Microwave synthesis of high-quality and uniform 4 nm ZnFe₂O₄ nanocrystals for application in energy storage and nanomagnetics

• Christian Suchomski,
• Ben Breitung,
• Ralf Witte,
• Michael Knapp,
• Sondes Bauer,
• Tilo Baumbach,
• Christian Reitz and
• Torsten Brezesinski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1350–1360, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.126

• vacuum at 80 °C for 12 h. The areal loading was 2.4 mgZFO/cm2 on average. Coin-type cells with 600 µm-thick Li metal foil (Rockwood Lithium Inc.) and glass microfiber film separator (Whatman, GF/D grade) were assembled inside an argon-filled glovebox (MBraun) with [O2] and [H2O] < 1 ppm. The electrolyte

• ) indicates that irreversible reactions occurred upon lithiation, including decomposition of surface ligands and formation of a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) on the nanoparticles. However, this relatively large capacity loss (≈30%) was limited to the initial cycle. The electrochemical reaction of ZFO with

• unaffected by the polymer binder, carbon additive, electrolyte and separator residues, the electrodes were used as is, thus ensuring minimal effects from cell disassembly. In the present work, two electrodes of the same batch but at different lithiation states were investigated. The “pristine” electrode was

Improved lithium-ion battery anode capacity with a network of easily fabricated spindle-like carbon nanofibers

• Mengting Liu,
• Wenhe Xie,
• Lili Gu,
• Tianfeng Qin,
• Xiaoyi Hou and
• Deyan He

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1289–1295, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.120

• capacity is 900.1 mAh g−1, leading to a coulombic efficiency of 75.8%. The capacity difference between the initial charge and discharge mainly owes to the electrochemically driven electrolyte degradation, which results in the formation of solid electrolyte interface (SEI) films on the surface of electrode

Mesoporous hollow carbon spheres for lithium–sulfur batteries: distribution of sulfur and electrochemical performance

• Anika C. Juhl,
• Artur Schneider,
• Boris Ufer,
• Torsten Brezesinski,
• Jürgen Janek and
• Michael Fröba

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1229–1240, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.114

• indicating good reversibility. The measured areal capacities are comparable with those calculated from literature data [24][27][29]. Nevertheless, due to differences in cell type, electrode and electrolyte composition as well as electrolyte/sulfur ratio, a precise comparison is not possible. Even more, as

• necessary information for this comparison like the electrolyte/sulfur ratio and partly also the areal sulfur loading are often not given. Overall, the data in Figure 8 demonstrate that Li–S cells based on HCS/sulfur composite show good cyclability, with moderate specific capacities at C/5 rate. Given that

• inside an argon-filled glovebox from MBraun. The electrolyte used was a solution of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (Aldrich, 99.95%, 8 wt %), lithium nitrate (Merck, 99.995%, 4 wt %), 1,2-dimethoxyethane (Alfa Aesar, >99%, 44 wt %), and 1,3-dioxolane (Acros, 99.8%, 44 wt %). The volume of

In situ characterization of hydrogen absorption in nanoporous palladium produced by dealloying

• Eva-Maria Steyskal,
• Christopher Wiednig,
• Norbert Enzinger and
• Roland Würschum

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1197–1201, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.110

• electrochemical H absorption in an alkaline aqueous electrolyte. Volume and electrical resistance of the sample, two qualities both known to sensitively depend on the H content of Pd [7][8][4][9][10][11], are monitored in situ during electrochemical hydrogenation and compared to literature data. The Co–Pd master

• platelets were cut for dealloying and subsequent charging experiments. The resistometric measurements were set up similar to our work on nanoporous platinum [12][13]. To sum up briefly, the rectangular sample (ca. 12 × 3 mm2) was immersed into the electrolyte hanging on five Pd wires, glued onto the

• as the relative sensitivity of actuator response to hydrogen loading of recently investigated nanoporous palladium produced by free corrosion of an Al–Pd master alloy [4]. While the maximum hydrogen solubilities show a strong variation with the charging parameters, such as the chosen electrolyte and

Voltammetric determination of polyphenolic content in pomegranate juice using a poly(gallic acid)/multiwalled carbon nanotube modified electrode

