A novel method to remove impulse noise from atomic force microscopy images based on Bayesian compressed sensing

• Yingxu Zhang,
• Yingzi Li,
• Zihang Song,
• Zhenyu Wang,
• Jianqiang Qian and
• Junen Yao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2346–2356, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.225

• , China School of Physics, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China 10.3762/bjnano.10.225 Abstract A novel method based on Bayesian compressed sensing is proposed to remove impulse noise from atomic force microscopy (AFM) images. The image denoising problem is transformed into a compressed sensing

• imaging problem of the AFM. First, two different ways, including interval approach and self-comparison approach, are applied to identify the noisy pixels. An undersampled AFM image is generated by removing the noisy pixels from the image. Second, a series of measurement matrices, all of which are identity

• matrices with some rows removed, are constructed by recording the position of the noise-free pixels. Third, the Bayesian compressed sensing reconstruction algorithm is applied to recover the image. Different from traditional compressed sensing reconstruction methods in AFM, each row of the AFM image is

Atomic force acoustic microscopy reveals the influence of substrate stiffness and topography on cell behavior

• Yan Liu,
• Li Li,
• Xing Chen,
• Ying Wang,
• Meng-Nan Liu,
• Jin Yan,
• Liang Cao,
• Lu Wang and
• Zuo-Bin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2329–2337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.223

• ], confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) [12] and atomic force microscopy (AFM) [16][17] have been employed to investigate cell–substrate interactions. Fluorescence and confocal microscopy are traditional techniques to investigate the intra- and intercellular processes in biological studies

• , but the spatial resolution is poor [18]. SEM is capable of detecting the surface features of substrates and cells on the nanoscale, but the sample preparation is time-consuming and complex [19]. AFM is emerging as a valuable tool for true atomic resolution imaging [20] and is widely used in

• biomechanical studies [21]. Atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM) is a technique based on AFM for nondestructive imaging. This technique operates on a dynamic mode in which the AFM cantilever vibrates upon ultrasound excitation. Accordingly, AFAM shows the ability to measure nanomechanical properties and is

Nontoxic pyrite iron sulfide nanocrystals as second electron acceptor in PTB7:PC₇₁BM-based organic photovoltaic cells

• Olivia Amargós-Reyes,
• José-Luis Maldonado,
• Omar Martínez-Alvarez,
• María-Elena Nicho,
• José Santos-Cruz,
• Juan Nicasio-Collazo,
• Irving Caballero-Quintana and
• Concepción Arenas-Arrocena

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2238–2250, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.216

• ) AFM images of the OPVs with different concentrations of FeS2 recorded in the noncontact mode. The roughness of the OPV surface is increased gradually as the FeS2 concentration increases (Table 1 and Figure 7), such that traps for the charge carriers could occur and the leakage current could increase

• OPV layers cross-section. We observe thicknesses of each layer that acceptably correlate with the sheet thicknesses determined by the AFM measurement in contact mode, namely ITO ≈197 nm, PEDOT:PSS ≈40 nm and PTB7:PC71BM active layer ≈113 nm. Figure S3(a–d) in Supporting Information File 1 shows the

• image (Figure S3e, Supporting Information File 1) taken at low voltage (1 kV). These SEM images are complementary to the AFM images shown in Figure 7. Some NCs are highlighted by red circles, however, it is not trivial to unambiguously identify the NCs because they are immersed in the polymer matrix

Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond for nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging applications

• Alberto Boretti,
• Lorenzo Rosa,
• Jonathan Blackledge and
• Stefania Castelletto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2128–2151, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.207

• attaching it to the tip of an atomic force microscope (AFM). This can also be achieved by mounting a high-purity diamond nanopillar on an AFM with an NV center placed 10 nm from its end, achieving a sensitivity of 56 nT·Hz−1/2, as reported in [37]. Nanodiamond scanning tips currently suffer from a

• mounted on a thin platform, typically of less than 1 μm thickness. Coupled with the nanopillar, this diamond film makes a scanning probe when mounted to an AFM head. It is expected that this method can enhance the photoluminescence collected from the NV by a factor of 10. Finally, ND embedded in a living

