Expanding the molecular-ruler process through vapor deposition of hexadecanethiol

• Alexandra M. Patron,
• Timothy S. Hooker,
• Daniel F. Santavicca,
• Corey P. Causey and
• Thomas J. Mullen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2339–2344, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.233

• attributed to C16 molecules bound to a MHDA monolayer via cupric ions. The morphology of these islands is consistent with previous AFM topographic images of solution-deposited Cu-ligated MHDA-C16 bilayers [27]. This surface morphology results in a RMS roughness of 3.2 ± 0.5 nm, which is considerably larger

• variations in the surface morphology of the Cu-ligated MHDA-C16 bilayers, it seems that the solution deposition of C16 is not suitable for use in the molecular-ruler process, and specifically for producing nanogaps with reproducible uniformity. To overcome this limitation, the vapor deposition of C16 is

• height of these protruding islands (3.6 ± 0.2 nm) is consistent with the least-protruding C16 islands of the Cu-ligated MHDA-C16 bilayers formed via solution deposition. Protruding islands of greater thicknesses are not observed. The surface morphology of the Cu-ligated MHDA-C16 bilayer formed via vapor

Tailoring the nanoscale morphology of HKUST-1 thin films via codeposition and seeded growth

• Landon J. Brower,
• Lauren K. Gentry,
• Amanda L. Napier and
• Mary E. Anderson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2307–2314, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.230

• characterize samples, investigating surface morphology, surface roughness, and film thickness. Results and Discussion For this study of codeposition and seeded surMOF film growth, the MOF was anchored to the substrate by a SAM of 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid (MHDA), which was formed on a thermally deposited

• surface coverage with larger particles relative to the 48 h sample. Quantitative analysis of AFM images showed that the roughness of the 1.5 h sample was four times that of the 48 h sample. While this type of control of surface morphology has potential, the time requirements for the smooth film could be

• (b) on SAM-coated Au surfaces. Additional layers of HKUST-1 were added to these codeposited samples via layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition. The subsequent surface morphology was imaged (c,d) and the previous surface morphology was maintained. Data regarding the roughness (R) for the image shown here and

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

• dimensions and geometry of the tip. Nevertheless, the measured nanoclay dimensions are in both cases near the expected range (25 ± 4 nm [11]). Composite materials based on nanoclays have a distinctive fractured surface morphology. One way of verifying the layered structure of the nanocomposites is to image

Systematic control of α-Fe₂O₃ crystal growth direction for improved electrochemical performance of lithium-ion battery anodes

• Nan Shen,
• Miriam Keppeler,
• Barbara Stiaszny,
• Holger Hain,
• Filippo Maglia and
• Madhavi Srinivasan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2032–2044, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.204

• -methylethylenediamine (95%, Sigma-Aldrich) instead of 1,2-diaminopropane. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed on a Shimadzu XRD-6000 diffractometer operating at 40 kV and 40 mA using Cu Kα radiation (λ = 0.154 nm) with a copper target and a nickel filter. The surface morphology and microstructure of the

Advances and challenges in the field of plasma polymer nanoparticles

• Andrei Choukourov,
• Pavel Pleskunov,
• Daniil Nikitin,
• Valerii Titov,
• Artem Shelemin,
• Mykhailo Vaidulych,
• Anna Kuzminova,
• Pavel Solař,
• Jan Hanuš,
• Jaroslav Kousal,
• Ondřej Kylián,
• Danka Slavínská and
• Hynek Biederman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2002–2014, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.200

• preserve the initial surface morphology. Certain applications however may require control over the structure in a broader range covering both nanometer and micrometer scales. Plasma polymer NPs may be useful for this purpose as well, especially if glancing angle deposition (GLAD) is considered. Evaporative

• columns inclined towards the direction of the deposition. Obviously, the porosity of the coatings is greatly increased when it is deposited over the preseeded NPs. This approach also offers the possibility to combine different materials, and hence, to independently tune the surface morphology and the

Bi-layer sandwich film for antibacterial catheters

• Gerhard Franz,
• Florian Schamberger,
• Hamideh Heidari Zare,
• Sara Felicitas Bröskamp and
• Dieter Jocham

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1982–2001, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.199

Intercalation of Si between MoS₂ layers

• Rik van Bremen,
• Qirong Yao,
• Soumya Banerjee,
• Deniz Cakir,
• Nuri Oncel and
• Harold J. W. Zandvliet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1952–1960, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.196

