Oriented zinc oxide nanorods: A novel saturable absorber for lasers in the near-infrared

• Pavel Loiko,
• Tanujjal Bora,
• Josep Maria Serres,
• Haohai Yu,
• Magdalena Aguiló,
• Francesc Díaz,
• Uwe Griebner,
• Valentin Petrov,
• Xavier Mateos and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2730–2740, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.255

• based on randomly oriented SWCNTs in a PMMA film (all of them deposited on a 1 mm-thick fused silica substrate), and a commercial transmission-type semiconductor saturable absorber (SESA, for Tm laser). For the Yb laser, the performance of all such nanostructured SAs is modest. In general, this is

Cytotoxicity of doxorubicin-conjugated poly[N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide]-modified γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles towards human tumor cells

• Zdeněk Plichta,
• Yulia Kozak,
• Rostyslav Panchuk,
• Viktoria Sokolova,
• Matthias Epple,
• Lesya Kobylinska,
• Pavla Jendelová and
• Daniel Horák

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2533–2545, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.236

• high molecular weight, such as silica, chitosan, poly(amino acids), poly(acrylic acid), hyaluronic acid, alginic acid, poly(vinyl alcohol), polyethylenimine, dextran, or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) [10][11][12]. The latter one is known to escape recognition by reticuloendothelial system prolonging thus

Non-agglomerated silicon–organic nanoparticles and their nanocomplexes with oligonucleotides: synthesis and properties

• Asya S. Levina,
• Marina N. Repkova,
• Nadezhda V. Shikina,
• Zinfer R. Ismagilov,
• Svetlana A. Yashnik,
• Dmitrii V. Semenov,
• Yulia I. Savinovskaya,
• Natalia A. Mazurkova,
• Inna A. Pyshnaya and
• Valentina F. Zarytova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2516–2525, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.234

• "Vector", Koltsovo, Novosibirsk region, 630559, Russia 10.3762/bjnano.9.234 Abstract The development of efficient and convenient systems for the delivery of nucleic-acid-based drugs into cells is an urgent task. А promising approach is the use of various nanoparticles. Silica nanoparticles can be used as

• formation of TiO2·PL–DNA nanocomposites [1][2]. Silica nanoparticles can also be used as vehicles to deliver nucleic acid fragments into cells [3][4]. SiO2 nanoparticles bearing amino groups on the surface were shown to bind plasmid DNA, allowing the nanoparticles to penetration into cells, and even nuclei

• known to degrade to orthosilicic acid, Si(OH)4, which is found in almost all human tissues and effectively excreted through the urine [9]. Organically modified silica nanoparticles are known for their low toxicity and biocompatibility and can be used for targeted imaging and therapy [10][11]. The

Enhanced antineoplastic/therapeutic efficacy using 5-fluorouracil-loaded calcium phosphate nanoparticles

• Shanid Mohiyuddin,
• Saba Naqvi and
• Gopinath Packirisamy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2499–2515, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.233

• both in vitro and in vivo studies [5]. Gold nanoparticles conjugated with a trans-activating transcriptional activator (TAT) peptide modification encapsulated with the drug doxorubicin showed enhanced toxicity in brain cancer models [6]. Further, mesoporous silica nanoparticles were successfully used

• for hepatoma targeted delivery of docetaxel with lactose as the targeting molecule [7]. Curcumin-loaded organically modified silica nanoparticles (ORMOSIL) were studied to check the potential anticancer property of ORMOSIL nanocarriers [8]. However, in some instances, after nanoparticle formation, the

• the bulk. Thus metal-based NPs applied to biomedical applications could contradict the success of disease prognosis and treatment. Upon synthesis via solvent-extraction or calcination procedures, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were found to inhibit cellular respiration [10] in the in vivo

Droplet-based synthesis of homogeneous magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

• Christian D. Ahrberg,
• Ji Wook Choi and
• Bong Geun Chung

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2413–2420, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.226

• have been synthesized in pinched flow microfluidic geometries, such as fluorescent silica particles [13], or titanium dioxide particles [27]. For these applications, the microfluidic devices were made from poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) following a soft-lithography fabrication method [28][29], or made

• tubing using a small syringe needle. Two 5 cm long pieces of fused silica capillary (inner diameter = 100 µm, outer diameter = 360 µm, Supelco, USA) were inserted into the hole and arranged so that the two ends formed a 90° angle in the middle of the Tygon tubing. The holes were sealed with small amount

