Hydrothermal synthesis of ZnO quantum dot/KNb₃O₈ nanosheet photocatalysts for reducing carbon dioxide to methanol

• Xiao Shao,
• Weiyue Xin and
• Xiaohong Yin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2264–2270, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.226

• displayed an absorption threshold at 376 nm. Compared with the pure KNb3O8 nanosheets, we found a significant red-shift of the absorption edge, which could attribute to the enhancement observed by the ZnO quantum dots upon visible-light absorption. The optical band gap (Eg) of semiconductors could be

Evaluating the toxicity of TiO₂-based nanoparticles to Chinese hamster ovary cells and Escherichia coli: a complementary experimental and computational approach

• Alicja Mikolajczyk,
• Natalia Sizochenko,
• Ewa Mulkiewicz,
• Anna Malankowska,
• Michal Nischk,
• Przemyslaw Jurczak,
• Seishiro Hirano,
• Grzegorz Nowaczyk,
• Adriana Zaleska-Medynska,
• Jerzy Leszczynski,
• Agnieszka Gajewicz and
• Tomasz Puzyn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2171–2180, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.216

• inhibiting activity [5][6]. Reactivity of TiO2 under visible light (λ > 400 nm) can be achieved in several ways [7], including: (a) metal doping [8], (b) non-metal doping [9][10], (c) self-doping (reductive treatments) [11][12], (d) surface modification by noble-metal nanoparticles of silver (Ag), gold (Au

• increasing concentration of Bi2WO6 [23]. In another contribution, the photo-oxidation capability of iron-doped TiO2 NPs increased during exposure to near-visible light. Fe-doped TiO2 NPs inhibited the macrophage RAW 264.7 [24]. Hence the same unique properties of surface-modified TiO2-based nanomaterials

Ta₂N₃ nanocrystals grown in Al₂O₃ thin layers

• Krešimir Salamon,
• Maja Buljan,
• Iva Šarić,
• Mladen Petravić and
• Sigrid Bernstorff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2162–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.215

• generic procedure to realize highly tunable and designable optical properties of thin films containing transition-metal nitride nanocrystals. Keywords: nanocomposites; multilayers; refractory plasmonics; self-assembly; Ta2N3 nanoparticles; Introduction Metallic nanoparticles (NPs) can confine visible

• light to nano-scale structures via local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) [1]. LSPR produces a strong near-field enhancement and a local heating [2][3], which are considered to be promising in several applications ranging from surface-enhanced Raman scattering [4], to catalysis [5] and heat-assisted

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

• great potential for use in these applications [18][19]. Surface plasmon resonance properties of gold and silver NPs can increase the optical absorption of titania and extend its absorption band to the visible light region. Such CSNs could allow one of the most important limitations in broader use of

Application of visible-light photosensitization to form alkyl-radical-derived thin films on gold

• Rashanique D. Quarels,
• Xianglin Zhai,
• Neepa Kuruppu,
• Jenny K. Hedlund,
• Ashley A. Ellsworth,
• Amy V. Walker,
• Jayne C. Garno and
• Justin R. Ragains

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1863–1877, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.187

• Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080, USA Department of Materials Science, University of Texas at Dallas, 800 W. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX, 75080, USA 10.3762/bjnano.8.187 Abstract Visible-light irradiation of phthalimide esters in the presence of the photosensitizer [Ru(bpy)3]2+ and

• the stoichiometric reducing agent benzyl nicotinamide results in the formation of alkyl radicals under mild conditions. This approach to radical generation has proven useful for the synthesis of small organic molecules. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time the visible-light photosensitized

• deposition of robust alkyl thin films on Au surfaces using phthalimide esters as the alkyl radical precursors. In particular, we combine visible-light photosensitization with particle lithography to produce nanostructured thin films, the thickness of which can be measured easily using AFM cursor profiles

Synthesis and functionalization of NaGdF₄:Yb,Er@NaGdF₄ core–shell nanoparticles for possible application as multimodal contrast agents

• Dovile Baziulyte-Paulaviciene,
• Vitalijus Karabanovas,
• Marius Stasys,
• Greta Jarockyte,
• Vilius Poderys,
• Simas Sakirzanovas and
• Ricardas Rotomskis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1815–1824, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.183

