Performance analysis of rigorous coupled-wave analysis and its integration in a coupled modeling approach for optical simulation of complete heterojunction silicon solar cells

• Ziga Lokar,
• Benjamin Lipovsek,
• Marko Topic and
• Janez Krc

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2315–2329, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.216

• conversion efficiency of solar cells. Such techniques aim to improve the coupling of light into the structure (e.g., antireflective coatings and nanostructures at the front side of solar cells) and the light trapping ability of the structure (e.g., nano- and micrometer size textures for light scattering and

• management coatings. Conclusion In the paper, we have analyzed the RCWA performance in terms of reliability and accuracy of the optical simulation of solar cell structures, in particular for HJ Si solar cells with textures for light management. For efficient simulation of whole HJ Si solar cells, including

Intrinsic ultrasmall nanoscale silicon turns n-/p-type with SiO₂/Si₃N₄-coating

• Dirk König,
• Daniel Hiller,
• Noël Wilck,
• Birger Berghoff,
• Merlin Müller,
• Sangeeta Thakur,
• Giovanni Di Santo,
• Luca Petaccia,
• Joachim Mayer,
• Sean Smith and
• Joachim Knoch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2255–2264, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.210

• ) in particular at the gate-channel/gate-underlap interface and at the Ni–contact–Si interfaces, both depending on lcon (see Supporting Information File 1). Without the energy shift caused by Si3N4-coatings in source/drain, we obtain substantially higher Schottky-barriers for device II, resulting in

• yield p- (n-) type behaviour by shifting the electronic DOS towards (away from) Evac using ultrathin Si3N4- (SiO2-) coatings. The key parameters for this phenomenon are the electron affinities X of N and O together with their IOB and bond length to Si. Using NEGF device simulations we compared two

Fabrication of photothermally active poly(vinyl alcohol) films with gold nanostars for antibacterial applications

• Mykola Borzenkov,
• Maria Moros,
• Claudia Tortiglione,
• Serena Bertoldi,
• Nicola Contessi,
• Silvia Faré,
• Angelo Taglietti,
• Agnese D’Agostino,
• Piersandro Pallavicini,
• Maddalena Collini and
• Giuseppe Chirico

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2040–2048, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.193

• antibacterial films and coatings. Keywords: antibacterial properties; gold nanostars; photothermal effect; poly(vinyl alcohol) films; Introduction The photothermal properties of non-spherical gold nanoparticles possessing localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) located in NIR range has already been

• (GNSs coated with SH-PEG-OCH3 and SH-PEG-COOH) and on the PVA film without GNSs, as a comparison. The two different GNS coatings were selected to study the possible modification of the mechanical properties of the films induced by the presence of PEGylated GNSs, in particular when coated with PEG

Recent highlights in nanoscale and mesoscale friction

• Andrea Vanossi,
• Dirk Dietzel,
• Andre Schirmeisen,
• Ernst Meyer,
• Rémy Pawlak,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Marcin Kisiel,
• Shigeki Kawai and
• Nicola Manini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1995–2014, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.190

• technological impact. For example, the treatment of surfaces with molecular layers can have beneficial effects as it is well known from PTFE-coated surfaces. There is a need of alternative coatings for modern touch screens to prevent fingerprints and other contaminants. Surfaces for medical applications are

Biomimetic and biodegradable cellulose acetate scaffolds loaded with dexamethasone for bone implants

• Aikaterini-Rafailia Tsiapla,
• Varvara Karagkiozaki,
• Veroniki Bakola,
• Foteini Pappa,
• Panagiota Gkertsiou,
• Eleni Pavlidou and
• Stergios Logothetidis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1986–1994, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.189

• are placed as coatings in medical devices in order to enhance the biocompatibility [2][3][4]. One technique to produce such coatings is electrospinning, which yields long micro- and nanofibers [5]. More specifically, physical and synthetic polymeric fibers of 30–20000 nm in length are produced by

• is created [23]. Grounded aluminum foils, glass substrates and also coatings for orthopaedic pins were used as collectors to carry out the necessary studies. Drug-release kinetics and degradation study of scaffolds Degradation study was carried out in order to evaluate the mass loss of polymer and

Synthesis of hafnium nanoparticles and hafnium nanoparticle films by gas condensation and energetic deposition

• Irini Michelakaki,
• Nikos Boukos,
• Dimitrios A. Dragatogiannis,
• Spyros Stathopoulos,
• Costas A. Charitidis and
• Dimitris Tsoukalas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1868–1880, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.179