• solution was an aqueous solution of 4 M ammonia (Alfa Aesar, USA). The solutions were separately injected through the two fused silica capillaries of the droplet generator using syringe pumps with identical flowrates. Mineral oil (M5904, Sigma-Aldrich USA) with 0.075 vol % Triton X-100 (Samchun Chemical

SERS active Ag–SiO₂ nanoparticles obtained by laser ablation of silver in colloidal silica

• Cristina Gellini,
• Francesco Muniz-Miranda,
• Alfonso Pedone and
• Maurizio Muniz-Miranda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2396–2404, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.224

• , 41125 Modena, Italy Center for Molecular Modeling, Ghent University, Technologiepark 903, 9052 Zwijnaarde, Belgium 10.3762/bjnano.9.224 Abstract Highly stable Ag–SiO2 nanoparticle composites were first obtained by laser ablation of a silver target in an aqueous colloidal dispersion of silica and

• computational DFT approach provided evidence of ligand adsorption on positively charged adatoms of the silver nanostructured surface, in a very similar way to the metal/molecule interaction occurring in the corresponding Ag(I) coordination compound. Keywords: 2,2’-bipyridine; DFT; laser ablation; silica

• ; silver; Introduction Silica nanoparticles in an aqueous suspension are known to be inert and dispersible – properties which can be quite useful in the preparation of colloidal nanocomposites with silver. For this reason, there are a significant number of studies in the literature on colloidal substrates

Block copolymers for designing nanostructured porous coatings

• Roberto Nisticò

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2332–2344, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.218

• ) parts linked together by chemical bonds [101]. Analogous to surfactants, even amphiphilic block copolymers (such as the PS-b-PEO ones) can be used as templating agents [4]. As reported by Yu and co-workers [102], PS-b-PEO copolymers were used for the production of mesoporous silica films where a cubic

• close-packed spherical system was obtained by solvent evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) process. Different pore sizes can be obtained by changing the block length in the soft templates. By coupling the spin-coating deposition technique with the soft-templating approach, mesoporous silica coatings

• minimization of the surface free energy [104]. Analogously as for silica, even titania can be produced with closed spherical pores within the oxidic structures by using high molecular weight PS-b-PEO copolymers (as shown in Figure 6) [105]. Organic–inorganic PS-b-PEO/TiO2 hybrid nanostructured coatings can

Two-dimensional photonic crystals increasing vertical light emission from Si nanocrystal-rich thin layers

• Lukáš Ondič,
• Marian Varga,
• Ivan Pelant,
• Alexander Kromka,
• Karel Hruška and
• Robert G. Elliman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2287–2296, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.213

• good qualitative agreement with the measured ones. Fabrication of the samples Firstly, SiNC-rich layers were fabricated by Si ion implantation into a polished silica substrate followed by thermal annealing at 1100 °C (for details see [28]). An implant energy of 400 keV with an implant fluence of 1

Filling nanopipettes with apertures smaller than 50 nm: dynamic microdistillation

• Evelyne Salançon and
• Bernard Tinland

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2181–2187, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.204

• . Results and Discussion Quartz capillaries, being of pure silica, have certain intrinsic properties (low dielectric constant, low loss factor, high volume resistivity, strength and chemical purity) that make them appropriate for the reproducible electrical measurements described below. Notably, they

• nanopipette reliably usable in any experimental application. Experimental Nanopipette fabrication The capillaries used are pure silica tubes (quartz tubes) from Sutter (HERAEUS HSQ300) with 1 mm outer diameter and inner diameters of 300, 500 or 700 µm. Due to their high melting temperature, they are pulled

Electrospun one-dimensional nanostructures: a new horizon for gas sensing materials

• Muhammad Imran,
• Nunzio Motta and
• Mahnaz Shafiei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2128–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.202

• by co-electrospinning a poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) solution containing a titanium alkoxide (Ti(OiPr)4) and mineral oil. The mineral oil is removed at a later stage by calcination. In the same way, the interior of a hollow fiber is decorated by oil-dispersible nanoparticles using a silica capillary

Defect formation in multiwalled carbon nanotubes under low-energy He and Ne ion irradiation

• Santhana Eswara,
• Jean-Nicolas Audinot,
• Brahime El Adib,
• Maël Guennou,
• Tom Wirtz and
• Patrick Philipp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1951–1963, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.186

