulsed laser deposition for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• Bogusław Budner,
• Mariusz Kuźma,
• Barbara Nasiłowska,
• Bartosz Bartosewicz,
• Malwina Liszewska and
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 882–893, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.89

• result of photo-induced chemical transformation or plasmon-assisted (or ‘‘hot electrons’’) catalytic reaction of molecules [39][40]. Conclusion In this work, we have shown that pulsed laser deposition (PLD) with simultaneous heating of the substrate permits the controlled fabrication of silver nanoisland

Novel reversibly switchable wettability of superhydrophobic–superhydrophilic surfaces induced by charge injection and heating

• Xiangdong Ye,
• Junwen Hou and
• Dongbao Cai

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 840–847, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.84

• electrophoretic deposition. The transformation of hydrogen titanate to porous TiO2 (B) and anatase-type TiO2 completed the superhydrophilic–superhydrophobic transition but the process was unidirectional and irreversible. Jiang et al. [14] prepared cotton fabrics by a three-step method that comprised cotton

• responsiveness that was superhydrophobic in acidic and neutral water but superhydrophilic in an ordinary environment. Lei et al. [17] reported pH-responsive switching between superhydrophobicity and superhydrophilicity for high oil–water separation efficiency. Lv et al. [18] achieved a reversible transformation

• reversible transition of graphene surface water droplets from hydrophobic to hydrophilic was studied at a shutdown voltage [24]. Nbelayim et al. [25] achieved the reversible transformation of graphene from hydrophobic to hydrophilic driven by a direct-current voltage. Cui et al. [26] tested droplets of

Capillary force-induced superlattice variation atop a nanometer-wide graphene flake and its moiré origin studied by STM

• Loji K. Thomas and
• Michael Reichling

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 804–810, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.80

• the top layer [17][31][32][33]. The presence of an organic solution, thus, may facilitate the rotation of the top-layer graphene yielding superlattices on graphite [7][17][29]. Here, we report a rare occurrence of an isolated, nanometer-wide graphene flake and its live transformation from one

Trapping polysulfide on two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide for Li–S batteries through phase selection with optimized binding

• Sha Dong,
• Xiaoli Sun and
• Zhiguo Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 774–780, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.77

• batteries. Keywords: Li–S batteries; molybdenum disulfide; phase transformation; Introduction To satisfy the increasing demand for high-capacity energy storage systems, rechargeable lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries have attracted much attention in recent years due to a high theoretical specific energy

• transformation of 2H→1T' has been widely studied [26][27][28]. The fundamental mechanisms of this structural transformation are governed by electron transfer [26], so the phase transition can be initiated by treatment with n-butyllithium (n-BuLi) [27], intercalation of alkali-metal ions [29][30], substitution of

On the transformation of “zincone”-like into porous ZnO thin films from sub-saturated plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition

• Alberto Perrotta,
• Julian Pilz,
• Stefan Pachmajer,
• Antonella Milella and
• Anna Maria Coclite

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 746–759, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.74

• the formation of porosity was investigated with ellipsometric porosimetry (EP), already shown suitable for the determination of porosity in hybrid and polymer-derived oxides [12][18][29][42][43]. In the literature, few contributions investigate the transformation of zinc-based alkoxides into porous

• ZnO [15][16]. Liang et al. [15] reported on the transformation of zincones deposited on TiO2 nanoparticles into porous ZnO via thermal treatment in the presence of air. Low surface area and wide pore size distribution (in the micropore and mesopore size range) were achieved. The surface area and the

Outstanding chain-extension effect and high UV resistance of polybutylene succinate containing amino-acid-modified layered double hydroxides

• Adam A. Marek,
• Vincent Verney,
• Christine Taviot-Gueho,
• Grazia Totaro,
• Laura Sisti,
• Annamaria Celli and
• Fabrice Leroux

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 684–695, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.68

• transmittance decreases during 40 h and then increases. This phenomenon may be caused by the transformation of amino acid molecules in the LDH structure or their interaction with the polymer matrix. Similar trends have been also registered using fluorescence spectroscopy (Figure 11). The intense emission band

Ultrasonication-assisted synthesis of CsPbBr₃ and Cs₄PbBr₆ perovskite nanocrystals and their reversible transformation

• Longshi Rao,
• Xinrui Ding,
• Xuewei Du,
• Guanwei Liang,
• Yong Tang,
• Kairui Tang and
• Jin Z. Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 666–676, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.66

• perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) and their reversible transformation. The as-prepared CsPbBr3 PNCs and Cs4PbBr6 PNCs exhibit different optical properties that depend on their morphology, size, and structure. The photoluminescence (PL) emission and quantum yield (QY) of the CsPbBr3 PNCs can be tuned by changing

• the ultrasound power, radiation time, and the height of the vibrating spear. The optimized CsPbBr3 PNCs show a good stability and high PL QY of up to 85%. In addition, the phase transformation between CsPbBr3 PNCs and Cs4PbBr6 PNCs can be obtained through varying the amount of oleylamine (OAm) and

• water. The mechanism of this transformation between the CsPbBr3 PNCs and Cs4PbBr6 PNCs and their morphology change are studied, involving ions equilibrium, anisotropic growth kinetics, and CsBr-stripping process. Keywords: CsPbBr3 PNCs; Cs4PbBr6 PNCs; polar-solvent-free; reversible transformation

A porous 3D-RGO@MWCNT hybrid material as Li–S battery cathode

• Yongguang Zhang,
• Jun Ren,
• Yan Zhao,
• Taizhe Tan,
• Fuxing Yin and
• Yichao Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 514–521, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.52

• , confirming that a great amount of sulfur can be stored in the structure. Figure 5 displays the first four CV cycles of S-3D-RGO@MWCNT cathode at 0.1 mV·s−1. During the cathodic cycle, the peaks around 2.30 and 2.05 V correspond to the transformation of elemental sulfur to long-chain polysulfides (Li2Sn, n

Polymorphic self-assembly of pyrazine-based tectons at the solution–solid interface

• Achintya Jana,
• Puneet Mishra and
• Neeladri Das

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 494–499, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.50

• structures become sufficiently large, the energy barrier for transformation to the equilibrium structure may become unsurmountable. Then the molecular system is kinetically trapped and both the equilibrium as well as the non-equilibrium polymorphs can coexist on the surface. As a future perspective, these