Effect of Ag loading position on the photocatalytic performance of TiO₂ nanocolumn arrays

• Jinghan Xu,
• Yanqi Liu and
• Yan Zhao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 717–728, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.59

• the absence of photogenerated carriers. Only the energetic electrons produced by Ag could participate in the catalytic reaction, as shown in Figure 9c. The above results show that more photo-generated carriers are generated on the AFT structure, and the good conductivity of Ag promotes the separation

Structural optical and electrical properties of a transparent conductive ITO/Al–Ag/ITO multilayer contact

• Aliyu Kabiru Isiyaku,
• Ahmad Hadi Ali and
• Nafarizal Nayan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 695–702, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.57

• importance. The inclusion of a thin metal film between a top and a bottom ITO layer to form a multilayer structure has been explored recently for efficient photoelectric devices [7]. The multilayer structure not only improves the conductivity of the contact but also make the device cost-effective since less

• roughness is attributed to the increasing grain sizes [35]. The large grain sizes of IAAI films reduce the number of grain boundaries and thus the scattering at grain boundaries. This improves the carrier mobility leading to an increased electrical conductivity of the films. The surface morphology of the

• heat treatment lowers the trade-off between transparency and conductivity by reducing structural defects in the films. The sheet resistance of the multilayer structure of the IAAI film can be expressed as [29]: where is the total sheet resistance of the IAAI film, RAl and RAg are the sheet resistance

Exfoliation in a low boiling point solvent and electrochemical applications of MoO₃

• Matangi Sricharan,
• Bikesh Gupta,
• Sreejesh Moolayadukkam and
• H. S. S. Ramakrishna Matte

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 662–670, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.52

• poor intrinsic electronic conductivity of the MoO3 [24]. In order to enhance the electrochemical properties, composites of exfoliated MoO3 nanosheets and conducting carbon black (CB) were prepared. As shown in Figure 3a, well-defined oxidation and reduction peaks are observed after the addition of 2 wt

• response with a small iR drop. This can be attributed to the better conductivity after adding CB. To study the stability of the composite, cyclic voltammetry was carried out up to 2000 cycles. Initially, the capacitance increases, which may be attributed to the wetting of the electrode with the electrolyte

Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic performance of heterostructured CuO–ZnO-loaded composite nanofiber membranes

• Wei Fang,
• Liang Yu and
• Lan Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 631–650, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.50

• widely used to fabricate nanofiber membranes because of its good spinnability, electrical conductivity, and heat resistance. However, carbonized PAN nanofiber membranes usually have poor mechanical properties. Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) has better mechanical properties but a lower melting point

Adsorptive removal of bulky dye molecules from water with mesoporous polyaniline-derived carbon

• Hyung Jun An,
• Jong Min Park,
• Nazmul Abedin Khan and
• Sung Hwa Jhung

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 597–605, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.47

• synthesis, high conductivity and nitrogen content. Porous carbon materials, with high porosity and nitrogen content, have also been obtained from PANI. In other words, functional carbon, for catalysts and supercapacitors can be derived from high temperature carbonization of PANI, especially in the co

Comparison of fresh and aged lithium iron phosphate cathodes using a tailored electrochemical strain microscopy technique

• Matthias Simolka,
• Hanno Kaess and
• Kaspar Andreas Friedrich

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 583–596, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.46

• additional mechanical (stiffness, elasticity), electrical (conductivity, surface potential), electrochemical (reactivity, mobility and activity), mechanoelectrical (piezoelectricity) and chemical (chemical bonding) material properties. In situ AFM imaging of the sample topography is often used to study the

• ionic conductivity. Yang et al. observed a similar decrease of the ESM signal intensity after scanning the same location several times, which they attributed to either changing ionic concentration or degradation of the electrochemical activity [43]. The second location shows a linear increase of the ESM

Interfacial charge transfer processes in 2D and 3D semiconducting hybrid perovskites: azobenzene as photoswitchable ligand

• Nicole Fillafer,
• Tobias Seewald,
• Lukas Schmidt-Mende and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 466–479, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.38

