A visible-light-controlled platform for prolonged drug release based on Ag-doped TiO₂ nanotubes with a hydrophobic layer

• Caihong Liang,
• Jiang Wen and
• Xiaoming Liao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1793–1801, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.170

• full XPS spectrum of Zn-Ag-TNTs, in which Zn, Ti, Ag and O elements are detected. These spectra suggest the successful decoration of Ag as well as loading of Zn. The presence of C may be attributed to the incorporation from the electrolyte and the organic contamination adsorbed from environment. Figure

• conducted using a programmable power supply (Maynuo DC source Meter, Shanghai, China) and a three-electrode configuration with a bicathode composed of two circular titanium plates as counter electrodes. The electrolyte was ethylene glycol containing 6 vol % distilled water and 0.3 wt % NH4F and the

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes coated with zinc oxide nanoparticles as sulfur encapsulator for high-performance lithium/sulfur batteries

• Yan Zhao,
• Zhengjun Liu,
• Liancheng Sun,
• Yongguang Zhang,
• Yuting Feng,
• Xin Wang,
• Indira Kurmanbayeva and
• Zhumabay Bakenov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1677–1685, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.159

• energy density of 2600 Wh·kg−1, sulfur has been considered as a promising cathode material for lithium/sulfur (Li/S) batteries [1]. Additionally, sulfur is naturally abundant, has low cost and is environmentally friendly. But it is not conductive, and it dissolves into the electrolyte in the form of

• a strong bonding capacity for S. This will reduce the S losses to the electrolyte, and thus improve the cycling performance of the Li/S battery. In fact, the S–Zn and S–O bonds were confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of the as-obtained S/ZnO@NCNT composite (Figure 5). In the S 2p

• a separator. The electrolyte was 1 M lithium bistrifluoromethanesulfonamide (LiTFSI) in tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether as a solvent. The CR2025 coin cells assembly was carried out in an argon-filled glovebox (Mikrouna, Shanghai). The charge/discharge cycling performances was investigated using

Nanoscale electrochemical response of lithium-ion cathodes: a combined study using C-AFM and SIMS

• Jonathan Op de Beeck,
• Nouha Labyedh,
• Alfonso Sepúlveda,
• Valentina Spampinato,
• Alexis Franquet,
• Thierry Conard,
• Philippe M. Vereecken,
• Wilfried Vandervorst and
• Umberto Celano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1623–1628, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.154

• [1][2][3]. The 3D all-solid-state microbattery (ASB) is a promising new architecture built using processing techniques compatible with semiconductor processing, which provides more power and more capacity compared to conventional planar designs [4]. In this kind of battery, the electrolyte is

• generally a solid and dense material while crystalline conductive oxides are used for the anode and cathode. As a solid electrolyte is significantly safer compared to its flammable organic liquid counterparts, its use does represent a clear advantage [2]. Moreover, the presence of crystalline ordering in

• the electrodes and the electrolyte, which are complex to characterize, give rise to failure and reduced performance of cells. This puts the outcome of our work in context of a wide range of applications. These pending problems pose severe challenges for the physical characterization of battery

Interaction-tailored organization of large-area colloidal assemblies

• Silvia Rizzato,
• Elisabetta Primiceri,
• Anna Grazia Monteduro,
• Adriano Colombelli,
• Angelo Leo,
• Maria Grazia Manera,
• Roberto Rella and
• Giuseppe Maruccio

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1582–1593, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.150

• an electrolyte solution, the particles interact at a sufficiently large distance r (greater than the particle radius) through a screened Coulomb potential u(r) e−κr / r [25][26]. The range of particle electrostatic repulsion is determined by the Debye length where q is the elementary charge, NA is

• Avogadro’s number, kB is Boltzmann’s constant, T is the absolute temperature and is the ionic strength whereby the electrolyte solution contains ion of type i with valence zi and molar concentration ci. Therefore, the strength of electrostatic interaction between the colloidal particles on the surface can

• electrostatic repulsion between the particles is more screened by an increased electrolyte concentration, which allows them to adsorb more closely and achieves a higher surface coverage. At 5 mM salt concentration, the particles are so close that doublet and triplet aggregates begin to form on the surface

Correlative electrochemical strain and scanning electron microscopy for local characterization of the solid state electrolyte Li_1.3Al_0.3Ti_1.7(PO₄)₃

• Nino Schön,
• Deniz Cihan Gunduz,
• Shicheng Yu,
• Hermann Tempel,
• Roland Schierholz and
• Florian Hausen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1564–1572, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.148

