Functionalized nanostructures for enhanced photocatalytic performance under solar light

• Liejin Guo,
• Dengwei Jing,
• Maochang Liu,
• Yubin Chen,
• Shaohua Shen,
• Jinwen Shi and
• Kai Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 994–1004, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.113

• : visible-light activity, chemical stability, appropriate band-edge characteristics, and potential for low-cost fabrication. Our aim is to present a short review of our recent attempts that center on the above requirements. We begin with a brief introduction of photocatalysts coupling two or more

• solar energy: visible-light activity, chemical stability, appropriate band-edge characteristics, and potential for low-cost fabrication. Finally, we highlight the heterostructure design at a precise nanoscale control, such as materials of same composition but different phases and/or from heterojunction

Optimizing the synthesis of CdS/ZnS core/shell semiconductor nanocrystals for bioimaging applications

• Li-wei Liu,
• Si-yi Hu,
• Ying Pan,
• Jia-qi Zhang,
• Yue-shu Feng and
• Xi-he Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 919–926, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.105

• core/shell structured QDs showed high QYs, outstanding physical and chemical stability, this strongly enhanced QY could be attributed to the wide band gap ZnS shell providing surface trap states that enhance the photostability. Photostability test Photobleaching is an effective method for improving the

Gas sensing with gold-decorated vertically aligned carbon nanotubes

• Prasantha R. Mudimela,
• Mattia Scardamaglia,
• Oriol González-León,
• Nicolas Reckinger,
• Rony Snyders,
• Eduard Llobet,
• Carla Bittencourt and
• Jean-François Colomer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 910–918, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.104

• very large surface area to volume ratio, high electron mobility, physico-chemical stability and high adsorption capability [2][3][4][5]. The use of CNTs as gas sensors was first proposed by Kong et al., who showed that a dramatic change in the electrical resistance of an individual single-walled

Nanostructure sensitization of transition metal oxides for visible-light photocatalysis

• Hongjun Chen and
• Lianzhou Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 696–710, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.82

• photosensitizer Carbon nanostructures as one of the important building blocks has been used in many research fields due to its unique properties such as good conductivity, chemical stability and high surface area. Carbon nanotube is a particular carbon nanostructure and displays a variety of unique properties

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ag–ZnO hybrid plasmonic nanostructures prepared by a facile wet chemical method

• Sini Kuriakose,
• Vandana Choudhary,
• Biswarup Satpati and
• Satyabrata Mohapatra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 639–650, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.75

• physical and chemical stability, non-toxicity and low cost [11][12][13][14][15][16]. However, ZnO nanostructures suffer from drawbacks such as a high electron–hole recombination rate and the inefficient utilization of sun light, which limit their photocatalytic activity [17][18]. Several attempts have been

Applicability and costs of nanofiltration in combination with photocatalysis for the treatment of dye house effluents

• Wolfgang M. Samhaber and
• Minh Tan Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 476–484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.55

• to 270 m3 of wastewater has to be treated prior to the release into the environment [1]. Conventional biological treatment plants are not effective in the removal of colour dye effluents, because of the aromatic structure of the large dye molecules, which provides chemical stability and, thus, also a

Neutral and charged boron-doped fullerenes for CO₂ adsorption

• Suchitra W. de Silva,
• Aijun Du,
• Wijitha Senadeera and
• Yuantong Gu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 413–418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.49

• and graphene offer excellent thermal and chemical stability as CO2 adsorbents [7][8]. Heterofullerenes are fullerene structures in which one or more cage carbon atoms are substituted by heteroatoms [9]. In addition to the properties mentioned above, which are inherent to carbon-based nanomaterials

Dye-sensitized Pt@TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures for the efficient photocatalytic generation of hydrogen

• Jun Fang,
• Lisha Yin,
• Shaowen Cao,
• Yusen Liao and
• Can Xue

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 360–364, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.41

• ], TiO2 has received extensive attention as one of the promising semiconductor photocatalysts, because of its high chemical stability, low cost and non-toxicity [2][3][4][5]. However, it suffers from the wide band gap (3.2–3.4 eV), which restricts the utilization of visible light, and the high

Thermal stability and reduction of iron oxide nanowires at moderate temperatures

• Annalisa Paolone,
• Marco Angelucci,
• Stefania Panero,
• Maria Grazia Betti and
• Carlo Mariani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 323–328, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.36

• +) with a high chemical stability, while the mixed chemical state of Fe3O4 (Fe2+/3+) might induce instabilities during its use as electrode material. In the present work, we present a spectroscopic and morphologic characterization of Fe2O3 nanowires (NWs), which were produced by means of a hard template

Preparation of NiS/ZnIn₂S₄ as a superior photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation

• Liang Wei,
• Yongjuan Chen,
• Jialin Zhao and
• Zhaohui Li

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 949–955, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.107

