Graphene composites with dental and biomedical applicability

• Sharali Malik,
• Felicite M. Ruddock,
• Adam H. Dowling,
• Kevin Byrne,
• Wolfgang Schmitt,
• Ivan Khalakhan,
• Yoshihiro Nemoto,
• Hongxuan Guo,
• Lok Kumar Shrestha,
• Katsuhiko Ariga and
• Jonathan P. Hill

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 801–808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.73

• resultant graphene-modified composites show that low concentrations of graphene (ca. 0.2 wt %) lead to enhanced performance improvement in physio-mechanical properties – the mean compressive strength increased by 27% and the mean compressive modulus increased by 22%. Herein we report a new, cheap and simple

• method to make large quantities of few-layer graphene which was then incorporated into a common dental polymer to fabricate graphene-composites which shows very promising mechanical properties. Keywords: biocompatibility; bioglass; graphene; mechanical properties; nanocomposite; Introduction Now that

• mechanical properties. One of the main problems facing dental-polymers is that of location. They are situated within the mouth which is an extremely demanding setting – exposure to moisture, high temperatures, and abrasion from toothbrushes plus a variety of foodstuffs all have to be dealt with. These

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

• excitation modes contribute strongly to the energy transfer to the substrate and thus to its physico-chemical and mechanical properties resulting in decrease of adhesion forces during a contact between two interfaces. On the contrary, longer molecules (n > 8) self-assemble in a well-packed system with higher

Single-step process to improve the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube yarn

• Maria Cecilia Evora,
• Xinyi Lu,
• Nitilaksha Hiremath,
• Nam-Goo Kang,
• Kunlun Hong,
• Roberto Uribe,
• Gajanan Bhat and
• Jimmy Mays

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 545–554, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.52

• single-step surface modification of CNTs to improve the mechanical properties of this material. To this end, CNT yarns were simultaneously functionalized and crosslinked using acrylic acid (AA) and acrylonitrile (AN) in an e-beam irradiation process. The chemical modification of CNT yarns was confirmed

• by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The best improvement in mechanical properties was achieved on a sample treated with an aqueous solution of AA and subsequent irradiation. CNT yarn treatment with AA enhanced the strength (444.5

• crosslinking by introducing junctions between polymer chains and transform a linear polymer into a three dimensional molecule. In general, these junctions may be responsible for the improvement of mechanical properties [29]. In this study, we investigated the morphology and mechanical properties of multiwalled

Ultralight super-hydrophobic carbon aerogels based on cellulose nanofibers/poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide (CNFs/PVA/GO) for highly effective oil–water separation

• Zhaoyang Xu,
• Huan Zhou,
• Sicong Tan,
• Xiangdong Jiang,
• Weibing Wu,
• Jiangtao Shi and
• Peng Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 508–519, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.49

• on the planet because of its biodegradability, sustainability, nontoxic nature, and biocompatibility [5]. Cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) derived from cellulose have gained wide attention due to their outstanding mechanical properties [6][7] such as an elastic modulus of 140 GPa [8]. In an aqueous

• chosen as the second component in the CNF-based aerogel due to its excellent mechanical properties. Besides, the oxygen atoms on its surface can promote the formation of hydrogen bonds among the three aerogel components (CNFs, PVA, and GO). The CNF/PVA/GO aerogels show outstanding thermal and mechanical

• properties but also exhibit some drawbacks such as poor hydrophobic properties and low oil absorption capacity. Therefore, a carbonization treatment of the CNF/PVA/GO aerogels was required to improve their properties. In this work, we present a facile process for preparing carbon aerogels exhibiting super

Engineering of oriented carbon nanotubes in composite materials

• Razieh Beigmoradi,
• Abdolreza Samimi and
• Davod Mohebbi-Kalhori

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 415–435, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.41

• fabricated with a smaller average diameter have significantly better mechanical properties. Gulotty et al. have reported that CNTs with a longer and larger diameter more efficiently improve the thermal conductivity of polymer composites [10]. Furthermore, it has been shown that for biological applications

• due to their desirable physical properties [43]. In this regard, CNT/fibers have obtained a special spotlight because of their possibility to be arranged in a controlled way, the dependency of bulk electrical and mechanical properties of composites on the characteristics of the CNT, and the ensemble

• ]. For example, Park et al. described how better alignment and mechanical and actuating performance of CNT/PVDF ES nanofibers was achieved by changing the drum collector parameters [51]. Their results indicated that the mechanical properties were improved up to 300% in the arranged direction. A standard