• visible light, have been extensively investigated due to the advantages associated with their unique optical properties [1]. Compared with traditional semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) or organic fluorophores, UCNPs show superior features such as sharp emission peaks, low toxicity, high photochemical

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

• visible light and transfer the energy to SQ2, followed by electron injection from SQ2 to TiO2 in SQ2_PPIX which lead us to get a increased photocurrent. The process of FRET is not much facile in PPIX_SQ2 as the first active layer of sensitizer is the donor itself, in that case. It can also be demonstrated

Two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic energy generation and environmental remediation applications

• Suneel Kumar,
• Ashish Kumar,
• Ashish Bahuguna,
• Vipul Sharma and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1571–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.159

• -C3N4 makes it a multifunctional photocatalytic material [64]. Therefore, g-C3N4 has attracted immense attention mainly for photocatalytic hydrogen generation reactions and pollutant removal by harvesting visible light due to its suitable band gap energy (≈2.7 eV) [65][66]. Hence this material possesses

• high photocatalytic efficiency under visible light, which constitutes about 43% of the solar energy spectrum as compared to ultraviolet light (5%). Moreover, the CB and VB of g-C3N4 are suitably positioned with appropriate potential (CB = −1.13 eV, VB = 1.57 eV), which favours various photocatalytic

• positions are summarized in Figure 5 [103]. As it is well known, the band gap and wavelength are directly related to each other, and suitable band gap engineering is required to make photocatalysts active in the visible light region of the spectrum. The overall water splitting reaction on the surface of a

Fixation mechanisms of nanoparticles on substrates by electron beam irradiation

• Daichi Morioka,
• Tomohiro Nose,
• Taiki Chikuta,
• Kazutaka Mitsuishi and
• Masayuki Shimojo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1523–1529, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.153

• particular, arrays of gold or silver nanostructures can be used for such waveguides, as nanostructures made of these materials interact with visible light. Such LSPR structures would make the development of smaller optical circuits and devices possible. Plasmon propagation through nanowires or rows of

Light-induced magnetoresistance in solution-processed planar hybrid devices measured under ambient conditions

• Sreetama Banerjee,
• Daniel Bülz,
• Danny Reuter,
• Karla Hiller,
• Dietrich R. T. Zahn and
• Georgeta Salvan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1502–1507, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.150

• illumination. Vollmer et al. showed [15], by investigating the occupied electronic states using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy, that the diffusion of molecular oxygen and water from the ambient into pentacene layers is reversible when the air exposure takes place in the dark or under visible light. The

Spin-chemistry concepts for spintronics scientists

• Konstantin L. Ivanov,
• Alexander Wagenpfahl,
• Carsten Deibel and
• Jörg Matysik

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1427–1445, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.143

Enhanced catalytic activity without the use of an external light source using microwave-synthesized CuO nanopetals

• Govinda Lakhotiya,
• Sonal Bajaj,
• Arpan Kumar Nayak,
• Debabrata Pradhan,
• Pradip Tekade and
• Abhimanyu Rana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1167–1173, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.118

• application of an external light source and also under dark conditions for the degradation of hazardous dyes such as methylene blue and rhodamine B. We report enhanced catalytic activity of the synthesized CuO nanopetals, even without the use of an external light source (UV/visible light) for the degradation

• activity of CuO nanopetals activated by irradiation with photons (visible light) in the absence of H2O2 is also studied and compared with the activity under dark conditions. Results and Discussion Structural and morphological study Figure 1a illustrates X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of CuO nanomaterials

• out to investigate the effect of different concentrations of H2O2 for MB degradation in the absence of CuO nanopetals (catalyst) without any irradiation (UV/visible light). Figure 2c shows the UV–vis absorption spectra for different concentrations of H2O2 in MB solution, without catalyst, after one

Growth, structure and stability of sputter-deposited MoS₂ thin films

• Reinhard Kaindl,
• Bernhard C. Bayer,
• Roland Resel,
• Thomas Müller,
• Viera Skakalova,
• Gerlinde Habler,
• Rainer Abart,
• Alexey S. Cherevan,
• Dominik Eder,
• Maxime Blatter,
• Fabian Fischer,
• Jannik C. Meyer,
• Dmitry K. Polyushkin and
• Wolfgang Waldhauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1115–1126, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.113

• density, whereas the in-plane ordering remains unaffected. Stability of MoS2 thin films deposited at RT and 400 °C In view of practical applications the stability of the sputter deposited MoS2 thin films is of importance. Possible degradation scenarios include exposure to visible light radiation or