• for replacing the flammable liquid electrolyte in LIBs, especially in safety-related environments like automotive applications [6][7]. Furthermore, the increased electrochemical window in the case of SSEs opens the path to use advanced electrode materials with improved volumetric and gravimetric

• energy density [1][8][9][10]. Lithium aluminum titanium phosphate Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 (LATP), a ceramic with NASICON-type structure, is especially considered as a beneficial solid state electrolyte due to its superior lithium-ion conductivity in the range of 2 mS cm−1 in the “bulk” and 2 µS cm−1 at

• ]. Information about the behavior of the material as a solid state electrolyte cannot be derived based on SEM and EDX mappings alone, hence we performed ESM. Figure 2 shows correlative images of SEM and AFM topography as well as ESM on identical regions of LATP sintered at 1050 °C. The SEM image (Figure 2a

Preparation and morphology-dependent wettability of porous alumina membranes

• Dmitry L. Shimanovich,
• Alla I. Vorobjova,
• Daria I. Tishkevich,
• Alex V. Trukhanov,
• Maxim V. Zdorovets and
• Artem L. Kozlovskiy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1423–1436, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.135

• work (type I–III) is shown. In the inset, a scheme describing non-isotropic etching of the pore walls [30] is shown. The authors of this work assume that the concentration of the electrolyte is initially higher on the surface of narrow channels (in the mouth of a nanopore, region 1). It then becomes

• –Baxter model is more suitable for the description of large thickness oxides with small pores (received, for example, in sulfuric electrolyte). The Wenzel model was found to be more suitable for the description of small thickness oxides (less than 30 µm) with larger diameter pores (received, for example

• , in oxalate electrolyte). The comparison of the wetting nature of the two surfaces of the PAM allows the contributions due to morphology and chemical properties to wetting of the nanostructure surface to be distinguished. It was shown that the etching method influences the surface morphology of the

Nanoporous silicon nitride-based membranes of controlled pore size, shape and areal density: Fabrication as well as electrophoretic and molecular filtering characterization

• Axel Seidenstücker,
• Stefan Beirle,
• Fabian Enderle,
• Paul Ziemann,
• Othmar Marti and
• Alfred Plettl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1390–1398, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.131

• (Supporting Information File 1, details in the text and Figure S1). Subsequently, the chambers were filled with a KCl electrolyte and the conductance was determined by applying dc voltages to the Ag/AgCl electrodes and automated current measurements. The results of the according experiments on the membranes A

• and assuming a homogenous resistivity of the electrolyte; for further details see Supporting Information File 1. Note the following in this context: The applied RIE processes involving CHF3/CF4 plasmas have a propensity for the formation of Teflon-like CF layers which, by influencing the wettability

• electrolyte concentrations in the range of 5∙10−2 to 12 mM. Additionally, the measured conductance of the setup without membrane and the modeled one (calculated by FEM) are shown. A seal test with a non-porous membrane reveals the contribution of leakage currents. Molecule transport through a porous membrane

Semi-automatic spray pyrolysis deposition of thin, transparent, titania films as blocking layers for dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells

• Hana Krýsová,
• Josef Krýsa and
• Ladislav Kavan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1135–1145, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.105

• acetylacetone), concentration (0.05 and 0.2 M) and subsequent post-calcination at 500 °C. The photo-electrochemical properties were evaluated in aqueous electrolyte solution under UV irradiation. The blocking properties were tested by cyclic voltammetry with a model redox probe with a simple one-electron

• sensitized with a dye. This is in contact with an electrolyte solution with a redox mediator which transports holes from the photo-oxidized dye towards the counter electrode. In SSDSSCs or PSCs, the photogenerated holes are transported by a solid conductive material (e.g., spiro-OMeTAD) [1][2]. This is

• be achieved with good blocking properties and low sensitivity to calcination at the same time. Such fabricated BL TiO2 films were characterized by photo-electrochemical measurements in aqueous electrolyte solution. The blocking ability was quantified by cyclic voltammetry with a K3[Fe(CN)6]/K4[Fe(CN

Cyclodextrin inhibits zinc corrosion by destabilizing point defect formation in the oxide layer

• Abdulrahman Altin,
• Maciej Krzywiecki,
• Adnan Sarfraz,
• Cigdem Toparli,
• Claudius Laska,
• Philipp Kerger,
• Aleksandar Zeradjanin,
• Karl J. J. Mayrhofer,
• Michael Rohwerder and
• Andreas Erbe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 936–944, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.86