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

• mechanical strain [124][125], their electrical breakdown and mass loss caused by field evaporation [126]. Graphene: For fabricating NEM switches, monolayer [24][25][26][27] as well as few-layer [28][29][30][31] graphene materials are used. The mechanical properties are decisive for selecting the number of

Al₂O₃/TiO₂ inverse opals from electrosprayed self-assembled templates

• Arnau Coll,
• Sandra Bermejo,
• David Hernández and
• Luís Castañer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 216–223, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.23

• deposition capacity and mechanical properties [41][42]. The main purpose of this article is to apply this technique to the fabrication of inverse opals using the 3D polystyrene nanoparticle template which enables the creation of large scale, large thickness, self-assembled structures with minimum fabrication

Liquid-crystalline nanoarchitectures for tissue engineering

• Baeckkyoung Sung and
• Min-Ho Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 205–215, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.22

• structures [32]. Soft connective tissues Mesophase organizations of the ECM fibers can play important roles not only in the optimization of mechanical properties of the tissue itself, but also in the regulations of functions of embedded cells [65]. The assembly structure of oriented collagen fibers in

Humidity-dependent wound sealing in succulent leaves of Delosperma cooperi – An adaptation to seasonal drought stress

• Olga Speck,
• Mark Schlechtendahl,
• Florian Borm,
• Tim Kampowski and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 175–186, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.20

• significant differences of the single main effects such as “humidity conditions in the wound region” and “time after wounding” and their interaction effect. The centripetal arrangement of five tissue layers with various thicknesses and significantly different mechanical properties might play an additional

• ) restoration of the mechanical properties of the injured organ. Often self-repair is used as an umbrella term comprising both self-sealing and self-healing. Interestingly, these definitions hold true for the self-repair in plants, animals and technical materials, whereas in the latter, the sealing and the

• [1][2][3][4][5]. In classical materials research, self-healing efficiency is assessed based on the restoration of mechanical properties by a comparison of the change in the function of the intact and healed material [4]. In contrast, in this study, self-sealing efficiency is evaluated via the

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

• newer areas of nanocarbon materials for use in biomedicine and diagnostics. Energy transfer materials are also well represented with articles and reviews covering aspects of engineering, thermo-mechanical properties, photovoltaics and Li-ion battery materials. Last but not least, we would like to thank

Material discrimination and mixture ratio estimation in nanocomposites via harmonic atomic force microscopy

• Weijie Zhang,
• Yuhang Chen,
• Xicheng Xia and
• Jiaru Chu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2771–2780, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.276

• topographic information [5][6][7][8][9][10]. The materials can be consequently identified by differences in the measured physical characteristics, and in particular, discrimination through mechanical properties has broad potential applications. These operation modes including tapping phase, force modulation

• mode and contact resonance AFM have their own features and ideal conditions [11][12][13]. For example, the phase signal in tapping AFM carries certain information on the mechanical properties. Such a mode reduces sample damage and allows softer materials to be nondestructively scanned. However, the

• modulation and resonance frequency in contact resonance AFM are used to extract the mechanical properties quantitatively [16][17]. However, the continuous tip–sample contact may cause severe sample damage or tip wear. In tapping mode, the tip can touch the sample periodically. Due to the nonlinear contact

Patterning of supported gold monolayers via chemical lift-off lithography

• Liane S. Slaughter,
• Kevin M. Cheung,
• Sami Kaappa,
• Huan H. Cao,
• Qing Yang,
• Thomas D. Young,
• Andrew C. Serino,
• Sami Malola,
• Jana M. Olson,
• Stephan Link,
• Hannu Häkkinen,
• Anne M. Andrews and
• Paul S. Weiss

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2648–2661, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.265

• the PDMS before each sample was rinsed on both sides with ethanol and blown dry. Peak-force atomic force microscopy A Bruker Dimension Icon scanning probe microscope (Bruker Nano, Santa Barbara, CA, USA) was used to map the topography and mechanical properties of flat PDMS stamps patterned with Au

Molecular dynamics simulations of nanoindentation and scratch in Cu grain boundaries

• Shih-Wei Liang,
• Ren-Zheng Qiu and
• Te-Hua Fang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2283–2295, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.228

• ] techniques have been used to measure the mechanical properties and wear resistance of materials with the aim to design nanoscale devices. On a microscopic level, the dislocation phenomenon of the internal material affects its structure. However, the observation of this slight change in the internal structure

• of the material along with the complex dislocation phenomenon of the grain boundary is unclear at the macroscopic scale. In the past few years, many researchers have used numerical simulation analysis to discuss the mechanical properties of metals [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17