• Refat Abdel-Hamid and
• Emad F. Newair

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1104–1112, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.103

• day of preparation. Pure nitrogen was used for degassing the test solution prior to and throughout the electrochemical measurements. Phosphoric acid solution was used as a supporting electrolyte. Double-distilled water was used for preparation of all solutions. Freshly prepared standard solutions of

• times to remove the electrolyte and the monomer. The electrode was then ready for electrochemical use. The bare and the modified GC electrodes were electrochemically cleaned before the measurements using cyclic voltammetry in a potential range between 0.2 and 1.0 V for 10 cycles at a scan rate of 50 mV

Multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids as MRI contrast agents

• Nikodem Kuźnik and
• Mateusz M. Tomczyk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1086–1103, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.102

• transformations [18]. Surprising results of the relaxation effects both in vitro and in vivo and depending on a number of parameters, such as content of the residual catalyst, size of the CNTs or "wrapping media" (the electrolyte used to stabilize the dispersions), were also reported [18][19]. We discuss these

• their mobility. According to the classical SBM theory (τR in Equation 3), an elevated relaxivity could be observed. On the other hand, the presence of a strong electrolyte in the buffers (PBS, saline) leads to an additional destabilization of the dispersion by the salting effect. These considerations

Role of solvents in the electronic transport properties of single-molecule junctions

• Katharina Luka-Guth,
• Sebastian Hambsch,
• Andreas Bloch,
• Philipp Ehrenreich,
• Bernd Michael Briechle,
• Filip Kilibarda,
• Torsten Sendler,
• Dmytro Sysoiev,
• Thomas Huhn,
• Artur Erbe and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1055–1067, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.99

• discussed only very recently [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. The most obvious impact may be the change of the work function, because the tunnelling does not take place through vacuum states but through an electrolyte that alters the work function of the electrode and thereby affects the

• the molecules under study. However, often the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of these electrolyte tunnel junctions have shapes that are similar to those found in single-molecule junctions and are therefore not easy to distinguish from each other [11]. In principle this would be possible by

• change rapidly by several angströms due to the sudden release of stress. Furthermore, a Helmholtz double layer builds on the surface of a metal immersed in an electrolyte or a polar solvent, forming a capacitor [23]. When changing the bias this layer may become instable and thus influence the I–Vs. Its

Advanced atomic force microscopy techniques III

• Thilo Glatzel and
• Thomas Schimmel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1052–1054, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.98

• several transitions in the friction coefficient with increasing load have been found on Au(111) in sulfuric acid electrolyte containing Cu ions by Helmut Baltruschat an co-workers [24] and the stiffness of micron-sized sphere-plate contacts was studied by Diethelm Johannsmann et al. by employing high

Reconstitution of the membrane protein OmpF into biomimetic block copolymer–phospholipid hybrid membranes

• Matthias Bieligmeyer,
• Franjo Artukovic,
• Stephan Nussberger,
• Thomas Hirth,
• Thomas Schiestel and
• Michaela Müller

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 881–892, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.80

• in parallel, corresponding to an electrolyte–membrane–electrolyte interface [16][56] (Table 2). The membranes formed by PIPEO877/DPhPC, PIPEO1530/DPhPC, PIPEO877 and PIPEO1530 revealed ohmic resistances above 1 GΩ. PIPEO3188 yielded a resistance close to 1 GΩ. In contrast, the mean resistance of

• (Nanion, Munich, Germany). Mixtures based on PIPEO1530 were subjected to an alternating voltage of 10 V at 300 Hz. As electrolyte, a saccharose solution (260 mM) was used. To observe the mixing behavior of the lipopolymer mixtures, one day after vesicle formation, the GUV were observed with confocal

• connected to Ag/AgCl electrodes immersed into the electrolyte compartments on both sides of the formed membranes. Measurements were performed in the range between 1 MHz and 100 mHz at an offset of 0 mV and an amplitude of 10 mV. Data acquisition was performed with the Thales Z-Man 1.18 software package from

Assembling semiconducting molecules by covalent attachment to a lamellar crystalline polymer substrate

• Rainhard Machatschek,
• Patrick Ortmann,
• Renate Reiter,
• Stefan Mecking and
• Günter Reiter