• the present work the combination of a lead-containing hybrid perovskite with π-conjugated organic molecules is of importance. Functionalizing hybrid perovskites with conjugated π systems improves not only the optoelectronical properties and stability but as well the conductivity [16][17][18][19][20

Current measurements in the intermittent-contact mode of atomic force microscopy using the Fourier method: a feasibility analysis

• Berkin Uluutku and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 453–465, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.37

• surface properties, such as topography, viscoelasticity, electrical potential and conductivity. Some of these properties are measured using contact methods (static contact or intermittent contact), while others are measured using noncontact methods. Some properties can be measured using different

• approaches. Conductivity, in particular, is mapped using the contact-mode method. However, this modality can be destructive to delicate samples, since it involves continuously dragging the cantilever tip on the surface during the raster scan, while a constant tip–sample force is applied. In this paper we

• significant instrumentation challenges are anticipated, the modelling results are promising and suggest that Fourier-based higher-harmonics current measurement may enable the development of a reliable intermittent-contact conductive AFM method. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); conductivity; current

An advanced structural characterization of templated meso-macroporous carbon monoliths by small- and wide-angle scattering techniques

• Felix M. Badaczewski,
• Marc O. Loeh,
• Torben Pfaff,
• Dirk Wallacher,
• Daniel Clemens and
• Bernd M. Smarsly

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 310–322, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.23

• ][7][8]. The turbostratic microstructure of these “non-graphitic” carbon materials combined with variable conductivity and a significant nanoscale disordered porosity are typical features of this kind of carbon materials. Templating strategies are meanwhile well established to endow carbon materials

• structures [51][52][53][54]. Key properties of glassy carbon materials, such as thermal conductivity, chemical resistance, hardness, density, and coefficient of thermal expansion are closely related to the carbon microstructure and the porosity. Resin-based carbon materials are known to possess a substantial

• °C, for which in situ SANS experiments were performed comparing the evacuated samples with the filled state. A temperature of 3000 °C was chosen, because at this treatment temperature graphitized carbon forms, which possesses advantageous properties such as high electronic conductivity. The porosity

Anomalous current–voltage characteristics of SFIFS Josephson junctions with weak ferromagnetic interlayers

• Tairzhan Karabassov,
• Anastasia V. Guravova,
• Aleksei Yu. Kuzin,
• Elena A. Kazakova,
• Shiro Kawabata,
• Boris G. Lvov and
• Andrey S. Vasenko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 252–262, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.19

• interface [86][87][88]. Here σn is the conductivity of the F layer and is the coherence length, where Tc is the critical temperature of the superconductor S (here and below we assume ℏ = kB = 1). In this paper we consider the diffusive limit, when the elastic scattering length is much smaller than the

• with corresponding boundary conditions. At the S/F interfaces we apply the Kupriyanov–Lukichev boundary conditions. For example, at the left S/F interface they are written as [86], Similar equations can be written at the right S/F interface at x = df2. Here γ = ξsσn/ξnσs, where σs is the conductivity

High-performance asymmetric supercapacitor made of NiMoO₄ nanorods@Co₃O₄ on a cellulose-based carbon aerogel

• Meixia Wang,
• Jing Zhang,
• Xibin Yi,
• Benxue Liu,
• Xinfu Zhao and
• Xiaochan Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 240–251, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.18

• conductivity of the Mo ion [17][18][19]. Unfortunately, despite the fact that NiMoO4 has a high theoretical capacitance, its widespread practical application in supercapacitors is still restricted due to its low practical capacitance as well as the poor rate performance and wettability. Therefore, the

• considered an ideal supporting material to hybridize with electroactive materials because of its low cost, easy fabrication, large surface area, interconnected porosity and high electrical conductivity [30][31]. Due to its micro/mesoporous 3D morphology with large open pores, it offers more space to grow

• excellent electrical conductivity and the 3D carbon nanonetwork. Secondly, NiMoO4 nanorods with extremely high specific capacitance are considered ideal spots for the nucleation and the growth of ZIF-67 particles. Lastly, the Co3O4 particles derived from ZIF-67 possess a nest-like structure and a porous