• relaxation time (T1) and spin dephasing time (T2) Hahn-echo measurements. The formation of hybrid systems between NDs and SPIONs is of growing interest to enhance NV magnetometry in the local nanoenvironment. A single NV center was functionalized with a SPION by an AFM pick-and-place approach in [66]. It is

Microbubbles decorated with dendronized magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical imaging: effective stabilization via fluorous interactions

• Da Shi,
• Justine Wallyn,
• Dinh-Vu Nguyen,
• Francis Perton,
• Delphine Felder-Flesch,
• Sylvie Bégin-Colin,
• Mounir Maaloum and
• Marie Pierre Krafft

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2103–2115, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.205

• stability characteristics of F-hexane-stabilized DPPC-shelled MBs incorporating IONP@CnX2n+1OEG8Den. Fourth, we report an atomic force microscopy (AFM) study that reveals that the location of the dendronized nanoparticles in the phospholipid film strongly depends on the nature of the terminal group. Results

• indicate that fluorous interactions exist between F-hexane in the gas core and the fluorinated NPs and play a significant role for the MB size and stability characteristics. AFM analysis of spin-coated films of DPPC, dendronized iron oxide nanoparticles and their mixtures With the aim to understand if the

• dendronized IONPs are incorporated within the DPPC shell of the MBs or located at the surface of the shell (Figure 8), mixed films composed of phospholipid and nanoparticles were prepared by spin-coating on silicon wafers. The morphology of the films was investigated by AFM in the peak–force tapping mode. We

The importance of design in nanoarchitectonics: multifractality in MACE silicon nanowires

• Stefania Carapezzi and
• Anna Cavallini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2094–2102, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.204

• conditions and the capacity dimension of the nanowires was obtained. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); capillary force; metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE); multifractal analysis; nanoarchitectonics; nanowires; self-assembly; Introduction In the last years, huge progress was made regarding the

• (AFM). Among the scanning probe techniques, AFM shows a peculiar capability to quantitatively characterize features with nanoscaled dimensions. To gain insight over the emergence of the organized nanoarchitectures we applied multifractal analysis to the AFM images. We have found that a single fractal

• ) = (q − 1)D(q). Thus, an alternative way to determine the multifractal spectrum is to calculate D(q) from the above equation and to substitute it in Equation 7. Results and Discussion Elastocapillary self-assembly in MACE Si NWs Figure 2 shows typical AFM images of the MACE Si NWs investigated in the

Ion mobility and material transport on KBr in air as a function of the relative humidity

• Dominik J. Kirpal,
• Korbinian Pürckhauer,
• Alfred J. Weymouth and
• Franz J. Giessibl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2084–2093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.203

• to the surface. We collected atomic force microscopy images of KBr surfaces in a humidity-controlled glove box at various relative humidities below 40%. By scratching and poking the surface with the AFM tip, we constructed energetically unfavorable holes or scratch sites and material accumulations

• relationship between humidity, water coverage and movement speed, however, is complex. In this study we investigated the surface of KBr, a salt crystal, by using frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy (FM-AFM) using a qPlus sensor [9][10][11]. The aim of our experiments is a qualitative and quantitative

• range for each experiment. Experimental For the experiments we used a custom-designed AFM equipped with a qPlus sensor. The qPlus sensor is a stiff (k = 1800 N/m) self-sensing quartz sensor with a resonance frequency around f0 = 32 kHz. It has enabled unprecedented results in low-temperature AFM, such

Synthesis and potent cytotoxic activity of a novel diosgenin derivative and its phytosomes against lung cancer cells

• Liang Xu,
• Dekang Xu,
• Ziying Li,
• Yu Gao and
• Haijun Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1933–1942, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.189

• below 100 nm and negative charges will be more suitable for lung cancer treatment. The morphology of the DiP and P2P was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM, Figure 3C,D). P2P and DiP demonstrated roughly homogeneous rod shapes in TEM but showed spherical

• morphology in AFM. The particle size measured by AFM/TEM was larger than the particle size measured by DLS. Because of the low zeta potential values of the prepared phytosomes, the electrostatic effects between the particles are too weak to maintain the shape. The large size measured from AFM and TEM might

• Hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential of the phytosomes were analyzed by DLS on a Malvern Instruments Zetasizer HS III (Malvern, UK) at room temperature. The morphology of the phytosomes was recorded by using atomic force microscopy (AFM, Multimode 8, Bruker, USA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM

Oblique angle deposition of nickel thin films by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering

• Hamidreza Hajihoseini,
• Movaffaq Kateb,
• Snorri Þorgeir Ingvarsson and
• Jon Tomas Gudmundsson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1914–1921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.186

• previously observed and discussed [52]. However, the reported mass density values are corresponding to the “bulk” part of the film. The film thickness gradient (Δd) was characterized by non-contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis in an XE-100 multi-mode AFM system (PSIA Inc.) in air (ex situ

Nanoarchitectonics meets cell surface engineering: shape recognition of human cells by halloysite-doped silica cell imprints

• Elvira Rozhina,
• Ilnur Ishmukhametov,
• Svetlana Batasheva,
• Farida Akhatova and
• Rawil Fakhrullin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1818–1825, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.176

• organic cell debris was removed by treatment with aqueous HNO3 and HCl mixture (3:1) and washed thoroughly with water. This procedure yielded polydisperse (100 nm to 1 µm) cell-templated imprints with diverse morphology. Typical AFM and SEM images of the imprints are shown in Figure 4A–C. We have also

• Milli-Q, and studied with AFM and SEM. Cells recognition by imprints The recognition of HeLa cells with imprints was visualised using bright-field optical microscopy (Axio Imager Z2, Carl Zeiss), and laser confocal microscopy (LSM 780: 405 nm and 633 nm lasers). For fluorescence microscopy imaging

Growth dynamics and light scattering of gold nanoparticles in situ synthesized at high concentration in thin polymer films

• Corentin Guyot,
• Philippe Vandestrick,
• Ingrid Marenne,
• Olivier Deparis and
• Michel Voué

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1768–1777, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.172

• the roughness of the films using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results and Discussion Optical scattering measurements In preliminary experiments, Au-doped polymer films coated on glass were annealed in an oven at different temperatures (90–160 °C) over different periods of time (1–12 h). Different

• optical scattering of the laser beam strongly increased (Figure 2). This phenomenon can be related to the roughness parameter observed in AFM measurements as explained in the next subsection. The most general way to characterize optically a surface is to measure its bi-directional reflection distribution

• were imaged by AFM. A typical image of 5 μm × 5 μm size is presented in Figure 5a. It unambiguously shows the presence of the AuNPs. The topography of the samples was characterized by the average surface roughness parameter (Sa) and by the root-mean-square surface roughness parameter (Sq). For the

Remarkable electronic and optical anisotropy of layered 1T’-WTe₂ 2D materials

• Qiankun Zhang,
• Rongjie Zhang,
• Jiancui Chen,
• Wanfu Shen,
• Chunhua An,
• Xiaodong Hu,
• Mingli Dong,
• Jing Liu and
• Lianqing Zhu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1745–1753, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.170

• following way: where R2 and R1 are the reflectance coefficients associated with the natural orthorhombic crystal. To characterize the optical anisotropy, a few layered 1T’-WTe2 flake was mechanically exfoliated and transferred onto a pre-cleaned Si/SiO2 wafer, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to

• Tecnai F20 platform with an acceleration voltage of 200 kV. A HORIBA HR800 Raman spectrometer equipped with a 532 nm wavelength laser was used for the Raman spectroscopy analysis. Additionally, the thickness of 1T’-WTe2 was confirmed using AFM (Bruker Dimension Icon) based on the sample thickness

• 1T’-WTe2 flake. Identification of the lattice anisotropy of an exfoliated 1T’-WTe2 flake. a) AFM image of the 1T’-WTe2 flake transferred onto a Si/SiO2 substrate by mechanical exfoliation. The heights of zone 1 and zone 2 are 16.36 nm and 5.25 nm, respectively. b) ADRDM results of the same WTe2 flake

Subsurface imaging of flexible circuits via contact resonance atomic force microscopy

• Wenting Wang,
• Chengfu Ma,
• Yuhang Chen,
• Lei Zheng,
• Huarong Liu and
• Jiaru Chu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1636–1647, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.159