• exposed to visible light radiation and local temperature increase. Electrical properties of MoS2 thin films In order to investigate the electrical properties of our PVD MoS2 films on the SiO2-covered Si substrates two types of FET devices with rectangular and circular source and drain contacts were

ZnO nanoparticles sensitized by CuInZn_xS_2+x quantum dots as highly efficient solar light driven photocatalysts

• Florian Donat,
• Serge Corbel,
• Halima Alem,
• Steve Pontvianne,
• Lavinia Balan,
• Ghouti Medjahdi and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1080–1093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.110

• bandgap (≈3.2–3.3 eV) restricts light activation to the UV range (which accounts for only ≈4% of the solar spectrum) for the generation of the charge carriers responsible for the surface redox reactions. To improve the efficient use of solar light, visible-light-responsive photocatalysts should be

• both under solar and visible light illumination (light intensity = 5 mW/cm2) of all the ZnO/ZCIS composites prepared, we selected Orange II dye as a model contaminant because this dye is not a photosensitizer (in contrast to Methylene Blue or Rhodamine which promote photocatalytic degradation). Prior

Synthesis of graphene–transition metal oxide hybrid nanoparticles and their application in various fields

• Arpita Jana,
• Elke Scheer and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 688–714, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.74

• excellent thermal (≈5000 W·m−1·K−1) [6] and electrical conductivity (up to 6000 S·cm−1) [7] and high theoretical specific surface area (2630 m2·g−1) [8]. Graphene is highly optically transparent (transmittance ≈97.7%) with absorption of <2.3% for visible light [9] and negligible reflectance (<0.1

Computing the T-matrix of a scattering object with multiple plane wave illuminations

• Martin Fruhnert,
• Ivan Fernandez-Corbaton,
• Vassilios Yannopapas and
• Carsten Rockstuhl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 614–626, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.66

• notable electric and magnetic dipole moment in the visible-light range. To calculate the T-matrix numerically we illuminate the sphere with the appropriate number of plane waves K. The wave vectors are chosen, such that they are evenly distributed in all directions. They can be considered as normal

Fabrication of black-gold coatings by glancing angle deposition with sputtering

• Alan Vitrey,
• Rafael Alvarez,
• Alberto Palmero,
• María Ujué González and
• José Miguel García-Martín

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 434–439, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.46

• obtained at high tilt angle. As a result, the nanostructured sample exhibits absorption above 60% over the whole visible-light range, slightly decreasing to 50% in the nIR region. Conclusion It has been shown that black-gold coatings in the visible range can be fabricated by means of sputtering using

Performance of natural-dye-sensitized solar cells by ZnO nanorod and nanowall enhanced photoelectrodes

• Saif Saadaoui,
• Mohamed Aziz Ben Youssef,
• Moufida Ben Karoui,
• Rached Gharbi,
• Emanuele Smecca,
• Vincenzina Strano,
• Salvo Mirabella,
• Alessandra Alberti and
• Rosaria A. Puglisi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 287–295, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.31

• as a dye in the cosmetics industry. The most significant feature of the lawsone molecule is its ability to absorb visible light between 400 and 600 nm. The FTIR spectrum of henna extract, presented in Figure 4a, shows the existence of three valence bands associated with C=C aromatics at 1338 cm−1

Photocatalysis applications of some hybrid polymeric composites incorporating TiO₂ nanoparticles and their combinations with SiO₂/Fe₂O₃

• Andreea Laura Chibac,
• Tinca Buruiana,
• Violeta Melinte and
• Emil C. Buruiana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 272–286, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.30

• phenol, hydroquinone and dopamine in aqueous solution under UV or visible-light irradiation. The best results were obtained for the films with TiO2/Fe2O3 or TiO2/SiO2/Fe2O3 NPs. The degradation of the mentioned model pollutants varied between 71% and 100% (after 250 min of irradiation) depending on the

• composition of the hybrid film tested and the light applied (UV–visible light). Also, it was established that such hybrid films can be reused at least for five cycles, without losing too much of the photocatalytic efficiency (ca. 7%). These findings could have implications in the development of new

• separation and recycling of photocatalyst particles from aqueous suspension can appear. In order to eliminate or at least diminish the limitations mentioned, many studies were directed on obtaining TiO2-based materials that are active under solar/visible light. It has been demonstrated that the increase of