• fragile coatings that tend to fracture under small loads, making them in many cases unsuitable for industrial use. Mechanical reinforcement is necessary to improve mechanical stability. Some proposed methods in this direction are calcination [28], atomic layer deposition [29], hydrothermal treatment [30

• undergone mechanical reinforcement with other techniques [29][30]. We believe it is porosity and strength of the bonding between the grains that affect the mechanical properties of the films. In the case of Vs = 0 kV, fragile NP coatings with poor mechanical properties are formed due to the weak adhesive

Friction force microscopy of tribochemistry and interfacial ageing for the SiO_x/Si/Au system

• Christiane Petzold,
• Marcus Koch and
• Roland Bennewitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1647–1658, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.157

• wear rate was found for the tips that had been in contact with reactive Si(100). Material transfer was found in one case, for the activated SiOx/Si tip after sliding on Au(111) (Figure 6d). The coatings of the Au/Si tips that were slid against reactive or oxidized Si(100) had a sharp border (Figure 6b

Surface characterization of nanoparticles using near-field light scattering

• Eunsoo Yoo,
• Yizhong Liu,
• Chukwuazam A. Nwasike,
• Sebastian R. Freeman,
• Brian C. DiPaolo,
• Bernardo Cordovez and
• Amber L. Doiron

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1228–1238, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.114

• microscope is efficient in characterization of polymer-coated nanoparticles. However, due to the fact that the nanoparticle scattering intensity depends on the dielectric constant of the material, multicomponent particle coatings, especially those on metallic or metal oxide materials such as those studied

• moderately spherical, with an average diameter of 18 ± 2 nm (n = 20) for uncoated SPIOs, 30 ± 6 nm (n = 20) for PEG-SPIOs, and 39 ± 5 nm (n = 20) for IPC-SPIOs. There was a gradual increase in size with the addition of the polymer coatings on the SPIOs. Hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential of

Electrodeposition of reduced graphene oxide with chitosan based on the coordination deposition method

• Mingyang Liu,
• Yanjun Chen,
• Chaoran Qin,
• Zheng Zhang,
• Shuai Ma,
• Xiuru Cai,
• Xueqian Li and
• Yifeng Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1200–1210, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.111

• controlled creation of rGO/chitosan nanocomposite coatings and films of different shapes and thickness. It also introduces a new method of creating films, as they can be peeled completely from the electrodes. Moreover, this method allows for a rGO/chitosan film to be deposited directly onto an electrode

• promising for uses in surface coatings, sensors and metallic biomaterials, however, to date little attention has been paid to this coordination electrodeposition method. A feature of the chitosan electrodeposition method is that it enables a controllable means to assemble nanoparticles (e.g., silver

• nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, manganese oxides nanoparticles, and carbon dots) on electrodes through codeposition with chitosan, which offers attractive applications in antimicrobial coatings, biosensors, microbial fuel cells, and energy storage materials [14][15][16][17][18]. Among the studies on the

Review on nanoparticles and nanostructured materials: history, sources, toxicity and regulations

• Jaison Jeevanandam,
• Ahmed Barhoum,
• Yen S. Chan,
• Alain Dufresne and
• Michael K. Danquah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1050–1074, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.98

• . Animals and small insects utilize nanostructures for their protection from predatory organisms as well as in their lightweight wings via nanowax coatings. Similarly, humans also possess organs that are primarily contructed by nanostructures, such as bones. Antibodies, enzymes and other secretions that are

• ][201]. These superhydrophobic materials were useful in applications such as water treatment [202][203], wettability switchers [204][205], smart actuators [206], transparent coatings and electrodes [207][208][209]. Nanoparticles and nanostructures in insects Insect wing membranes are comprised of

Single-crystalline FeCo nanoparticle-filled carbon nanotubes: synthesis, structural characterization and magnetic properties

• Rasha Ghunaim,
• Maik Scholz,
• Christine Damm,
• Bernd Rellinghaus,
• Rüdiger Klingeler,
• Bernd Büchner,
• Michael Mertig and
• Silke Hampel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1024–1034, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.95

• coatings, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been introduced as a protective shell due to their high stability in different chemical and physical environments such as acidic, basic, high temperature and pressurized conditions [33][34][35][36]. CNTs can also act as a template to control the size and morphology of