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 784–798, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.70

• the barrier against aggregation for CPE45 nanocrystals residing at the air–water interface was highest at pH 11. However, it was suggested in the literature that the addition of an electrolyte to the aqueous subphase aids spreading of nanoparticles from methanol on the aqueous subphase. For charged

• latex particles, it was found that the concentration of the electrolyte should be at least 10 mmol/L [42], corresponding to pH 12 if alkali-hydroxides were used as electrolyte. The aforementioned aqueous/methanolic nanocrystal dispersion was added in a dropwise manner to the water surface. Methanol

First-principles study of the structure of water layers on flat and stepped Pb electrodes

• Xiaohang Lin,
• Ferdinand Evers and
• Axel Groß

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 533–543, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.47

• liquid on properties of the metal [1]. The importance of understanding the electrochemical behavior of electrode and electrolyte near the interfaces is well illustrated by two recent examples. (i) In recent experiments on molecular break junctions it was found that certain molecules (methyl-sulfide

• electrode/electrolyte interfaces based on first-principles electronic structure calculations. As Pb has been used as one of the metallic electrode materials, we have already studied the Pb self-diffusion on flat and stepped Pb surfaces [13] as this controls the growth mechanism of the contacts. The results

Comparison of the interactions of daunorubicin in a free form and attached to single-walled carbon nanotubes with model lipid membranes

• Dorota Matyszewska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 524–532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.46

• , Poland) was used as a supporting electrolyte. Results and Discussion Monolayer studies at the air–water interface In order to study the influence of daunorubicin in a free form and attached to carbon nanotubes as potential drug carrier, Langmuir technique has been employed. Drug in a free form was

Surface coating affects behavior of metallic nanoparticles in a biological environment

• Darija Domazet Jurašin,
• Marija Ćurlin,
• Ivona Capjak,
• Tea Crnković,
• Marija Lovrić,
• Michal Babič,
• Daniel Horák,
• Ivana Vinković Vrček and
• Srećko Gajović

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 246–262, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.23

• biological media. The combination of negative charge and high adsorption strength of coating agents proved to be important for achieving good stability of metallic NPs in electrolyte-rich fluids. Most importantly, the presence of proteins provided colloidal stabilization to metallic NPs in biological fluids

• media like dissolution, adsorption, binding, and aggregation, all influencing biological impacts by affecting reactive oxygen species generation, cellular uptake and NP biodistribution [15][16][17][18]. Metallic NPs usually aggregate in media with high electrolyte content that correspond to biological

• fluids [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. NP agglomeration is intended in some applications, such as in immunoassays [28], while many others require stable colloidal dispersions of NPs at high physiological ionic strength [29]. Stabilization of metallic NPs at high electrolyte content, i.e., in

Mismatch detection in DNA monolayers by atomic force microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

• Maryse D. Nkoua Ngavouka,
• Pietro Capaldo,
• Elena Ambrosetti,
• Giacinto Scoles,
• Loredana Casalis and
• Pietro Parisse

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 220–227, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.20

• rinsed with the buffer solution used for the measurements, 100 mM KCl, and the capacitance at the electrode/electrolyte interface was measured. In the hybridization step the cell is filled with a drop of the same hybridizing buffer solution, 100 mM KCl, containing the complementary or partially

• electrode/electrolyte interface, allowing for the extraction of the differential capacitance simply from a linear fit of Irms. The functionalized electrodes can be regenerated after the hybridization process by means of a thermal treatment in TE buffer (pH 9) for 1 h in oven at a temperature 10 °C higher

• representation of the electrode/electrolyte interface. The first layer in contact with the gold electrode is the ssDNA self-assembled monolayer, modelled as a capacitance CssDNA. Then we have the ions present in solution that arrange in response to the gold and DNA charges forming the so-called double layer

Synthesis and applications of carbon nanomaterials for energy generation and storage

• Marco Notarianni,
• Jinzhang Liu,
• Kristy Vernon and
• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 149–196, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.17

Single pyrimidine discrimination during voltage-driven translocation of osmylated oligodeoxynucleotides via the α-hemolysin nanopore

• Yun Ding and
• Anastassia Kanavarioti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 91–101, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.11