• different precursors. Previous studies revealed that both polymorphs of ZnIn2S4 are active for photocatalytic hydrogen generation under visible light irradiations and show considerable chemical stability [17][18][19]. However, the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity over pure ZnIn2S4 is low, due to

Adsorption of the ionic liquid [BMP][TFSA] on Au(111) and Ag(111): substrate effects on the structure formation investigated by STM

• Benedikt Uhl,
• Florian Buchner,
• Dorothea Alwast,
• Nadja Wagner and
• R. Jürgen Behm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 903–918, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.102

• ]; ionic liquids; scanning tunnelling microscopy; self-assembly; Introduction In the last 15 years ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted increasing attention due to their special physical and chemical properties such as a low volatility, high chemical stability, low flammability, high intrinsic conductivity

Lithium peroxide crystal clusters as a natural growth feature of discharge products in Li–O₂ cells

• Tatiana K. Zakharchenko,
• Anna Y. Kozmenkova,
• Daniil M. Itkis and
• Eugene A. Goodilin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 758–762, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.86

• alkali-metal–air rechargeable batteries is impossible because of the very limited cycle life, which primarily arises from the low chemical stability of the electrolytes [3] and the carbon positive electrodes [4]. The oyxgen reduction reaction, which occurs in the cathodes during the discharge of the

Large-scale atomistic and quantum-mechanical simulations of a Nafion membrane: Morphology, proton solvation and charge transport

• Pavel V. Komarov,
• Pavel G. Khalatur and
• Alexei R. Khokhlov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 567–587, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.65

• polymers are called ionomers (they are a variety of polyelectrolytes). Up to now, the perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) polymers, such as Nafion developed by DuPont in the late 1960s are the most successful PEM materials due to their excellent mechanical properties, chemical stability, and high proton

• conductivity (5 × 10−2 S/cm at 23 °C) [2]. For a long time, Nafion is regarded as a benchmark material in PEFCs due to its excellent combination of conductivity and chemical stability [2][3][4]. Nafion is a copolymer composed of the fluorocarbon backbone with attached side chains terminated with sulfonic

Photocatalytic antibacterial performance of TiO₂ and Ag-doped TiO₂ against S. aureus. P. aeruginosa and E. coli

• Kiran Gupta,
• R. P. Singh,
• Ashutosh Pandey and
• Anjana Pandey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 345–351, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.40

• zero viability at 40 mg/30 mL culture in the case of P. aeruginosa only. Keywords: Ag-doped TiO2; antimicrobial activity; sol–gel; Introduction The photocatalytic agent TiO2, known for its chemical stability and optical competency, has been used extensively for killing different groups of

• microorganisms including bacteria, fungi and viruses, because it has high photoreactivity, broad-spectrum antibiosis and chemical stability [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The photocatalytic activity of annealed TiO2 sturdily depends upon its existing phase, i.e., anatase, rutile, brokite. The anatase phase shows an

Functionalization of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes

• Eloise Van Hooijdonk,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Rony Snyders and
• Jean-François Colomer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 129–152, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.14

• of the humidity on the coefficient of friction was found to be insignificant. Because of their high aspect ratio and high chemical stability, carbon nanotubes can also find practical applications as electron-field emitters in flat-panel displays [81][82]. The major inconvenience is the weak field

Nanotribology at high temperatures

• Saurav Goel,
• Alexander Stukowski,
• Gaurav Goel,
• Xichun Luo and
• Robert L. Reuben

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 586–588, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.68

• propose that cubic boron nitride “CBN” could be an alternative appropriate choice for high-temperature nanotribology applications because of its superior thermal and chemical stability compared to that of diamond. Even though diamond and CBN have similar lattice structures, their surface chemistry is

A facile approach to nanoarchitectured three-dimensional graphene-based Li–Mn–O composite as high-power cathodes for Li-ion batteries

• Wenyu Zhang,
• Yi Zeng,
• Chen Xu,
• Ni Xiao,
• Yiben Gao,
• Lain-Jong Li,
• Xiaodong Chen,
• Huey Hoon Hng and
• Qingyu Yan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 513–523, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.59

• 10 mAh·g−1 during the 150th cycle. The comparison of the cathode performance between the LMO/G samples and pure LMO electrodes is summarized in Figure 9. For LMO cathode, there is an additional concern about the dissolution of the Mn2+ ions into the electrolyte [5]. Thus, the chemical stability

Template-assisted formation of microsized nanocrystalline CeO₂ tubes and their catalytic performance in the carboxylation of methanol

• Jörg J. Schneider,
• Meike Naumann,
• Christian Schäfer,
• Armin Brandner,
• Heiko J. Hofmann and
• Peter Claus

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 776–784, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.86

• ]. Due to its extraordinary thermal and chemical stability, it is a promising material for catalytic, environmental and energy applications, such as in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) [4][5], or for the elimination of pollutants from automobile exhaust gases, or for fluid catalytic cracking or