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

• the ZnO/ZCIS nanoparticles was determined using a Malvern Zetasizer Nano ZS instrument. All the optical measurements were conducted at room temperature (20 ± 1 °C) under ambient conditions. The absorption spectra of liquid samples were recorded on a Thermo Scientific Evolution 220 UV–visible

The integration of graphene into microelectronic devices

• Guenther Ruhl,
• Sebastian Wittmann,
• Matthias Koenig and
• Daniel Neumaier

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1056–1064, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.107

• passivated (Figure 4) and was stable for a longer period of time under ambient conditions [50]. The main problem of growing Al2O3 by ALD is to obtain a continuous nucleation layer on graphene to start the deposition. To solve this problem several approaches are proposed. One solution is the deposition of a

Structural properties and thermal stability of cobalt- and chromium-doped α-MnO₂ nanorods

• Romana Cerc Korošec,
• Polona Umek,
• Alexandre Gloter,
• Jana Padežnik Gomilšek and
• Peter Bukovec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1032–1042, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.104

• birnessite-type MnO2 nanoparticles, synthesized under ambient conditions from KMnO4 and ethylene glycol, doping with Co prevented agglomeration and increased the specific surface area. The prepared materials possess a very high specific capacity and are potential candidates for supercapacitors [23]. Co-doped

Study of the correlation between sensing performance and surface morphology of inkjet-printed aqueous graphene-based chemiresistors for NO₂ detection

• F. Villani,
• C. Schiattarella,
• T. Polichetti,
• R. Di Capua,
• F. Loffredo,
• B. Alfano,
• M. L. Miglietta,
• E. Massera,
• L. Verdoliva and
• G. Di Francia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1023–1031, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.103

• surface tension of the prepared dispersion has been evaluated by using the contact angle equipment OCA20-Dataphysics in pendant drop configuration. The measurements have been performed under ambient conditions (21 °C, RH 50%) and the estimated value has been the result of measurements repeated five times

• temperature and under ambient conditions. Sensor-device fabrication Different substrates, paper (Epson, premium glossy photo paper), alumina (purity 96%, Rockwell hardness = 82, resistivity > 1014 Ω·cm, roughness = 12–20 microinches) and Si/SiO2 (thermal oxide 300 nm, Silicon Valley), with gold electrodes

High photocatalytic activity of Fe₂O₃/TiO₂ nanocomposites prepared by photodeposition for degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid

• Shu Chin Lee,
• Hendrik O. Lintang and
• Leny Yuliati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 915–926, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.93

• out at ambient conditions [14]. Even though high activity was obtained, evidence of the formation of good contact between Fe2O3 and TiO2 nanoparticles was not provided. Recently, the photodeposition method has been proposed as a suitable method to directly investigate the role of added copper or

• /TiO2 catalysts without heat treatment at ambient conditions. Using iron(III) nitrate nonahydrate as the precursor, active and stable Fe2O3/TiO2 was successfully prepared via photodeposition [15]. However, the actual amount of iron precursor in the prepared Fe2O3/TiO2 was much lower than that added. In

Bio-inspired micro-to-nanoporous polymers with tunable stiffness

• Julia Syurik,
• Ruth Schwaiger,
• Prerna Sudera,
• Stephan Weyand,
• Siegbert Johnsen,
• Gabriele Wiegand and
• Hendrik Hölscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 906–914, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.92

• overall damping capability of the material. All tests were conducted at room temperature (25.5 °C) under ambient conditions. The measurements were performed at 20 different positions arranged in an array of 5 by 4 (see below in Figure 2b). Results and Discussion Porous PMMA films were produced via a

Triptycene-terminated thiolate and selenolate monolayers on Au(111)

• Jinxuan Liu,
• Martin Kind,
• Björn Schüpbach,
• Daniel Käfer,
• Stefanie Winkler,
• Wenhua Zhang,
• Andreas Terfort and
• Christof Wöll

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 892–905, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.91

• could be achieved by reacting 9-triptycylmethylselenocyanate with sodium borohydride and subsequent oxidation of the product under ambient conditions (compare Supporting Information File 1). The diselenide obtained this way was reduced with elemental sodium using benzophenone as a catalyst, and reacted