Phase inversion-based nanoemulsions of medium chain triglyceride as potential drug delivery system for parenteral applications

• Eike Folker Busmann,
• Dailén García Martínez,
• Henrike Lucas and
• Karsten Mäder

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 213–224, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.16

• the point of forming stable but nonisotonic nanoemulsions, the conductivity of a medium chain triglyceride (MCT)/Kolliphor® HS 15/NaCl solution (20:20:60) was measured as shown in Figure 1. Increasing the salinity of the aqueous phase resulted in a significant decrease of the temperature at the

• the significant conductivity decrease during the heating process with the Mettler Toledo S230 SevenCompact conductivity meter. Characterization of the osmolality The osmolality was determined in triplicate with the KNAUER Semi-Mikro Osmometer. The osmolality of the sodium chloride solution (according

Size effects of graphene nanoplatelets on the properties of high-density polyethylene nanocomposites: morphological, thermal, electrical, and mechanical characterization

• Tuba Evgin,
• Alpaslan Turgut,
• Georges Hamaoui,
• Zdenko Spitalsky,
• Nicolas Horny,
• Matej Micusik,
• Mihai Chirtoc,
• Mehmet Sarikanat and
• Maria Omastova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 167–179, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.14

• scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. Our results show that the lateral size of GnPs was a more regulating factor for the above-mentioned nanocomposite properties compared to their thickness. For a given lateral size, thinner GnPs showed significantly higher electrical conductivity and a lower

• percolation threshold than thicker ones. On the other hand, in terms of thermal conductivity, a remarkable amount of enhancement was observed only above a certain filler concentration. The results demonstrate that GnPs with smaller lateral size and larger thickness lead to lower enhancement of the samples

• superior inherent properties, such as its thermal (1000–5000 W/mK [5]) and electrical conductivity (6000 S/cm [6]), and mechanical properties (a Young’s modulus of 1 TPa and a tensile strength of 130 GPa [7]). However, the mass production of graphene with high quality at a low cost is still challenging

Molecular architectonics of DNA for functional nanoarchitectures

• Debasis Ghosh,
• Lakshmi P. Datta and
• Thimmaiah Govindaraju

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 124–140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.11

• conductivity properties of the system, which was used for the dual-responsive detection of ultralow concentrations (subnanomolar level) of mercury. The BNAn–dTn coassembly material was used to fabricate a field-effect transistor (FET) for the detection of mercury (Figure 5c). Remarkably, both chiroptical and

Internalization mechanisms of cell-penetrating peptides

• Ivana Ruseska and
• Andreas Zimmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 101–123, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.10

Simple synthesis of nanosheets of rGO and nitrogenated rGO

• Pallellappa Chithaiah,
• Madhan Mohan Raju,
• Giridhar U. Kulkarni and
• C. N. R. Rao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 68–75, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.7

• specific capacitance compared to rGO. The higher specific capacitance of H-rGO is attributed an increased conductivity due to the reduced number of functional groups after hydrogen reduction of the rGO sample. After 1000 cycles, the H-rGO sample shows 73% retention, implying that the H-rGO has excellent

• stability (Figure 9). We compared our result with other materials reported recently (Table 1). For conductivity measurements, the H-rGO sample was dispersed in ethanol and drop-cast on a gold gap electrode. The average resistance measured using a Keithley source meter is ca. 4 MΩ. The corresponding

• electrical conductivity obtained for H-rGO is ca. 0.068 S/m. Conclusion In conclusion, we present a very simple and efficient method for the successful synthesis of nanosheets of rGO and of rGO with high nitrogen content by the thermal decomposition of sucrose and glycine. We measured the specific

Recent progress in perovskite solar cells: the perovskite layer

• Xianfeng Dai,
• Ke Xu and
• Fanan Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 51–60, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.5

• perovskites is lower than that of their 3D counterparts because of the lower carrier mobility, the wide optical bandgap, the low conductivity and the large exciton binding energy. Therefore, Priya et al. [8] created a methylammonium (MA)-based 2D perovskite film by using the vapor-fumigation technique. The