• containing electrolyte, samples were analysed by angle-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ADXPS) combined with ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). Results and Discussion Electrochemical measurements of the corrosion potential Ecorr displayed in Figure 1a show a cathodic shift by several

• tens of millivolts of the initial Ecorr in the presence of β-CD in the electrolyte. Lower values of Ecorr are an indication of a suppression of the cathodic process of oxygen reduction [16], Ecorr stablized quickly in the presence of the inhibitor, while reference measurements showed a slower decrease

• (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S1) shows that this morphology is retained after exposure to the electrolyte. The inhibition efficiencies η (Figure 1c), based on EIS data (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S2, Figure S3 and Table S1), show that with only 19 μM of β-CD in KCl, an inhibition

Synthesis and characterization of two new TiO₂-containing benzothiazole-based imine composites for organic device applications

• Anna Różycka,
• Agnieszka Iwan,
• Krzysztof Artur Bogdanowicz,
• Michal Filapek,
• Natalia Górska,
• Damian Pociecha,
• Marek Malinowski,
• Patryk Fryń,
• Agnieszka Hreniak,
• Jakub Rysz,
• Paweł Dąbczyński and
• Monika Marzec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 721–739, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.67

• the internal standard. Cyclic voltammetry experiments were conducted in a standard one-compartment cell, in CH2Cl2 (Carlo Erba, HPLC grade), under argon. 0.2 M Bu4NPF6 (Aldrich, 99%) was used as the supporting electrolyte. The compound concentration was 1.0 × 10−6 mol/dm3. Deaeration of the solution

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

• working photo anode, Ag/AgCl as reference electrode and Pt as counter electrode. The electrolyte chosen for the study was 0.1 M Na2SO4 aqueous solution of pH 6.8. A 400 nm cut-off filter was used for the light irradiation during linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) analysis. Results and Discussion XRD analysis

• band-edge potential, a mechanism of the photocatalytic reaction has been proposed which is discussed later. Electrochemical impedance study Impedance measurements are commonly used to determine the charge transfer, resistance, and effective charge separation processes occurring at electrode–electrolyte

The nanofluidic confinement apparatus: studying confinement-dependent nanoparticle behavior and diffusion

• Stefan Fringes,
• Felix Holzner and
• Armin W. Knoll

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 301–310, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.30

• role in a nanofluidic system, in particular when a particle is close to a charged wall. Whereas diffusion measurements for uncharged particles [15] and for particles in electrolyte with higher ionic concentration [33] are in agreement with predictions that consider only a hydrodynamically hindered drag

• . There is considerable evidence of an increased drag of charged particles near charged walls in a weak electrolyte [18][38]. In a similar experimental configuration Eichmann et al. [18] measured a ≈30% (≈55%) lower lateral diffusion coefficient for 60 nm (100 nm) gold nanospheres with a relative radius

Synthesis and characterization of electrospun molybdenum dioxide–carbon nanofibers as sulfur matrix additives for rechargeable lithium–sulfur battery applications

• Ruiyuan Zhuang,
• Shanshan Yao,
• Maoxiang Jing,
• Xiangqian Shen,
• Jun Xiang,
• Tianbao Li,
• Kesong Xiao and
• Shibiao Qin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 262–270, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.28

• caused by dissolved polysulfide molecules [1]. All of these issues still pose a challenge to overcome for the production of reversible, stable, and efficient sulfur cathodes. The currently proposed approaches to solve these issues include sulfur-based cathode modification, electrolyte modification and

• , Shanghai Mapada Instrument Co. Ltd). Electrochemical measurements The electrochemical performance of the samples was measured in CR 2032-type coin cells. The electrolyte contained 1 M lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfone)imide (LITFSI) and 0.1 M LiNO3 dissolved in 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) and 1.2-dimethoxyethane

• (DME) at a volume ratio of 1:1. The electrolyte solution volume used in the cells was 75 μL. The coin cells were galvanostatically charged–discharged at 0.25 mA/cm2 (1 C = 1675 mA g−1) and a voltage ranging from 1.7 and to 3.0 V (vs Li/Li+) using a CT2001A cell test instrument (LAND model, Wuhan RAMBO

Dielectric properties of a bisimidazolium salt with dodecyl sulfate anion doped with carbon nanotubes

• Doina Manaila Maximean,
• Viorel Cîrcu and
• Constantin Paul Ganea

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 164–174, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.19

