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

Temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy and sensor applications of PtSe₂ nanosheets synthesized by wet chemistry

• Mahendra S. Pawar and
• Dattatray J. Late

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 467–474, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.46

• two steps. The first step is the formation of the PtSe complex on the wall of a container by a wet chemical method; the second step is the phase transformation of PtSe2 by thermal annealing. 0.5 mL of a 0.015 M solution of H2PtCl6 was mixed with 0.5 mL of 0.5 M hexamethylenetetramine. In order to get

Reduced graphene oxide supported C₃N₄ nanoflakes and quantum dots as metal-free catalysts for visible light assisted CO₂ reduction

• Md Rakibuddin and
• Haekyoung Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 448–458, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.44

• , aromatic CN heterocycles, and the s-triazine ring of the g-C3N4 nanosheet, respectively [36][37]. However, after acid treatment and hydrothermal heating, most of the peaks attributed to CN heterocycles have vanished, indicating the structural transformation of g-C3N4 nanosheets to C3N4 NFs and QDs. Besides

• a small percentage of rGO, which is shifted to lower wavenumber, indicating H-bonding interactions between CN-5 and rGO. The structural transformation of C3N4 nanosheets to QDs is also verified by UV–visible spectroscopy (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S4). The C3N4 nanosheet exhibits a sharp

• peak at ≈316 nm, which is shifted to ≈285 nm (higher energy) after the formation of QDs (CN-5 QD) due to the breaking of C=N links [39]. Hence, XRD, XPS, IR and UV studies show the successful structural transformation of g-C3N4 nanosheets to QDs and the presence of possible organic functionalities in

Advanced scanning probe lithography using anatase-to-rutile transition to create localized TiO₂ nanorods

• Julian Kalb,
• Vanessa Knittel and
• Lukas Schmidt-Mende

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 412–418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.40

• work of Li et al. and Sclafani et al. forms the basis of the development of the presented technique. They assume the transformation of anatase into rutile nanoparticles to be major process during the hydrothermal growth of rutile TiO2 nanorods [37][38]. It was observed by different groups that rutile

• transformation into rutile TiO2 on these facets [41]. Thus, it is possible to promote a position-controlled hydrothermal growth by generating anatase nanoparticles locally by scratching across an anatase film using a conventional AFM tip. Experimental We fabricated a 40 nm thin amorphous TiO2 film by DC sputter

• grains have diameters between 5 and 100 nm and hence, their dimensions are similar to those of the nanorods. Instead of using a mask, scanning probe lithography generates locally anatase nanoparticles by scraping an AFM tip across an anatase film. The transformation of anatase nanoparticles into rutile

Sub-wavelength waveguide properties of 1D and surface-functionalized SnO₂ nanostructures of various morphologies

• Venkataramana Bonu,
• Binaya Kumar Sahu,
• Arindam Das,
• Sankarakumar Amirthapandian,
• Sandip Dhara and
• Harish C. Barshilia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 379–388, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.37

• thermodynamically by considering the Gibbs energy as a measure of structural phase transformation [8]. During VLS growth, the formation of nucleation from the saturated catalyst (Au) is the important step for the shape and structure. As reported earlier, the difference in the Gibbs energy promotes the phase

Transport signatures of an Andreev molecule in a quantum dot–superconductor–quantum dot setup

• Zoltán Scherübl,
• András Pályi and
• Szabolcs Csonka

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 363–378, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.36

• Bogoliubov-transformation, where resulting in where is the quasi-particle energy. The Hamiltonian of the normal leads is where α = L,R is the lead index, εαk is the dispersion relation, and cαkσ () annihilates (creates) an electron with momentum k and spin σ in lead Nα. Tunneling between the three leads

• two ways: (i) for the transformation (εL,εR) (εR,εL), and (ii) for the transformation (εL,εR) (−UL−εL,−UR−εR). The property (i), which we call the left–right symmetry, originates from the symmetric choice of local parameters, i.e., UL = UR, ΓLAR,L = ΓLAR,R. The property (ii) is the result of a

• particle–hole symmetry of the system, as discussed in the following. A particle–hole transformation converts the filled electron states to empty ones and vice versa, i.e., exchange the role of creation and annihilation operators. Eight different particle–hole transformations are introduced and discussed in

Thermal control of the defunctionalization of supported Au₂₅(glutathione)₁₈ catalysts for benzyl alcohol oxidation

• Zahraa Shahin,
• Hyewon Ji,
• Rodica Chiriac,
• Nadine Essayem,
• Franck Rataboul and
• Aude Demessence

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 228–237, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.21

• toluene at 80 °C with a base and under atmospheric conditions [21]. Using O2 as an oxidant under atmospheric conditions is a limitless and inexpensive oxidizing agent and allows for a sustainable transformation. Nevertheless, in the last example, the mesoporous silica support exhibits low stability in

Nanoporous water oxidation electrodes with a low loading of laser-deposited Ru/C exhibit enhanced corrosion stability

• Sandra Haschke,
• Dmitrii Pankin,
• Vladimir Mikhailovskii,
• Maïssa K. S. Barr,
• Adriana Both-Engel,
• Alina Manshina and
• Julien Bachmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 157–167, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.15

• artificial water splitting, catalysts are required for the rate-limiting half reaction, the dioxygen evolution, which must be driven at low overpotential (for maximizing conversion efficiency) [2]. The most active catalyst materials for this transformation are metallic iridium and ruthenium particles, the

New micro/mesoporous nanocomposite material from low-cost sources for the efficient removal of aromatic and pathogenic pollutants from water

• Emmanuel I. Unuabonah,
• Robert Nöske,
• Jens Weber,
• Christina Günter and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 119–131, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.11

• substantial transformation into the desired high surface area 2Z-HYCA nanocomposite materials. As a result, a reaction temperature of approximately 500 °C appears the most suitable for the synthesis of 2Z-HYCA nanocomposite because it is high enough to produce a material with a high surface area, yet low