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

• ) compounds, and environmentally friendly alternatives are needed [2][7]. Control experiments in a recent work on encapsulating poorly water soluble organic corrosion inhibitors in the cyclic oligosaccharide β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) for incorporation into model polymer coatings on zinc led to the surprising

Bioinspired self-healing materials: lessons from nature

• Joseph C. Cremaldi and
• Bharat Bhushan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 907–935, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.85

• were identified: reversible muscle control, clotting, cellular response, layering, protective surfaces, vascular networks or capsules, exposure, and replenishable functional coatings. Then the relationship between these mechanisms, nature’s best (evolutionary) methods of mitigating and healing damage

• avenues of insight and research into self-healing materials. Keywords: animals; biomimetics, bioinspired; capsules; functional coatings; healing mechanisms; plants; protective surfaces; self-healing; vascular systems; Review Introduction The ability to heal is intrinsic to all multicellular organisms

• functionality to their surfaces to accomplish complex tasks without the need for movement. These replenishable surface layers consist of combinations of hierarchical morphology and/or chemistry to create different wetting behaviors and are referred to as functional coatings. In the well-known case of the lotus

Comparative study of antibacterial properties of polystyrene films with TiO_x and Cu nanoparticles fabricated using cluster beam technique

• Vladimir N. Popok,
• Cesarino M. Jeppesen,
• Peter Fojan,
• Anna Kuzminova,
• Jan Hanuš and
• Ondřej Kylián

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 861–869, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.80

• Antibacterial coatings were prepared by deposition of Ti and Cu nanoparticles from cluster beams on polystyrene films followed by thermal annealing above the glass transition temperature. Ti clusters are oxidized in three different ways: by long-term exposure to ambient atmosphere, by plasma-enhanced oxidation

• agents does not require UV light but the use leads to gradual decrease of efficiency. On the other hand, these coatings would be cheaper and easier to apply. Comparison of bactericidal efficiency is found to be lower for our supported NPs compared to standard tests using NPs in solutions. Thus, more

Facile synthesis of a ZnO–BiOI p–n nano-heterojunction with excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Mengyuan Zhang,
• Jiaqian Qin,
• Pengfei Yu,
• Bing Zhang,
• Mingzhen Ma,
• Xinyu Zhang and
• Riping Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 789–800, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.72

• (grant E2016203376). JQ would like to acknowledge the support from the Thai Government Budget (2017), Chulalongkorn University (GB_B_60_114_62_03), Ratchadapisek Sompoch Endowment Fund, Chulalongkorn University, granted to the Surface Coatings Technology for Metals and Materials Research Unit (GRU 60-001

Cyclodextrin-assisted synthesis of tailored mesoporous silica nanoparticles

• Fuat Topuz and
• Tamer Uyar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 693–703, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.64

• /bjnano.9.64 Abstract Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have sparked considerable interest in drug/gene delivery, catalysis, adsorption, separation, sensing, antireflection coatings and bioimaging because of their tunable structural properties. The shape, size and pore structure of MSNs are greatly

Tuning adhesion forces between functionalized gold colloidal nanoparticles and silicon AFM tips: role of ligands and capillary forces

• Sven Oras,
• Sergei Vlassov,
• Marta Berholts,
• Rünno Lõhmus and
• Karine Mougin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 660–670, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.61

• might hinder formation of water meniscus and prevent capillary forces or H-bonding. Contrary to NPs with a hydrophilic coating, hydrophobic (–CH3) and partially hydrophobic (–OCH3) coatings display a different behavior. Figure 3 indicates that the presence of a hydrophobic interface significantly

• close packing of the molecules ensured by vdW interactions between chains plays an essential role in stabilizing thin molecular films or coatings. It is well known that molecules with short alkyl chains (n < 8, where n represents the number of carbon atoms groups along the chain skeleton of the molecules

• at 4 °C in a dark bottle. HAuCl4 was dispersed in water, reduced by NaBH4 and stabilized by C2H7NS (electrosteric stabilization) due to the thiol–Au bond. For a hydrophobic and partially hydrophobic coatings, a two-step functionalization method [49] based on a modified version of two common syntheses

Sensing behavior of flower-shaped MoS₂ nanoflakes: case study with methanol and xylene

• Maryam Barzegar,
• Masoud Berahman and
• Azam Iraji zad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 608–615, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.57

• . The substrates were immersed in acetone and isopropyl alcohol and sonicated for 15 min to remove any undesired surface ions. A 200 nm Pt film as a snake-shaped heater was sputtered on the back of the substrate using a sputter coater from Nanostructured Coatings Co. To fabricate the sensor device