• resulting films benefit from a higher conductivity, better carrier transport properties and a smaller exciton binding energy compared to traditional 2DRP perovskites based on bulky BA. Ultrastable 2DRP PSCs with a certified PCE of 16.6% were obtained. Their initially determined properties were degraded by

Influence of the epitaxial composition on N-face GaN KOH etch kinetics determined by ICP-OES

• Markus Tautz,
• Maren T. Kuchenbrod,
• Joachim Hertkorn,
• Robert Weinberger,
• Martin Welzel,
• Arno Pfitzner and
• David Díaz Díaz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 41–50, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.4

• epitaxy stack. Thin-film technology is a common approach in industry to improve device performance. Thereby, a substrate with higher thermal conductivity, e.g., silicon or nickel, is bonded to the top p-contact of the LED structure [8]. The sapphire substrate is removed by laser lift off (LLO). This

Synthesis of amorphous and graphitized porous nitrogen-doped carbon spheres as oxygen reduction reaction catalysts

• Maximilian Wassner,
• Markus Eckardt,
• Andreas Reyer,
• Thomas Diemant,
• Michael S. Elsaesser,
• R. Jürgen Behm and
• Nicola Hüsing

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1–15, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.1

• and stable materials are highly needed. Metal-free carbon materials, single- or multi-doped with N, B, P, S, halogens, Si or Se, have turned out to be promising ORR catalysts [1][2][3][4][5][6]. N-doped carbon materials show promising ORR activities along with high electric conductivity, in addition

• meso- and macropores is beneficial for the ORR activity [11]. Finally, a higher degree of graphitization generally leads to an improved electrical conductivity, which should improve the overall ORR activity. On the other hand, it may alter also the properties of the active sites, which may be either

• least partly due to its high electric resistance determined in resistance measurements (Table 5). For all catalysts nitrided at temperatures above 550 °C, which show a rather low electric resistance (Table 5), conductivity effects can be neglected. We had seen earlier that the trends with increasing

Mobility of charge carriers in self-assembled monolayers

• Zhihua Fu,
• Tatjana Ladnorg,
• Hartmut Gliemann,
• Alexander Welle,
• Asif Bashir,
• Michael Rohwerder,
• Qiang Zhang,
• Björn Schüpbach,
• Andreas Terfort and
• Christof Wöll

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2449–2458, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.235

• a top electrode. We were able to determine a relationship between island size and electrical conductivity, and from this dependence, we could obtain information on the lateral charge transport and charge carrier mobility within the thin OSC layers. Our study demonstrates that AFM nanografting of

• the C−, CH2−, S−, and Au− peaks. The conductivity measurements (PFTUNA probes, spring const. 0.4 N/m) were performed by the PeakForce TUNATM method of a Bruker’s Dimension® IconTM SPM system. The scan rate was set to 0.5 Hz, the DC bias to 11.1 mV. Current sensitivity range was set to highest value

• available (0–100 pA). The current was read out at forces of 90 and 140 nN. The conductivity data of the grafted islands were evaluated in the following way: (i) in a first step the island diameters were calculated. For that, the AFM current images were used to determine the real surface area A of each

Multiwalled carbon nanotube based aromatic volatile organic compound sensor: sensitivity enhancement through 1-hexadecanethiol functionalisation

• Nadra Bohli,
• Meryem Belkilani,
• Juan Casanova-Chafer,
• Eduard Llobet and
• Adnane Abdelghani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2364–2373, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.227

• toluene for various vapour concentrations injected at room temperature. The results show an increasing resistance with increasing concentration of the injected vapours. The adsorption of these vapours on the Au-MWCNT films leads to a reduction of the global sensor electrical conductivity. The lowest

• VOCs Figure 5 shows the response of the HDT/Au-MWCNT sensor to the varying benzene and toluene vapour concentrations injected at room temperature. The detection results of the various injected vapours show a considerable decrease in the electrical conductivity of the HDT/Au-MWCNT sensor compared with

• . The considerable decrease in the conductivity is due to the oxidizing nature of the injected vapours. As the tested oxygen-treated and gold-decorated MWCNTs are p-type semiconductors, the adsorption of the oxidant vapour molecules leads to a transfer of the majority carriers of p-type semiconductors