• intrinsic defects, which are visible as dark depressions as indicated by the arrow in Figure 1a. These defects are most probably caused by vacancies or interstitials and have been found to exhibit a metal-like behavior [42][43]. Upon the deposition of 0.2 monolayers of Si, the surface morphology converts to

Growth and characterization of textured well-faceted ZnO on planar Si(100), planar Si(111), and textured Si(100) substrates for solar cell applications

• Chin-Yi Tsai,
• Jyong-Di Lai,
• Shih-Wei Feng,
• Chien-Jung Huang,
• Chien-Hsun Chen,
• Fann-Wei Yang,
• Hsiang-Chen Wang and
• Li-Wei Tu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1939–1945, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.194

• the ZnO(002), which closely match the textured silicon surface as well. As a result, the planar Si(100) substrate will favor ZnO(110) crystallization, while the planar Si(111) substrate will favor Zn(002). The surface morphology of the ZnO film on planar Si(100) substrate will have more ridge-like

• -sized texture of the Si substrate has a limited contribution. Discussion The main grain orientation, surface morphology, AFM surface roughness (Rq) from AFM, average grain size (D), strain (ε), and CL intensity of samples ZnOp(100), ZnOp(111), and ZnOt(100) are shown in Table 1. The results clearly

• of the samples ZnOp(100), ZnOp(111), and ZnOt(100) were investigated with a high-resolution XRD (Bede D1). The surface morphology was revealed by atomic force microscopy (Park Systems, XE-70) operating in non-contact mode using a silicon tip of curvature less than 10 nm. Scanning electron microscope

Freestanding graphene/MnO₂ cathodes for Li-ion batteries

• Şeyma Özcan,
• Aslıhan Güler,
• Tugrul Cetinkaya,
• Mehmet O. Guler and
• Hatem Akbulut

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1932–1938, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.193

• cycle life. Surface morphology of (a) α-MnO2, (b) β-MnO2, (c) γ-MnO2, (d) graphene/α-MnO2, (e) graphene/β-MnO2, and (f) graphene/γ-MnO2 freestanding cathodes. Cross-sectional SEM images of (a) graphene/α-MnO2, (b) graphene/β-MnO2, and (c) graphene/γ-MnO2 freestanding cathodes. XRD patterns of (a) α-MnO2

Synthesis and catalytic application of magnetic Co–Cu nanowires

• Lijuan Sun,
• Xiaoyu Li,
• Zhiqiang Xu,
• Kenan Xie and
• Li Liao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1769–1773, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.178

• field resulted in intense aggregation of products, which was found to be a limitation for catalytic applications. The SEM and TEM images exhibiting the surface morphology of bimetallic Co–Cu nanowires at different magnification are given in Figure 2. It was obvious that bimetallic Co–Cu nanowires were

Process-specific mechanisms of vertically oriented graphene growth in plasmas

• Subrata Ghosh,
• Shyamal R. Polaki,
• Niranjan Kumar,
• Sankarakumar Amirthapandian,
• Mohamed Kamruddin and
• Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1658–1670, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.166

• explained by surface morphology, intersheet spacing, chemical structure, oxygen functionality and crystallinity [62]. The in-depth analysis of the CA behavior is outside the scope of this paper. The near-superhydrophobic behavior most likely originates from the effects of the improved crystallinity and

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

• width, 190 kHz resonance frequency and 48 N/m force constant. Surface morphology of the nanofibers was observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at Namık Kemal University and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Fiber diameters were measured within electron micrographs from a population

A nanocomplex of C₆₀ fullerene with cisplatin: design, characterization and toxicity

• Svitlana Prylutska,
• Svitlana Politenkova,
• Kateryna Afanasieva,
• Volodymyr Korolovych,
• Kateryna Bogutska,
• Andriy Sivolob,
• Larysa Skivka,
• Maxim Evstigneev,
• Viktor Kostjukov,
• Yuriy Prylutskyy and
• Uwe Ritter

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1494–1501, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.149

• cell in disposable cuvettes. The Smoluchowski approximation was used to convert the electrophoretic mobility to the zeta potential. AFM study The surface morphology of the particles was examined using atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM images were collected using an Integra Spectra microscope (NTMDT