• improved mechanical properties which is similar to the one of collagen found in nature [7]. Vacancy formation and interconnections forming between CNTs have also been observed in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations during the irradiation of SWCNTs supported by silica [8]. MD simulations have been used to

Synthesis of a MnO₂/Fe₃O₄/diatomite nanocomposite as an efficient heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for methylene blue degradation

• Zishun Li,
• Xuekun Tang,
• Kun Liu,
• Jing Huang,
• Yueyang Xu,
• Qian Peng and
• Minlin Ao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1940–1950, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.185

• silica. Hence, diatomite offers a high specific surface area, a mesoporous structure and superior physicochemical stabilities. Due to the above advantages, together with the abundant reserves, low price and eco-friendly nature, diatomite is a promising support material for catalyst nanoparticles in

SO₂ gas adsorption on carbon nanomaterials: a comparative study

• Deepu J. Babu,
• Divya Puthusseri,
• Frank G. Kühl,
• Sherif Okeil,
• Michael Bruns,
• Manfred Hampe and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1782–1792, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.169

• , e.g., for flue gas scrubbing applications. These include, but are not limited to, various zeolites [3][4], metal-organic frameworks [5][6][7][8], mesoporous silica [9][10][11] and carbon nanomaterials [12][13][14][15]. Due to its higher stability against moisture and corrosive gases (typical flue gas

Toward the use of CVD-grown MoS₂ nanosheets as field-emission source

• Geetanjali Deokar,
• Nitul S. Rajput,
• Junjie Li,
• Francis Leonard Deepak,
• Wei Ou-Yang,
• Nicolas Reckinger,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Jean-Francois Colomer and
• Mustapha Jouiad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1686–1694, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.160

• overnight, the silica layer was removed, freeing the PMMA/MoS2 film from the growth substrate (SiO2/Si). The sample was subsequently transferred to deionized water to rinse the chemical etchants. Then, the desired substrate (here, FTO) was used to lift the PMMA/MoS2 out of the water. The sample was then

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

• ultra-sharp tip is scanned across the surface line by line probing a square frame. Lateral forces acting on the sliding contact are determined as deflection of a cantilever spring holding the tip. Single-asperity contact ageing between silica tip and surface has been directly observed in ambient

Nanocomposites comprised of homogeneously dispersed magnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles and poly(methyl methacrylate)

• Sašo Gyergyek,
• David Pahovnik,
• Ema Žagar,
• Alenka Mertelj,
• Rok Kostanjšek,
• Miloš Beković,
• Marko Jagodič,
• Heinrich Hofmann and
• Darko Makovec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1613–1622, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.153

• was successfully overcome by using polymer-grafted nanoparticles (magnetic and silica), i.e., composite nanoparticles that were mixed with the polymer, usually in the solution [10][22][23][24]. Critical factors that influence the state of dispersion of polymer-grafted nanoparticles in nanocomposites

Correlative electrochemical strain and scanning electron microscopy for local characterization of the solid state electrolyte Li_1.3Al_0.3Ti_1.7(PO₄)₃

• Nino Schön,
• Deniz Cihan Gunduz,
• Shicheng Yu,
• Hermann Tempel,
• Roland Schierholz and
• Florian Hausen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1564–1572, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.148

• ground for 10 to 15 minutes at 150 rpm. This was followed by polishing the samples for 4 to 8 minutes at 300 rpm in four steps. In the first two steps, a diamond suspension with 3 µm and 2 µm particles was used. Finally, two finishing steps were performed with a 0.2 µm silica suspension and a 0.05 µm

Formation mechanisms of boron oxide films fabricated by large-area electron beam-induced deposition of trimethyl borate

• Aiden A. Martin and
• Philip J. Depond

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1282–1287, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.120

• structural properties similar to those of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS, Si(C2H5O)4), which has been well characterized as a precursor for EBID of silica films [14]. TMB has previously been used for boron doping of SiO2 [15] and diamond [16], and the deposition of BCN fibres [17], BN nanotubes [18] and BN

• substrate temperatures between 26 and 405 °C. The deposition rate decreases rapidly with increasing substrate temperature, with TMB not undergoing activated chemisorption from the gas phase in stark contrast to the alkoxide-based silica precursor molecule TEOS. The morphology and composition of deposited