Functional dependence of resonant harmonics on nanomechanical parameters in dynamic mode atomic force microscopy

• Federico Gramazio,
• Matteo Lorenzoni,
• Francesc Pérez-Murano,
• Enrique Rull Trinidad,
• Urs Staufer and
• Jordi Fraxedas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 883–891, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.90

• ambient conditions. The time evolution is expressed in terms of sequentially acquired images. The free oscillation amplitude was set to 30 nm and setpoint to Asp = 27 nm, respectively. The missing points 3, 4 and 5 correspond to approach curves taken for amplitude calibration. The continuous blue lines

Hybrid nanomaterials: from the laboratory to the market

• Verónica de Zea Bermudez,
• Fabrice Leroux,
• Pierre Rabu and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 861–862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.87

• have specifically adapted micro- and macroscopic properties and emergent phenomena. Materials from the natural world offer extraordinary features, such as self-healing, miniaturization, reconfigurability, and defect tolerance. Moreover, their synthesis typically takes place at roughly ambient

• conditions – often presenting a challenge to chemists, biologists, physicists, and engineers in its full complexity. In spite of these challenges, we nowadays have a basic understanding of how (desired) material properties are related to material composition and structure. One of the key observations in this

Measuring adhesion on rough surfaces using atomic force microscopy with a liquid probe

• Juan V. Escobar,
• Cristina Garza and
• Rolando Castillo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 813–825, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.84

• the tip is in contact with the surface due to the compression exerted by the cantilever during a measurement. As expected for the contact between stiff solids, the pull-off force measured with a tip is nearly independent of the contact length. We also measure Fadh in air, under ambient conditions, to

• be able to compare the value with published data. In this case, we obtain Fadh = 48.5 ± 0.1 nN (kc = 0.346 N/m). The measured Fadh in air is close to the value measured in vacuum, revealing the low humidity of our ambient conditions because forces of capillary origin seem to be negligible. Leite et

• . Because mica is a natural product the samples of which are not strictly the same, plus considering the contribution of humidity of other studies, we consider our results reasonably and close to those previously measured in air, under ambient conditions. Multi-scaled rough diamond surface–Si3N4 tip: Using

First examples of organosilica-based ionogels: synthesis and electrochemical behavior

• Andreas Taubert,
• Ruben Löbbicke,
• Barbara Kirchner and
• Fabrice Leroux

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 736–751, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.77

• monoliths with varying ratios of the silicon alkoxide precursors TMOS and BTMSPA ranging from 20:80, 40:60, 50:50, to 60:40 in two different solvents, methanol and acetone. All monoliths remain intact after Soxhlet extraction, Figure 2. After drying at ambient conditions, the monoliths shrink but again

• the materials made from methanol. The surface areas are remarkably high for monolithic silica materials dried under ambient conditions (xerogels) [49][50]. Moreover, many mesoporous systems collapse because of the strong forces applied to the pore walls by the evaporating solvent [49]; this is

• signs of leakage when stored at ambient conditions over several months. Moreover, the IGs do not show degradation (such as color changes or crack formation) even when stored in a vacuum oven at 250 °C for several days. Figure 8 shows representative IR spectra of a neat TBA20 monolith, the neat IL, and

Analysis and modification of defective surface aggregates on PCDTBT:PCBM solar cell blends using combined Kelvin probe, conductive and bimodal atomic force microscopy

• Hanaul Noh,
• Alfredo J. Diaz and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 579–589, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.62

• electrostatic [22] and van der Waals forces and topography can be avoided. On the other hand, aged samples stored for several weeks under ambient conditions show topographical features corresponding to the structures found in the phase and potential measurements (see Figure S3, Supporting Information File 1

• , using aged samples is not ideal for this study due to the degradation of the active layer. The current signals, especially for the hole-dominant current, typically decrease by more than a factor of ten after several weeks of storage under ambient conditions. However, as mentioned above, the removal of

• Sensors), were used for the measurements of Figures 1–4 and Figures 6 and 7, respectively. All measurements were carried out under ambient conditions. For selected experiments the samples were illuminated from the bottom side with a white LED source, but the results did not display significant changes