• avoiding a smooth transmission of the force and favoring its accumulation on the grain boundary. Indentation for the vertical grain boundary The deformation behavior and the mechanical properties of the crystal layers at the different angles upon pressure from the indenter at the top of the grain boundary

Fabrication of gold-coated PDMS surfaces with arrayed triangular micro/nanopyramids for use as SERS substrates

• Jingran Zhang,
• Yongda Yan,
• Peng Miao and
• Jianxiong Cai

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2271–2282, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.227

• mechanical properties such as hardness, elastic modulus and friction coefficient. The fabrication of micro/nanostructures using the nanoindenter method can be also achieved. The shortcomings of this technique include low machining speed, small machining area and high cost, and thus the nanoindentation method

Vapor-based polymers: from films to nanostructures

• Meike Koenig and
• Joerg Lahann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2219–2220, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.221

• exemplary application of vapor-borne coatings. Here, a 3D-printed device can be equipped with the desired functionality on its surface, while the bulk material can be chosen independently, according to the requirements of the printing process and the desired mechanical properties [7]. The conformal

High-stress study of bioinspired multifunctional PEDOT:PSS/nanoclay nanocomposites using AFM, SEM and numerical simulation

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

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2069–2082, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.207

• . Particularly, the nacre-mimetic brick-and-mortar structure has shown excellent mechanical properties, as well as gas-barrier properties and optical transparency. Along with these intrinsic properties, the layered structure has also been utilized in sensing devices. Here we extend the multifunctionality of

• ), contact-resonance force microscopy (mechanical properties), and SEM combined with a variety of stress-strain AFM experiments and AFM numerical simulations (internal structure). We further study the nanoclay’s response to the application of pressure with multifrequency AFM and conductive AFM, whereby

• received much attention due to its remarkable mechanical properties and convoluted structure. Nacre is composed of 95% aragonite platelets separated by 5% organic matter, displaying a multiscale hierarchical structure with features ranging from molecular to macroscopic scales [8]. The experimental approach

Preparation and characterization of polycarbonate/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites

• Claudio Larosa,
• Niranjan Patra,
• Marco Salerno,
• Lara Mikac,
• Remo Merijs Meri and
• Mile Ivanda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2026–2031, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.203

• serious thermal stability issues at the hot embossing temperature of PC. It has been suggested that the addition of MWCNTs can significantly change the mechanical properties of PC, as well as affect the crystallization behavior [5]. In former work, the effect of adding gold nanoparticles on the optical

• used p-xylene and dichloromethane solvent to mix MWCNTs and prevent their agglomeration induced by strong van der Waals forces. Previous work carried out on PC/MWCNT composites with focus on the mechanical properties showed an increase in the storage modulus obtained from indentation measurements at

Enhancement of mechanical and electrical properties of continuous-fiber-reinforced epoxy composites with stacked graphene

• Naum Naveh,
• Olga Shepelev and
• Samuel Kenig

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1909–1918, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.191

• epoxy/SG composites at lower percolation thresholds, and improved thermo-mechanical properties were measured with either Kevlar, carbon or glass-fiber-reinforced composites. Several compositions with SAA-modified SG led to higher dynamic moduli especially at high temperatures, reflecting the better

• -mechanical behavior. Keywords: composite; exfoliation; graphene; surface-active agents (SAAs); thermo-mechanical properties; Introduction Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been suggested as an efficient conductive filler because of the outstanding electrical properties and the high aspect ratio. CNT-modified

• , thus contributing to the mechanical properties and percolation threshold reduction of conductive polymer/graphite nanocomposites [11][12]. Graphite intercalation compounds (GIC) may provide a plausible high-yield source for polymer nanocomposites [8]. However, most of the methods described in the

Evaluation of preparation methods for suspended nano-objects on substrates for dimensional measurements by atomic force microscopy

• Petra Fiala,
• Daniel Göhler,
• Benno Wessely,
• Michael Stintz,
• Giovanni Mattia Lazzerini and
• Andrew Yacoot

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1774–1785, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.179

• held responsible for the use of, or inability to use, any products mentioned herein that have been used by TU Dresden or NPL. Acknowledgements This research was supported by the European Union by funding the European Metrology Research Programme (EMRP) project “Traceable measurement of mechanical

• properties of nano-objects (MechProNO)”. All authors wish to thank all members of the MechProNO project for their support and discussions.