• , Anhui, China 10.3762/bjnano.10.159 Abstract Subsurface imaging of Au circuit structures embedded in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) thin films with a cover thickness ranging from 52 to 653 nm was carried out by using contact resonance atomic force microscopy (CR-AFM). The mechanical difference of the

• embedded metal layer leads to an obvious CR-AFM frequency shift and therefore its unambiguous differentiation from the polymer matrix. The contact stiffness contrast, determined from the tracked frequency images, was employed for quantitative evaluation. The influence of various parameter settings and

• calculations provide a guide to optimizing parameter settings for the nondestructive diagnosis of flexible circuits. Defect detection of the embedded circuit pattern was also carried out, which indicates the capability of imaging tiny subsurface structures smaller than 100 nm by using CR-AFM. Keywords: atomic

Kelvin probe force microscopy work function characterization of transition metal oxide crystals under ongoing reduction and oxidation

• Dominik Wrana,
• Karol Cieślik,
• Wojciech Belza,
• Christian Rodenbücher,
• Krzysztof Szot and
• Franciszek Krok

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1596–1607, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.155

• obtaining work function and conductivity maps on the same area by combining noncontact and contact modes of atomic force microscopy (AFM). As most of the real applications require ambient operating conditions, we have additionally checked the impact of air venting on the work function of the TiO/SrTiO3(100

• method employing KPFM and local conductivity AFM for the characterization of the work function of transition metal oxides may help in understanding the impact of reduction and oxidation on electronic properties, which is of high importance in the development of effective sensing and catalytic devices

• possibility of obtaining full information on the electronic properties when the KPFM technique is accompanied by local conductivity atomic force microscopy (LC-AFM). This is followed by a discussion of the significant variations of the WF within cubic TiO nanowires, the estimation of the KPFM resolution and

Materials nanoarchitectonics at two-dimensional liquid interfaces

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Michio Matsumoto,
• Taizo Mori and
• Lok Kumar Shrestha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1559–1587, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.153

Development of a new hybrid approach combining AFM and SEM for the nanoparticle dimensional metrology

• Loïc Crouzier,
• Alexandra Delvallée,
• Sébastien Ducourtieux,
• Laurent Devoille,
• Guillaume Noircler,
• Christian Ulysse,
• Olivier Taché,
• Elodie Barruet,
• Christophe Tromas and
• Nicolas Feltin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1523–1536, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.150

• proposes a new approach of hybrid metrology taking advantage of the complementary nature of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques for measuring the main characteristic parameters of nanoparticle (NP) dimensions in 3D. The NP area equivalent, the minimal and the

• maximal Feret diameters are determined by SEM and the NP height is measured by AFM. In this context, a kind of new NP repositioning system consisting of a lithographed silicon substrate has been specifically developed. This device makes it possible to combine AFM and SEM size measurements performed

• equality between their height and their lateral diameters. However, discrepancies between AFM and SEM measurements have been observed, showing significant deviation from sphericity as a function of the nanoparticle size. Keywords: AFM; hybrid metrology; nanoparticles; SEM; size distribution; uncertainty

Kelvin probe force microscopy of the nanoscale electrical surface potential barrier of metal/semiconductor interfaces in ambient atmosphere

• Petr Knotek,
• Tomáš Plecháček,
• Jan Smolík,
• Petr Kutálek,
• Filip Dvořák,
• Milan Vlček,
• Jiří Navrátil and
• Čestmír Drašar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1401–1411, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.138

• nanosheets through the reaction with the Bi2Se3. The Schottky barrier formed by the 1D and 2D nanoinclusions was characterized by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). We used Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) in ambient atmosphere at the nanoscale and compared the results to those of ultraviolet

• harm to other transport parameters. The characterization of NIs or NPs in TE materials is realized most frequently by the different modes of atomic force microscopy (AFM): i) by comparing the conductivity/resistivity (CAFM) or I–V curves measurement in the direct-contact of the conductive tip and the

• tunneling microscopy (STM) [27][28] or by using AFM in the semicontact mode. The latter enables a describtion not only of the topography (size and shape) but also a detection of the changes in density, stiffness and adhesion of NPs [20][21][24][29][30]. In the present study we demonstrate that the Schottky