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

• and colleagues established that near-field light scattering using the nanophotonic force microscope can be used to measure the size of bare silica and PEG-coated silica nanoparticles very accurately [24]. PEGylation of the nanoparticle slightly altered the particle’s surface chemistry and increased

Heterostuctures of 4-(chloromethyl)phenyltrichlorosilane and 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)-21H,23H-porphine prepared on Si(111) using particle lithography: Nanoscale characterization of the main steps of nanopatterning

• Phillip C. Chambers and
• Jayne C. Garno

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1211–1219, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.112

• the uncovered sites of Si(111) to enable spatial confinement of the surface reaction. Silica spheres with a diameter of 500 nm were used as a surface mask to prepare nanoscopic holes within the OTS matrix film. Next, the samples were immersed in solutions of CMPS dissolved in toluene or bicyclohexane

• were characterized after each key step of sample preparation. A surface platform of nanoholes was generated in the first step by depositing silica spheres on a silicon substrate (Figure 1a). The masked surface was then immersed in a solution of OTS to form a methyl-terminated matrix film in between the

• silica spheres of the surface mask. The spheres were then removed with a washing step to produce a hexagonal pattern of nanoholes within the OTS film (Figure 1b), conforming to the arrangement of the surface mask. Samples with nanoholes within OTS were then placed in a solution of CMPS and either toluene

Circular dichroism of chiral Majorana states

• Javier Osca and
• Llorenç Serra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1194–1199, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.110

• allowed measuring the extinction spectrum of a single silica shell-coated silver nanoparticle excited with varying polarizations [29]. Energy eigenvalues close to zero energy as a function of ΔB. Panels a) and b) are for a square of dimensions Lx = Ly = 10LU, while c) and d) correspond to a rectangle of

A simple extension of the commonly used fitting equation for oscillatory structural forces in case of silica nanoparticle suspensions

• Sebastian Schön and
• Regine von Klitzing

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1095–1107, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.101

• are obtained, namely wavelength, amplitude and decay length, which are related to the period, the strength and the correlation length of the oscillatory structural forces, respectively. The paper addresses structural forces between a silica microsphere and a silicon wafer across silica nanoparticle

• concentrations of silica nanoparticles. As a consequence, the parameters of the common fit equation vary with the starting point of the fit. Although the wavelength is least affected and seems to be quite robust against the starting point of the fit, all three parameters show distinct oscillations, with a period

• small separations and even for high silica nanoparticle concentrations (10 wt %). Furthermore wavelength, amplitude and decay length become independent of the starting point of the fit and in case of the latter two of each other. The larger forces at small separations indicate a more pronounced ordering

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

• to be used in potential applications. Due to their high surface-to-volume (S/V) ratio, MNPs are more susceptible to oxidation, agglomeration, aggregation [31][32]. Therefore, it is necessary to produce MNPs with a protective layer which preserves their properties. Compared to polymer or silica

Enzymatically promoted release of organic molecules linked to magnetic nanoparticles

• Chiara Lambruschini,
• Silvia Villa,
• Luca Banfi,
• Fabio Canepa,
• Fabio Morana,
• Annalisa Relini,
• Paola Riani,
• Renata Riva and
• Fulvio Silvetti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 986–999, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.92

• by reaction with 3-aminopropyltri(ethoxy)silane (APTES) [36]. The final product was coded as NP@APTES. We also prepared magnetic nanoparticles through the reverse micelle methodology, as described elsewhere [37]. In this case the nanoparticles obtained were silica-coated and already capped with APTES

• . They are here identified as NP@silica@APTES. The morphology and chemical composition of these nanoparticles was studied using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) in combination with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) in addition to dynamic light scattering (DLS). In Figure 1A

• films of the copper grids used to deposit a drop of sample for analysis. Due to the magnetic interactions between particles, the sample is characterized by large aggregates, which are comprised of single nanoparticles with a mean diameter of about 10 nm. The sample NP@silica@APTES is characterized by

A review of carbon-based and non-carbon-based catalyst supports for the selective catalytic reduction of nitric oxide

• Shahreen Binti Izwan Anthonysamy,
• Syahidah Binti Afandi,
• Mehrnoush Khavarian and
• Abdul Rahman Bin Mohamed

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 740–761, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.68

• sturdy carbon composition; (iv) able to be produced in different physical shape (granules, pellets, fibres, and cloth) as carbon-based catalyst is very much porous in structure; (v) the cost of carbon-based supports is usually lower and more economical as compared to the conventional supports (silica and