Development of a nitrogen-doped 2D material for tribological applications in the boundary-lubrication regime

• Shende Rashmi Chandrabhan,
• Velayudhanpillai Jayan,
• Somendra Singh Parihar and
• Sundara Ramaprabhu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1476–1483, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.147

• the range of 2θ = 5° to 2θ = 90° using a Rigaku X-ray diffractometer. Raman scattering spectra of graphite, GO and N-rGO were collected by using a WITec Raman spectrometer equipped with Nd:YAG laser (λ = 532 nm). The surface morphology of the sample was analyzed by using field-emission scanning

Formation of ferromagnetic molecular thin films from blends by annealing

• Peter Robaschik,
• Ye Ma,
• Salahud Din and
• Sandrine Heutz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1469–1475, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.146

• 60 °C by blending the MnPc film with TCNQ in the starting films deposited at room temperature. Optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) are used to identify the phase transition by investigation of the surface morphology and the structure of the films, while FTIR spectroscopy provides

• vacancies in the mixed films generate sufficient free volume around the MnPc molecules for a rearrangement to the thermodynamically stable β-phase (Figure 1c), which normally forms above 300 °C [7][8]. Film morphology, structure and composition Optical micrographs in Figure 2 reveal the surface morphology

• for one hour (Figure 2b) does not affect the surface morphology. However, increasing the temperature to 330 °C and covering the films (Figure 2c) leads to the formation of larger crystallites. Similar results are obtained for the mixed films (Figure 2d–f), although annealing at a temperature of 270 °C

Fabrication of hierarchically porous TiO₂ nanofibers by microemulsion electrospinning and their application as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

• Jin Zhang,
• Yibing Cai,
• Xuebin Hou,
• Xiaofei Song,
• Pengfei Lv,
• Huimin Zhou and
• Qufu Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1297–1306, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.131

• porous TiO2 nanofibers were recorded on a Bruker D8 Advance X-ray diffractometer with Cu Kα radiation (wavelength λ = 1.54 Å) at a scanning speed of 4 °C/min. A Hitachi field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM, SU4800) was employed to observe the surface morphology of porous TiO2 nanofibers

• distribution. Nevertheless, it can be observed that with decreasing relative content of TBT/paraffin oil, the surface morphology looks worse, and the distribution of the fiber diameter becomes increasingly non-uniform. This is because the butoxyl groups in TBT serve as additional surfactant, which is

Metal oxide nanostructures: preparation, characterization and functional applications as chemical sensors

• Dario Zappa,
• Angela Bertuna,
• Elisabetta Comini,
• Navpreet Kaur,
• Nicola Poli,
• Veronica Sberveglieri and
• Giorgio Sberveglieri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1205–1217, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.122

• commercialize chemical sensors based on these structures. Surface morphology and composition were studied through scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, respectively, confirming the high surface-to-volume ratio (fundamental for chemical sensing). Moreover, we tested the functional properties with

Growth, structure and stability of sputter-deposited MoS₂ thin films

• Reinhard Kaindl,
• Bernhard C. Bayer,
• Roland Resel,
• Thomas Müller,
• Viera Skakalova,
• Gerlinde Habler,
• Rainer Abart,
• Alexey S. Cherevan,
• Dominik Eder,
• Maxime Blatter,
• Fabian Fischer,
• Jannik C. Meyer,
• Dmitry K. Polyushkin and
• Wolfgang Waldhauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1115–1126, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.113

• , electron beam and light scattering, scanning and spectroscopic methods as well as electrical device characterization. We find that room-temperature-deposited MoS2 films are amorphous, of smooth surface morphology and easily degraded upon moderate laser-induced annealing in ambient conditions. In contrast

• , films deposited at 400 °C are nano-crystalline, show a nano-grained surface morphology and are comparatively stable against laser-induced degradation. Interestingly, results from electrical transport measurements indicate an unexpected metallic-like conduction character of the studied PVD MoS2 films

• ≈10 to ≈1000 nm which were deposited by magnetron sputter deposition onto SiO2-coated silicon (Si) wafers and reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) electrodes for water electrolysis. Surface morphology, structure, chemical composition, stability and electrical properties of MoS2 thin films deposited at

Fully scalable one-pot method for the production of phosphonic graphene derivatives

• Kamila Żelechowska,
• Marta Prześniak-Welenc,
• Marcin Łapiński,
• Izabela Kondratowicz and
• Tadeusz Miruszewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1094–1103, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.111