Nanoscale spatial mapping of mechanical properties through dynamic atomic force microscopy

• Zahra Abooalizadeh,
• Leszek Josef Sudak and
• Philip Egberts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1332–1347, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.132

• Zahra Abooalizadeh Leszek Josef Sudak Philip Egberts Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, 40 Research Place NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 1Y6, Canada 10.3762/bjnano.10.132 Abstract Dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM) was employed to spatially map the elastic

• modulus of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), specifically by using force modulation microscopy (FMM) and contact resonance (CR) AFM. In both of these techniques, a variation in the amplitude signal was observed when scanning over an uncovered step edge of HOPG. In comparison, no variation in the

• (CR) AFM; elastic modulus mapping; force modulation microscopy (FMM); highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG); mechanical properties; surface science; surface steps; Introduction In recent years, the study of the size-dependent properties of materials, and in particular those at the nanometer scale

Imaging the surface potential at the steps on the rutile TiO₂(110) surface by Kelvin probe force microscopy

• Masato Miyazaki,
• Huan Fei Wen,
• Quanzhen Zhang,
• Yuuki Adachi,
• Jan Brndiar,
• Ivan Štich,
• Yan Jun Li and
• Yasuhiro Sugawara

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1228–1236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.122

• function between the tip and the sample, on the basis of atomic force microscopy (AFM) [39][40]. Since the CPD strongly depends on the charge distribution on the surface, KPFM allows us to investigate the electrostatic properties of surfaces [41][42][43]. In this study, we measured the CPD around the steps

• out with a custom-built ultrahigh-vacuum noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) system operated at a temperature of 78 K with a base pressure below 4 × 10−11 mbar. The NC-AFM system was operated in the frequency-modulation mode [44] with a constant cantilever oscillation amplitude (5 Å). The

• the fAC component of the electrostatic force, providing the CPD value (VCPD). The topography and CPD were measured sequentially using the lift-mode technique to minimize crosstalk [47]. In this scanning mode, the topography (z) is scanned in the first trace using AFM and immediately retraced with a

Influence of dielectric layer thickness and roughness on topographic effects in magnetic force microscopy

• Alexander Krivcov,
• Jasmin Ehrler,
• Marc Fuhrmann,
• Tanja Junkers and
• Hildegard Möbius

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1056–1064, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.106

• of the resist using the AR 300-12 thinner (Allresist). The layer thickness and the degree of dilutions are shown in Table S1 (Supporting Information File 1). The thickness of the layers was measured using the AFM tip-scratch method. Phase shift as a function of the tip–substrate distance z

Revisiting semicontinuous silver films as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy substrates

• Malwina Liszewska,
• Bogusław Budner,
• Małgorzata Norek,
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz and
• Piotr Nyga

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1048–1055, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.105

• . Absorption was calculated assuming the sum of transmittance, reflectance, and absorption is 100%. The morphology of the fabricated structures was measured using a Quanta 3D FEG Dual Beam scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an atomic force microscope (AFM). The SEM images of SSFs were converted to black

• and white and metal coverage was calculated. The AFM maps were collected using an NTEGRA atomic force microscope from NT-MDT company. The surface topography measurements were made in semi-contact mode. We used HA_NC ETALON (NT-MDT) probe with 140 kHz ± 10% resonant frequency, force constant of 3.5 N/m

• hypothetical sample between sample F and G (as for sample F we do not observe continuous silver path and for sample G several paths across the SEM image exist). In order to determine the physical thickness of the SSFs we carried out AFM studies (data presented in Table 1). For each of the SSFs a part of the

Tailoring the stability/aggregation of one-dimensional TiO₂(B)/titanate nanowires using surfactants

• Atiđa Selmani,
• Johannes Lützenkirchen,
• Kristina Kučanda,
• Dario Dabić,
• Engelbert Redel,
• Ida Delač Marion,
• Damir Kralj,
• Darija Domazet Jurašin and
• Maja Dutour Sikirić

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1024–1037, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.103