Graphene functionalised by laser-ablated V₂O₅ for a highly sensitive NH₃ sensor

• Margus Kodu,
• Artjom Berholts,
• Tauno Kahro,
• Mati Kook,
• Peeter Ritslaid,
• Helina Seemen,
• Tea Avarmaa,
• Harry Alles and
• Raivo Jaaniso

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 571–578, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.61

• NH3) into the test chamber. Graphene is typically a p-type conductor under ambient conditions due to chemical doping by adsorbed oxygen and water molecules [27][28]. Bearing in mind that NH3 acts as a hole acceptor and NO2 as a hole donor [1], the conductivity is expected to increase or decrease

Copper atomic-scale transistors

• Fangqing Xie,
• Maryna N. Kavalenka,
• Moritz Röger,
• Daniel Albrecht,
• Hendrik Hölscher,
• Jürgen Leuthold and
• Thomas Schimmel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 530–538, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.57

• -scale transistors and confirmed that copper atomic-scale transistors can be fabricated and operated electrochemically in a copper electrolyte (CuSO4 + H2SO4) in bi-distilled water under ambient conditions with three microelectrodes (source, drain and gate). The electrochemical switching-on potential of

Formation and shape-control of hierarchical cobalt nanostructures using quaternary ammonium salts in aqueous media

• Ruchi Deshmukh,
• Anurag Mehra and
• Rochish Thaokar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 494–505, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.53

• new ways. (i) We propose a new method to form hierarchical nanostructures of cobalt by an aqueous route under ambient conditions, using quaternary ammonium salts; (ii) a variety of shapes, from zero-dimensional spheres to hierarchical interlocked nanoplates and spindles, is obtained through small

• nanostructures; (v) we identify the importance of crystal twinning and various forces necessary for the formation of anisotropies. This is made possible by a detailed study of a cobalt–tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) system that forms nanoplates under ambient conditions. The understanding of this system is

• ambient conditions and under zero shear is discussed first. The critical steps for the formation of nanoplates are the twinning of seed crystals, the size reduction of particles and their controlled assembly to form two-dimensional nanoplates. The cobalt seeds are small spherical nanoparticles of ca. 30

Role of oxygen in wetting of copper nanoparticles on silicon surfaces at elevated temperature

• Tapas Ghosh and
• Biswarup Satpati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 425–433, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.45

• oxidation of Cu nanoparticles deposited by the galvanic displacement reaction on silicon surfaces at various ambient conditions. Experimental Copper nanoparticles have been deposited on Si(100) substrates by an easy, one-step galvanic displacement reaction. 5 mL of 10 mM CuSO4 (Merck, >99%) solution was

• behavior during the thermal annealing of Cu nanoparticles on Si surfaces at the same temperature (500 °C) and with the same annealing duration (1 min) but at different ambient conditions. Figure 6a–c reports on the results of as-deposited Cu nanoparticles on the silicon substrates deposited by the galvanic

• presented in Table 2. (a) As-deposited Cu nanoparticles on Si and when annealed at 500 °C for 1 min in (b) nitrogen and (c) oxygen. Area coverage for samples annealed under different ambient conditions. Summary of the particle distribution presented in Figure 7. Supporting Information Supporting

Template-controlled piezoactivity of ZnO thin films grown via a bioinspired approach

• Nina J. Blumenstein,
• Fabian Streb,
• Stefan Walheim,
• Thomas Schimmel,
• Zaklina Burghard and
• Joachim Bill

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 296–303, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.32

• templates with different functionalities [25][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] or to change the roughness of the growing films [36]. The principle of these methods was adapted from nature where multifunctional materials are produced under ambient conditions. Mollusks for example produce the organic/inorganic

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

• an amine function (dopamine). The photodegradation experiments for these model pollutants were performed under ambient conditions, under UV irradiation with low intensity (ca. 8 mW/cm2) to imitate the UV radiation from solar light, as well as under irradiation with visible light. The degradation

• In a manner analogous to [59], the photocatalytic activity of the synthesized hybrid films was evaluated following the degradation of phenol, hydroquinone or dopamine in aqueous solutions under ambient conditions and UV–visible irradiation. A piece of each composite film (1 g) was added into 50 mL of