Colorimetric gas detection by the varying thickness of a thin film of ultrasmall PTSA-coated TiO₂ nanoparticles on a Si substrate

• Urmas Joost,
• Andris Šutka,
• Meeri Visnapuu,
• Aile Tamm,
• Meeri Lembinen,
• Mikk Antsov,
• Kathriin Utt,
• Krisjanis Smits,
• Ergo Nõmmiste and
• Vambola Kisand

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 229–236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.25

• caused by the periodic variation of the refractive index [2]. Tuneable optical properties in opals are observed by the shift of the Bragg reflection peak of visible light, or by varying the refractive index contrast by liquid or gas infiltration in inverse opals [3][4][5]. The latter demonstrate an

Performance of colloidal CdS sensitized solar cells with ZnO nanorods/nanoparticles

• Anurag Roy,
• Partha Pratim Das,
• Mukta Tathavadekar,
• Sumita Das and
• Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 210–221, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.23

• characteristics of the colloidal CdS-sensitized ZnO-P, ZnO-R and ZnO-R+P films measured within the bias voltage −10 V to +10 V in visible light is shown in Supporting Information File 1, Figure S3, exhibiting ohmic response. I–V characteristics also sustain higher current generation for 1D ZnO-R than ZnO-P

Optical and photocatalytic properties of TiO₂ nanoplumes

• Viviana Scuderi,
• Massimo Zimbone,
• Maria Miritello,
• Giuseppe Nicotra,
• Giuliana Impellizzeri and
• Vittorio Privitera

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 190–195, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.20

• synthesize black TiO2 with a large optical absorption in the visible and infrared region [15][16][17][18]. The amorphous shell on a crystalline nanoparticle core, causes the formation of intragap states [19], which are responsible for the high absorption of visible light (and consequently of the black color

• Ti films as an easy, rapid, and low-cost method to synthesize hydrogenated TiO2 nanoplumes with significant photocatalytic properties under UV and visible light irradiation. Here we report the optical properties of the TiO2 nanoplumes and their correlation with the efficiency of UV photodegradation

Influence of hydrofluoric acid treatment on electroless deposition of Au clusters

• Rachela G. Milazzo,
• Antonio M. Mio,
• Giuseppe D’Arrigo,
• Emanuele Smecca,
• Alessandra Alberti,
• Gabriele Fisichella,
• Filippo Giannazzo,
• Corrado Spinella and
• Emanuele Rimini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 183–189, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.19

• excellent at scattering and absorbing visible light [6][7][8]. For these reasons, they have found an interesting application in the field of metal–semiconductor hybrid structures for solar energy conversion [9][10]. Among the different adopted methods to deposit Au nanoclusters on a substrate, electroless

Effect of Anderson localization on light emission from gold nanoparticle aggregates

• Mohamed H. Abdellatif,
• Marco Salerno,
• Gaser N. Abdelrasoul,
• Ioannis Liakos,
• Alice Scarpellini,
• Sergio Marras and
• Alberto Diaspro

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2013–2022, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.192

• phenomenon characterizing aggregates of metallic nanostructures. The electromagnetic energy of visible light can be localized inside nanostructures below the diffraction limit by converting the optical modes into nonradiative surface plasmon resonances. The energy of the confined photons is correlated to the

Role of RGO support and irradiation source on the photocatalytic activity of CdS–ZnO semiconductor nanostructures

• Suneel Kumar,
• Rahul Sharma,
• Vipul Sharma,
• Gurunarayanan Harith,
• Vaidyanathan Sivakumar and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1684–1697, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.161

• characterized using different spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated by studying the degradation of a model dye (methyl orange, MO) under visible light (only) irradiation and under natural sunlight. The results reveal that the RGO-supported CdS–ZnO photocatalyst

• performs considerably better than the unsupported CdS–ZnO nanostructures. In addition, both the catalysts perform significantly better under natural sunlight than under visible light (only) irradiation. In essence, this work paves way for tailoring the photocatalytic activity of semiconductor

• radiation [17]. Due to this high band gap value, ZnO can only absorb ultraviolet (UV) light and this limits its practical applications [18]. Thus, in order to design more efficient photocatalysts, which are active in visible light, many research groups have devoted their studies towards dye sensitization