• reaction with H3PO3. The scheme of the reaction is presented in Figure 1. The first visual observations revealed that after functionalization the color of the previously yellow-brownish GO changed to shiny greyish. The surface morphology of GO and GO-P was examined with SEM (Figure 2). The images

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

• investigated, in order to understand whether there is any correlation with the surface features of the printed material. To this end, a morphological investigation with AFM has been performed. Figure 6 and Figure 7 report typical AFM images of the surface morphology of the graphene material on each device

• fabrication in comparison to other techniques commonly used, e.g., drop-casting deposition. Overall, the main drawback in paper-based devices is the surface morphology of the sensing film, induced by the granular surface of the substrate. The Al2O3-based device, which shows a surface characterized by planar

• an effective bulk path, which results in a lower base resistance. The edge accumulation is also responsible of the difficulties in controlling the base conductance value as a function of the number of inkjet-printed layers. Regarding the electrical responses and their correlation to the surface

Near-field surface plasmon field enhancement induced by rippled surfaces

• Mario D’Acunto,
• Francesco Fuso,
• Ruggero Micheletto,
• Makoto Naruse,
• Francesco Tantussi and
• Maria Allegrini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 956–967, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.97

• properties [13][14]. Although the occurrence of surface plasmon-enhanced nonlinear optical effects is rather well understood, further investigation into the spectral dependence and magnitude dependence of the field enhancement as related to surface morphology [2]. Particular attention has been paid to the

• role, in particular whenever the nanostructure morphology shows anisotropy at the local scale. Polarization can induce strong confinement of plasmons in the resonance region in close correlation with the local surface morphology, characterized by a pattern of hills and valleys. As a consequence, an

• corresponding point-by-point enhancement factors. This approach has the advantage that it allows for a much finer spatial discretization, and hence, an improved ability to correlate the hot spots to the surface morphology. The main disadvantage of our method is that since is applied in the frequency domain, we

Vapor-phase-synthesized fluoroacrylate polymer thin films: thermal stability and structural properties

• Paul Christian and
• Anna Maria Coclite

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 933–942, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.95

• -PFDA and cross-linked alterations thereof are chemically stable in the investigated temperature range, within the detection limits of the FTIR spectroscopy measurement. Surface morphology and wettability The impact of the cross-linker on the surface morphology of p-PFDA films was investigated by atomic

• 23.7 nm. The mean radius of the spherical structures is about 200 nm, as determined from the autocorrelation length of the micrograph. Upon addition of EGDMA, the surface morphology is drastically changed. The hillock-like structure of pure p-PFDA is reduced to a few aggregated clusters, interrupting

• morphology were recorded by AFM (Figure 3b). For the p-PFDA films, a completely different surface morphology results. The spherical aggregates in the as-prepared polymer are completely absent and a relatively smooth surface results instead. The morphology is still reminiscent of the hillock-like structures

Synthesis of coaxial nanotubes of polyaniline and poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) by oxidative/initiated chemical vapor deposition

• Alper Balkan,
• Efe Armagan and
• Gozde Ozaydin Ince

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 872–882, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.89

• degree of crystallinity [47]. The surface morphology of the PANI thin films was examined by using AFM analysis (Figure 4). The RMS surface roughness of the as-deposited thin films of 350 nm thickness was measured as 30 nm on a flat substrate, and the roughness increased with film thickness. When the

Selective detection of Mg²⁺ ions via enhanced fluorescence emission using Au–DNA nanocomposites

• Tanushree Basu,
• Khyati Rana,
• Niranjan Das and
• Bonamali Pal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 762–771, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.79

• from the observed changes in the optical absorption, plasmon band, zeta potential, DLS particle size distribution, as well as TEM and AFM surface morphology analysis. Circular dichroism studies also revealed that DNA-functionalized AuNP binding caused a conformational change in the DNA structure. Due

Diffusion and surface alloying of gradient nanostructured metals

• Zhenbo Wang and
• Ke Lu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 547–560, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.59

• studying the structure and surface morphology evolution of the GNS sample in the H2O2 solution, Wen et al. [95] revealed that the accelerated formation of nanoporous structure was mostly due to the higher chemical reactivity of the GNS Ti, which promoted the decomposition of H2O2 and the formation of