Impact of contact resistance on the electrical properties of MoS₂ transistors at practical operating temperatures

• Filippo Giannazzo,
• Gabriele Fisichella,
• Aurora Piazza,
• Salvatore Di Franco,
• Giuseppe Greco,
• Simonpietro Agnello and
• Fabrizio Roccaforte

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 254–263, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.28

• band structure. As an example, MoS2 (the most studied among TMDs due to its high abundance in nature and relatively high stability under ambient conditions) exhibits an indirect bandgap of ≈1.3 eV in the case of few layers and bulk material and a direct bandgap of ≈1.8 eV in the case of a single layer

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

• during spin coating was 3000 rpm and coating time was 0.5 min. The obtained NP-based precursor films were aged at room temperature under ambient conditions for four days. The purpose of this ageing was to allow the remaining solvent to evaporate slowly, in order to prevent the cracking of the films

• films were examined in air under ambient conditions. The optical constants given here are those measured at 633 nm wavelength. Using ellipsometry, the refractive index of the film was modelled between 1.2–4.5 eV at a wavelength of 633 nm. The three-layer stack (silicon substrate/silicon oxide/TiO2 film

Studying friction while playing the violin: exploring the stick–slip phenomenon

• Santiago Casado

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 159–166, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.16

• same protocol. All AFM characterizations were made in air and ambient conditions, operating in dynamic mode. NT-MDT NSG01 cantilevers of around 150 kHz and 5 N/m, and tips of 6 nm typical radius, were used. Two-dimensional Fourier transforms were obtained using Gwyddion software. The samples were

Sensitive detection of hydrocarbon gases using electrochemically Pd-modified ZnO chemiresistors

• Elena Dilonardo,
• Michele Penza,
• Marco Alvisi,
• Gennaro Cassano,
• Cinzia Di Franco,
• Francesco Palmisano,
• Luisa Torsi and
• Nicola Cioffi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 82–90, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.9

• advantageous properties such as good sensitivity under ambient conditions and easy preparation [25]. The fundamental process of the gas-sensing mechanism, holding the MOx-based sensing material at elevated temperatures above 300 °C, is the reaction of the surrounding gases with the oxygen of the MOx layer

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

• AuNPs was then drop cast on the substrates in ambient conditions in order to obtain the films of AuNP aggregates. The substrates were cleaned by sonication for 20 min in a 1:1 mixture of ethanol/milli-Q water, prior to drop casting. Sample characterization The AuNP absorbance was characterized by a

Surface-enhanced infrared absorption studies towards a new optical biosensor

• Lothar Leidner,
• Julia Stäb,
• Jennifer T. Adam and
• Günter Gauglitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1736–1742, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.166

• PBS, there is a further increase of the absorption band. Equilibrium is reached 15 min after PBS is introduced. The experiment was performed under ambient conditions (room temperature, optical path through humid air, relative humidity was not recorded). Air humidity is responsible for the sharp peaks

Active and fast charge-state switching of single NV centres in diamond by in-plane Al-Schottky junctions

• Christoph Schreyvogel,
• Vladimir Polyakov,
• Sina Burk,
• Helmut Fedder,
• Andrej Denisenko,
• Felipe Fávaro de Oliveira,
• Ralf Wunderlich,
• Jan Meijer,
• Verena Zuerbig,
• Jörg Wrachtrup and
• Christoph E. Nebel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1727–1735, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.165

• optically detected magnetic resonance [3] at ambient conditions. Due to these outstanding properties it can be used for applications such as single-spin magnetometry [4], imaging in life science [5], quantum computing and quantum cryptography [6][7] at room temperature, i.e., without the need for cryogenic

• fabrication of the in-plane diamond Schottky diode is finished, which is shown schematically in Figure 2a. The current–voltage characteristic of this diode, measured at ambient conditions, shows very good Schottky properties (Figure 2b). Results and Discussion Active charge-state switching As already

• -plane Al-Schottky diode measured at ambient conditions. Active charge state control of a single NV centre. At zero bias there is only a PL-background of the diamond surface (black spectrum) since the NV centre is in the nonfluorescent NV+ state due to the interaction with the two-dimensional hole