• ) micrographs revealed that the synthesized TNWs have a distinct, straight, wire-like morphology (Figure 1a). The analysis of the micrographs showed that the length of the TNWs is in the range from 900 to 2000 nm, while the measured diameter ranged from 25 to 250 nm. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed the

• tendency of the material to form bundles from a pair of (or more) TNWs (Figure 1b). However, single TNWs were also visible. From the AFM topographs the diameter of a single TNW has been estimated to vary between 25 and 175 nm, while the length varied from rather short fragments (50 nm) to much longer TNWs

• resolution of the Raman spectrometer was 4 cm−1. The morphology of the TNWs was visualized by using high-resolution scanning electron microscopy Zeiss HR-SEM (Gemini Class) at 3–5 kV. AFM imaging was performed with a Nanosurf Flex AFM in dynamic force mode (simultaneously acquiring topography, amplitude and

Direct growth of few-layer graphene on AlN-based resonators for high-sensitivity gravimetric biosensors

• Jimena Olivares,
• Teona Mirea,
• Lorena Gordillo-Dagallier,
• Bruno Marco,
• José Miguel Escolano,
• Marta Clement and
• Enrique Iborra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 975–984, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.98

• surface of the Ni film suffered from restructuration during the CVD process that strongly depended on the heating rate. In order to assess the surface of the films after the growth of graphene, the samples were analysed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) using a Molecular Imaging Pico LE apparatus operated

• in contact mode; AFM images are shown in Figure 1. Compared with the surface of the bare Ni surface (Figure 1a), high heating rates induce the partial dewetting of the Ni layer (Figure 1b), which displays a non-uniform thickness distribution, combining areas with hillocks and areas with voids

• and the resonant frequency identified. This process was controlled with a LabVIEW® application that allowed assessing the frequency with less than 1 kHz accuracy each 7 s. Figure 10 shows the experimental setup. 3D AFM image of the surface of the Ni film: a) as grown, b) after graphene growth with a

In situ AFM visualization of Li–O₂ battery discharge products during redox cycling in an atmospherically controlled sample cell

• Kumar Virwani,
• Younes Ansari,
• Khanh Nguyen,
• Francisco José Alía Moreno-Ortiz,
• Jangwoo Kim,
• Maxwell J. Giammona,
• Ho-Cheol Kim and
• Young-Hye La

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 930–940, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.94

• /bjnano.10.94 Abstract The in situ observation of electrochemical reactions is challenging due to a constantly changing electrode surface under highly sensitive conditions. This study reports the development of an in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique for electrochemical systems, including the

• design, fabrication, and successful performance of a sealed AFM cell operating in a controlled atmosphere. Documentation of reversible physical processes on the cathode surface was performed on the example of a highly reactive lithium–oxygen battery system at different water concentrations in the solvent

• . The AFM data collected during the discharge–recharge cycles correlated well with the simultaneously recorded electrochemical data. We were able to capture the formation of discharge products from correlated electrical and topographical channels and measure the impact of the presence of water. The cell

Nanoscale optical and structural characterisation of silk

• Meguya Ryu,
• Reo Honda,
• Adrian Cernescu,
• Arturas Vailionis,
• Armandas Balčytis,
• Jitraporn Vongsvivut,
• Jing-Liang Li,
• Denver P. Linklater,
• Elena P. Ivanova,
• Vygantas Mizeikis,
• Mark J. Tobin,
• Junko Morikawa and
• Saulius Juodkazis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 922–929, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.93

• different methods, i.e., (i) a table-top Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) transmission spectrometer, (ii) a synchrotron-based attenuated total reflection (ATR) FTIR spectrometer, and (iii) an atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip responding to the absorbed IR light (nano-IR [9]), produced comparable spectral

• features [10]. Whilst the first two modalities probe micrometer-sized volumes of silk, the AFM-based nano-IR technique acquires structural information at the nanoscale (i.e., the area under the AFM tip from a volume with a lateral cross section of ca. 20 nm). Differences in absorbance and spectral line

• diffractometer using a Cu Kα microfocus X-ray source with λ = 1.5418 Å (Figure 2a). IR spectral measurements The sub-diffraction scattering scanning near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM, neaspec GmbH) uses a metalized atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip. The tip maps the surface relief (topography) by its basic