Periodic structures on liquid-phase smectic A, nematic and isotropic free surfaces

• Anna N. Bagdinova,
• Evgeny I. Demikhov,
• Nataliya G. Borisenko,
• Sergei M. Tolokonnikov,
• Gennadii V. Mishakov and
• Andrei V. Sharkov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 342–352, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.34

• applications, such as display quality technology and production enhancement. The free surface of liquid crystals is interesting by itself because many applications use one single boundary (e.g., coatings, paints, make-up) [3][4]. Appreciable progress in the development of tools for surface characterization

Nanoparticle delivery to metastatic breast cancer cells by nanoengineered mesenchymal stem cells

• Liga Saulite,
• Karlis Pleiko,
• Ineta Popena,
• Dominyka Dapkute,
• Ricardas Rotomskis and
• Una Riekstina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 321–332, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.32

• ]. However, after 48 h, 72 h and 96 h propagation on polyHEMA coatings, CD90 expression was reduced to 92%, 81% and 88%, respectively (Figure 2C). Therefore, we chose 24 h as the optimal incubation time for 3D cell co-culture experiments to ensure the selectivity of the CD90 marker towards MSCs. Quantum dot

• signal stability in mesenchymal stem cell spheroids Next, we sought to determine the stability of the QD label in MSC spheroids. QD release was estimated in MSCs that were labelled with QDs in complete or serum-free medium in 2D culture and seeded on polyHEMA coatings to form spheroids. After 24 h, only

• fluorescence intensity. *p-value < 0.05, ***p-value < 0.001. The viability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 cells in spheroids. The viability of cells was analysed in 3D monocultures (A) and 3D co-cultures (B) after 24 h and 48 h of cultivation on polyHEMA coatings. *p-value < 0.05

Review: Electrostatically actuated nanobeam-based nanoelectromechanical switches – materials solutions and operational conditions

• Liga Jasulaneca,
• Jelena Kosmaca,
• Raimonds Meija,
• Jana Andzane and
• Donats Erts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 271–300, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.29

• tungsten target at room temperature has a Young’s modulus as high as 300 GPa, which is comparable to the widely used WNx protective coatings (300–390 GPa) [143]. 3T NEM switches were fabricated by a top-down approach using reactive ion sputtering over a SiO2 sacrificial layer, employing electron beam

Dopant-stimulated growth of GaN nanotube-like nanostructures on Si(111) by molecular beam epitaxy

• Alexey D. Bolshakov,
• Alexey M. Mozharov,
• Georgiy A. Sapunov,
• Igor V. Shtrom,
• Nickolay V. Sibirev,
• Vladimir V. Fedorov,
• Evgeniy V. Ubyivovk,
• Maria Tchernycheva,
• George E. Cirlin and
• Ivan S. Mukhin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 146–154, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.17

• the field of photovoltaics. In case of silicon-based solar cells (SCs), reflection can be reduced from 30% (pure Si) down to 3% without deposition of multilayer antireflection coatings or involvement of complicated postgrowth techniques generally used for modification of the SC surface roughness [9

Advances in nanocarbon composite materials

• Sharali Malik,
• Arkady V. Krasheninnikov and
• Silvia Marchesan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 20–21, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.3

• then expanded to the area of two-dimensional materials. This Thematic Series contains reviews and articles spanning diverse areas of research and highlights promising applications for energy transfer composites, coatings, biosensors, diagnostics, biomedicine and advanced nanocarbon materials. Many of

Electro-optical characteristics of a liquid crystal cell with graphene electrodes

• Nune H. Hakobyan,
• Hakob L. Margaryan,
• Valeri K. Abrahamyan,
• Vladimir M. Aroutiounian,
• Arpi S. Dilanchian Gharghani,
• Amalya B. Kostanyan,
• Timothy D. Wilkinson and
• Nelson Tabirian

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2802–2806, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.279

• conductive layer, which is often a thin film of metal (e.g., Au, Ag) or indium tin oxide (ITO). However, the use of these coatings often complicates the technology because of the need for antireflection coatings, or they disturb the optical homogeneity and chemical stability [1][2][3]. Hence a number of

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

• beyond limiting particle size during synthesis and colloidal stability during formulation. Small inorganic ligands such as chalcogenides, conductive polymers and metallic coatings, for example a silver shell, yield inks with different interesting properties. They help to pack the conductive nanoparticles