• movements in the bulk of the electrolyte. At low frequencies (10−1–103 Hz), approximately region 1 in Figure 11, the behavior is controlled by “electrode polarization” effects. Thus, the electric conductivity decreases significantly when the frequency decreases. In the frequency range below 100 MHz, the

Ab initio study of adsorption and diffusion of lithium on transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers

• Xiaoli Sun and
• Zhiguo Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2711–2718, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.270

• -dimensional materials have higher exposure to the electrolyte [1]. Two-dimensional materials, such as Co3O4, NiO, phosphorene, SnS and V2O5 all exhibit an excellent capacity retention, rate performance, lower energy barrier and long cycling life compared to their bulk counterparts used as electrode materials

One-step chemical vapor deposition synthesis and supercapacitor performance of nitrogen-doped porous carbon–carbon nanotube hybrids

• Egor V. Lobiak,
• Lyubov G. Bulusheva,
• Ekaterina O. Fedorovskaya,
• Yury V. Shubin,
• Pavel E. Plyusnin,
• Pierre Lonchambon,
• Boris V. Senkovskiy,
• Zinfer R. Ismagilov,
• Emmanuel Flahaut and
• Alexander V. Okotrub

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2669–2679, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.267

• concentration of incorporated nitrogen. The hybrid materials were tested as electrodes in a 1M H2SO4 electrolyte and the best performance was found for a nitrogen-enriched material produced using the Fe/Mo catalyst. From the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy data, it was concluded that the nitrogen doping

• reduces the resistance at the carbon surface/electrolyte interface and the nanotubes permeating the porous carbon provide fast charge transport in the cell. Keywords: bimetallic catalyst; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; N-doped carbon; porous carbon–carbon nanotube hybrid; supercapacitor

• possess a high surface area available for electrolyte ions, good wettability and electrical conductivity. Carbon is a traditional material for electrochemical applications owing to its mechanical and chemical stability, light weight, as well as the possibility to control the properties depending on the

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

• substrate and a worse performance than the other two samples (1-EG, 2-EG). In the following, we attempt to quantify the contributions from light absorption, charge separation, and charge injection across the electrode/electrolyte interface. These three factors contribute to the water oxidation photocurrent

• the porous structure contributes a 13% increase to Jabs. The oxidation of water is known to have slow oxidation kinetics. To probe the photoelectrochemical properties, an effective hole scavenger, Na2SO3, was added to the electrolyte. The interfacial charge injection efficiency can be approximated to

• be 100% (ηinj = 1) due to the fast oxidation kinetics of Na2SO3 [21]. Under such an approximation, the photocurrent measured with Na2SO3 electrolyte can be determined by [21]: where JNa2SO3 is the oxidation photocurrent using Na2SO3. From Equation 1 and Equation 2, we obtain the charge separation

The role of ligands in coinage-metal nanoparticles for electronics

• Ioannis Kanelidis and
• Tobias Kraus

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2625–2639, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.263

• to a more compact coverage of the metal surface, rendering the gold nanoparticles more resistant and stable against aggregation in an electrolyte [95]. 2.2 Ligand-initiated agglomeration Changes in the capping layer can induce agglomeration of dispersed nanoparticles or establish physical contact

Synthesis of metal-fluoride nanoparticles supported on thermally reduced graphite oxide

• Alexa Schmitz,
• Kai Schütte,
• Vesko Ilievski,
• Juri Barthel,
• Laura Burk,
• Rolf Mülhaupt,
• Junpei Yue,
• Bernd Smarsly and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2474–2483, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.247

• the interfacial charge storage at the interface between nanosized Fe and the electrolyte LiF, analogous to the phenomena in RuO2 proposed by Maier et al. [90]. The capacity is around 800 mAh/g. During the charging process, there are several oxidation processes, which can be ascribed to the reaction of

• immediate phases [88][89][90][91]. At the first discharge and charge process, the very high capacity may be caused by the formation of a solid–electrolyte interface. After several cycles at 50 mA/g, the capacity stabilizes to around 500 mAh/g and decreases to 220 and 130 mAh/g with the current density

• slurry composed of 75 wt % FeF2-TRGO, 15 wt % active carbon and 10 wt % PVDF in NMP on an aluminum foil. A half-cell was assembled in Ar-filled glovebox with lithium foil as counter electrode and 1 M LiFeF6 in ethylene carbonate/ethylmethyl carbonate (50:50) as electrolyte. The galvanostatic charge