Nanotribological behavior of deep cryogenically treated martensitic stainless steel

• Germán Prieto,
• Konstantinos D. Bakoglidis,
• Walter R. Tuckart and
• Esteban Broitman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1760–1768, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.177

• behavior and mechanical properties at the nano-scale of cryogenically and conventionally treated AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel were evaluated. Conventionally treated specimens were subjected to quenching and annealing, while the deep cryogenically treated samples were quenched, soaked in liquid

• controlling with high precision the applied force, and measuring the topographical modifications and the friction forces. The purpose of this paper is to deepen the understanding of the influence of cryogenic treatments on the wear resistance and the mechanical properties of a low-carbon AISI 420 martensitic

Oxidative stabilization of polyacrylonitrile nanofibers and carbon nanofibers containing graphene oxide (GO): a spectroscopic and electrochemical study

• İlknur Gergin,
• Ezgi Ismar and
• A. Sezai Sarac

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1616–1628, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.161

• mechanical properties and a potential for a variety of applications; such as supercapacitor applications, battery applications, and catalyst support materials. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) is one of the well-known precursor for obtaining carbon nanofibers that have a diameter ranging between nanometers and

• mechanical properties because of the interaction between nanofibers and the matrix material [4]. CNF can be used as reinforcing material inside the polymer composites thanks to their enhanced mechanical and physical properties [5][6][7]. The manufacturing of CNF/polymer composites is challenging and the

• carbonization was performed at 900 °C for 1 h under nitrogen atmosphere. Characterization Attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy were used to record the characteristic peaks of the oxidized and carbonized nanofibers. Mechanical properties of

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

• . Carbon-based 2D materials Graphene Since the discovery of graphene in 2004, it has attracted great attention because of its fascinating electrical, thermal, optical and mechanical properties. Basically, graphene consists of a single layer of sp2 hybridized carbon atoms densely packed into an atomically

• , thermal, optical and mechanical properties, graphene helps to enhance the photocatalytic performance by acting as excellent electron acceptor and transporter in nanocomposites. Moreover, enhanced pollutant adsorption on the surface of graphene is an additional advantage, which accelerates the

High-speed dynamic-mode atomic force microscopy imaging of polymers: an adaptive multiloop-mode approach

• Juan Ren and
• Qingze Zou

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1563–1570, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.158

• and evaluation of the AMLM technique by imaging three types of polymer samples different in both topography features and heterogeneous mechanical properties. The three samples, made of polystyrene–low-density polyethylene (PS–LDPE), styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS) and celgard, respectively, have over

• the capability of the AMLM technique in high-quality high-speed imaging on a wide variety of samples with largely different feature sizes and mechanical properties. Conclusion In this work, the performance of the adaptive multiloop-mode (AMLM) imaging technique has been tested and assessed via high

• two orders of magnitude different lateral feature sizes, ranging from 10 nm (Celgard) to 100 nm (SBS) and up to 2 μm (PS–LDPE), respectively. The elasticity also differs over two orders of magnitude, ranging from 20 MPa (SBS) to 2 GPa (PS). These samples, with largely heterogeneous mechanical

Parylene C as a versatile dielectric material for organic field-effect transistors

• Tomasz Marszalek,
• Maciej Gazicki-Lipman and
• Jacek Ulanski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1532–1545, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.155

• crystallinity of Parylene C films affects their mechanical properties such as elastic modulus and/or Poisson’s ratio. The sample with higher crystallinity has approximately 30% greater tensile strength than the as-deposited films, a feature highly required from the point of view of material flexibility. The

• the results obtained for bent transistors, that the encapsulation layer substantially improves mechanical properties of the devices. Parylene C as a gate insulating layer The purity of thin dielectric films has a tremendous impact on their electrical properties. Results of electrical breakdown voltage

• . Parylene C forms transparent, pinhole-free conformal coatings of thicknesses as low as 0.1 μm with excellent dielectric and mechanical properties. Increasing thickness to 0.2 mm suffices to uniformly cover rough colloidal-graphite contacts. Transistors with rubrene as semiconductor and parylene as

Calcium fluoride based multifunctional nanoparticles for multimodal imaging

• Marion Straßer,
• Joachim H. X. Schrauth,
• Sofia Dembski,
• Daniel Haddad,
• Bernd Ahrens,
• Stefan Schweizer,
• Bastian Christ,
• Alevtina Cubukova,
• Marco Metzger,
• Heike Walles,
• Peter M. Jakob and
• Gerhard Sextl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1484–1493, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.148

• favorable chemical and mechanical properties. They seem to be perfect materials as fluorescence host matrix owing to their low phonon energies and they subsequently minimize the quenching of the excited state of rare-earth ions. In contrast to chloride or bromide hosts, fluorides are completely air stable