Four self-made free surface electrospinning devices for high-throughput preparation of high-quality nanofibers

• Yue Fang and
• Lan Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2261–2274, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.218

• reservoir as positive pole was a cylinder with a diameter of 40 mm and a height of 30 mm, the bulk conductivity of copper was set to 5.8 × 1011 µs/cm, the electric conductivity of the polymer nozzles in the MBE was 0 µs/cm, the electric conductivity of the PAN-DMF solution with a concentration of 10 wt

Design and facile synthesis of defect-rich C-MoS₂/rGO nanosheets for enhanced lithium–sulfur battery performance

• Chengxiang Tian,
• Juwei Wu,
• Zheng Ma,
• Bo Li,
• Pengcheng Li,
• Xiaotao Zu and
• Xia Xiang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2251–2260, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.217

• sulfur [6][7][8], constructing Li2Sn blocking interlayers [9][10][11], and applying functional separators [12][13][14][15]. Although there are many methods, the most common strategy is to combine sulfur with various carbon materials owing to their excellent conductivity and flexible nanostructures

• adsorption of polysulfides [23][24]. However, the low conductivity of MoS2 often results in incomplete conversion of polysulfides. Thus, MoS2 is usually combined with carbon materials and annealing treatment is also considered [25][26]. Hence, double modification of defect-rich MoS2 nanosheets with amorphous

• redox reactions but also chemically adsorb polysulfides. In addition, rGO and carbon layer can also enhance the conductivity of C-MoS2/rGO. Therefore, the C-MoS2/rGO, as an efficient sulfur host, could exhibit excellent electrochemical performance. Experimental Preparation of defect-rich C-MoS2/rGO

A novel all-fiber-based LiFePO₄/Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ battery with self-standing nanofiber membrane electrodes

• Li-li Chen,
• Hua Yang,
• Mao-xiang Jing,
• Chong Han,
• Fei Chen,
• Xin-yu Hu,
• Wei-yong Yuan,
• Shan-shan Yao and
• Xiang-qian Shen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2229–2237, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.215

• , Chongqing, 400715, China 10.3762/bjnano.10.215 Abstract Electrodes with high conductivity and flexibility are crucial to the development of flexible lithium-ion batteries. In this study, three-dimensional (3D) LiFePO4 and Li4Ti5O12 fiber membrane materials were prepared through electrospinning and directly

• attributed to the high electronic and ionic conductivity provided by the 3D network structure of the self-standing electrodes. This design and preparation method for all-fiber-based lithium-ion batteries provides a novel strategy for the development of high-performance flexible batteries. Keywords: 3D

• for electric and hybrid vehicles due to their stable discharge potential, good cycling stability and environmental friendliness [24][25][26]. However, both of them have the disadvantages of low Li+ diffusion coefficient and poor electronic conductivity, which limit the practical applications in LIBs

Ultrathin Ni_1−xCo_xS₂ nanoflakes as high energy density electrode materials for asymmetric supercapacitors

• Xiaoxiang Wang,
• Teng Wang,
• Rusen Zhou,
• Lijuan Fan,
• Shengli Zhang,
• Feng Yu,
• Tuquabo Tesfamichael,
• Liwei Su and
• Hongxia Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2207–2216, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.213

• electrical conductivity. Developing ultrathin nanostructured materials is critical to achieving high electrochemical performance, because they possess rich active sites for electrochemical reactions, shortening the transport path of ions in the electrolyte during the charge/discharge processes. This paper

• metal ions and of the low material cost [4]. Nickel–cobalt sulfides have attracted attention as electrode materials for supercapacitors because of their excellent conductivity relative to the oxide counterparts, which contributes to a higher specific capacitance [5]. The multiple valency contributions

• from both nickel and cobalt ions in the bimetallic sulfides can provide relatively affluent redox reactions, resulting in higher specific capacitance and electrical conductivity [6][7]. Moreover, layered ultrathin nanoflakes in the synthesised nanomaterials, derived from metal oxides/dichalcogenides