Synthesis and characterization of noble metal–titania core–shell nanostructures with tunable shell thickness

• Bartosz Bartosewicz,
• Marta Michalska-Domańska,
• Malwina Liszewska,
• Dariusz Zasada and
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2083–2093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.208

• out using a qNano instrument (Izon Science) with tunable nanopore membranes NP100 (50–200 nm particles size range) for metal colloid measurements and NP150 (100–400 nm particle size range) for the CSNs measurements. The upper and lower cell chambers were filled with an electrolyte (PBS buffer). The

Systematic control of α-Fe₂O₃ crystal growth direction for improved electrochemical performance of lithium-ion battery anodes

• Nan Shen,
• Miriam Keppeler,
• Barbara Stiaszny,
• Holger Hain,
• Filippo Maglia and
• Madhavi Srinivasan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2032–2044, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.204

• foil (0.59 mm thickness, Hohsen Corp., Japan) as both a counter and a reference electrode in an argon-filled glove box (H2O, O2 < 1 ppm, Mbraun, Unilab, USA). 150 μL of LiPF6 (1 M) in ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate (1:1 w/w, Danvec) was used as the electrolyte and a Celgard 2400 membrane was used

• the reduction to Fe0, associated with the conversion reaction leading to metallic particles finely dispersed in Li2O and electrolyte decomposition with solid–electrolyte interface (SEI) formation [39]. From the second cathodic cycle onwards, the peaks from 1.5 to 1.3 V and at 1.1 V do not appear and

Bi-layer sandwich film for antibacterial catheters

• Gerhard Franz,
• Florian Schamberger,
• Hamideh Heidari Zare,
• Sara Felicitas Bröskamp and
• Dieter Jocham

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1982–2001, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.199

• electrochemical cell, which consists of two electrodes in an electrolyte with defined concentration and DC conductivity, is used as basis. One electrode, the device under test, is coated with a porous layer of a dielectric medium, here PPX, which would yield an infinite DC resistance for perfect coverage

• capacitance of the electrochemical double layer, Cdl. RΩ is the ohmic resistance of the solution of the electrolyte (Figure 11). To measure the impedance of the system the electrodes are connected to a HP 4192A Impedance Analyzer, which measures the impedance Z and the phase angle φ between test voltage and

Freestanding graphene/MnO₂ cathodes for Li-ion batteries

• Şeyma Özcan,
• Aslıhan Güler,
• Tugrul Cetinkaya,
• Mehmet O. Guler and
• Hatem Akbulut

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1932–1938, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.193

• carbonate (EC) and dimethyl carbonate (DMC) (EC/DMC, 1:1 v/v), which was used as the electrolyte. In order to separate the electrodes, a microporous polypropylene membrane was used. Electrochemical tests of the cathodes were implemented between 1.5 and 4.5 V at a constant current density of 0.1 mA cm−2. The

Three-in-one approach towards efficient organic dye-sensitized solar cells: aggregation suppression, panchromatic absorption and resonance energy transfer

• Jayita Patwari,
• Samim Sardar,
• Bo Liu,
• Peter Lemmens and
• Samir Kumar Pal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1705–1713, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.171

• (TBP) using acetonitrile as a solvent, was used as electrolyte. The active area of all the devices were 0.64 cm2. Device characterization A Keithley multimeter was used to record the photocurrent–voltage (I–V) characteristics of the DSSCs, under 1 sun (100 mW cm−2) irradiance (AM 1.5 simulated

Oxidative stabilization of polyacrylonitrile nanofibers and carbon nanofibers containing graphene oxide (GO): a spectroscopic and electrochemical study

• İlknur Gergin,
• Ezgi Ismar and
• A. Sezai Sarac

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1616–1628, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.161

• interior pores filled with electrolyte. Keywords: carbon nanofiber; graphene oxide; oxidized polyacrylonitrile (PAN); Introduction Carbon nanofibers are of great interest because of their chemical similarity to fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanofibers (CNF) have promising electrochemical and

• measurements were performed in 0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte in the frequency range of 100 mHz to 100 kHz at open circuit potential with an AC perturbation of 10 mV. A standard three-electrode cell was used to study the electrochemical performances of PAN nanofibers which were stabilized at 250 °C for 1 h in air

• ohmic resistance of the solution, Rct represents the charge-transfer resistance between nanofiber electrodes and electrolyte interface and Qdl (constant phase element (CPE)) is the double-layer CPE, a frequency-dependent element. The Nyquist plot in Figure 6a consists of a semicircle related to the