• pore embedded in an insulating surface that separates two compartments filled with electrolyte. A nucleic acid in one compartment can move through the pore to the other compartment influenced by the electric field and the interactions with the pore, and concurrently modulate the current. Protein pores

• , University of Utah. The KCl solution was used as the electrolyte to fill the solution reservoir and the GNM capillary. A voltage was applied across the GNM between two Ag/AgCl electrodes placed inside and outside of the capillary. A lipid bilayer was deposited across the GNM orifice as indicated by a

Evaluation of gas-sensing properties of ZnO nanostructures electrochemically doped with Au nanophases

• Elena Dilonardo,
• Michele Penza,
• Marco Alvisi,
• Cinzia Di Franco,
• Francesco Palmisano,
• Luisa Torsi and
• Nicola Cioffi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 22–31, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.3

• immersed in the electrolyte solution (0.05 M in 5 mL) of vacuum dried tetraoctylammonium chloride (TOAC), which acts both as electrolyte and Au NPs stabilizer, in anhydrous tetrahydrofuran (THF) and acetonitrile (ACN) mixed in 3:1 ratio. The dried ZnO powder (about 1 g) was added as support particles into

• 300 °C, the spherical structures and the residual presence of electrolyte on Au NPs surfaces influence the gas-sensing response, yielding the worst sensor response towards NO2. Future work will be addressed to electrochemically functionalize ZnO nanocomposites with other noble metals, such as Pd, to

Green and energy-efficient methods for the production of metallic nanoparticles

• Mitra Naghdi,
• Mehrdad Taheran,
• Satinder K. Brar,
• M. Verma,
• R. Y. Surampalli and
• J. R. Valero

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2354–2376, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.243

• surface of NPs which is responsible for the electrostatic repulsion and consequently stability at wide range of pH (2–10) and electrolyte concentration (up to 10−2 M of NaCl) [63]. Thekkae Padil and Cernik used gum karaya (GK) to produce copper oxide (CuO) NPs from CuCl2 at 75 °C for 60 min. According to

Influence of wide band gap oxide substrates on the photoelectrochemical properties and structural disorder of CdS nanoparticles grown by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method

• Mikalai V. Malashchonak,
• Alexander V. Mazanik,
• Olga V. Korolik,
• Еugene А. Streltsov and
• Anatoly I. Kulak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2252–2262, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.231

• observed for the heterostructures is attributed to the charge carrier photogeneration in CdS NPs followed by the transfer of photoelectrons into the oxide matrix, whereas the photoholes are trapped by sulphite ions, SO32−. Sulfide ions S2− in the electrolyte reduce the solubility of CdS and facilitate its

• . The synthesis of the titanium dioxide nanotube arrays was carried out in a two-electrode electrochemical cell by anodization of metallic titanium with a graphite counter electrode in an aqueous electrolyte containing 1 mol/L (NH4)2SO4, 0.1 mol/L NH4F and 0.2 mol/L H2C2O4 with pH 2.8 (corrected with

• water, air-dried and heat-treated at 450 °C for 1 h in air. Mesoporous zinc oxide films were prepared by the electrochemical cathodic deposition from water–ethanol (1:1 by volume) electrolyte containing 0.1 mol/L Zn(NO3)2, 0.1 mol/L KCl and 4 g/L poly(vinylpyrrolidone) at 50 °C [18][38]. Deposition was

Electroviscous effect on fluid drag in a microchannel with large zeta potential

• Dalei Jing and
• Bharat Bhushan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2207–2216, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.226

• EDL is first analytically solved. Then, the modified Navier–Stokes equation for the flow considering the effect of surface charge on the electrical conductivity of the electrolyte and slip length is analytically solved. This analysis is used to study the effect of non-overlapping EDL with large zeta

• is the characteristic thickness of EDL, and is given by [5], where ε is the dielectric constant of the electrolyte, ε0 is the vacuum permittivity, kB is the Boltzmann constant, T is the absolute temperature, n0 is the bulk ionic concentration of the symmetric electrolyte, z is the valence of the ions

• electroosmotic and pressure-driven flow in a microchannel with no slip condition. In addition, the electrical conductivity of the electrolyte is related to the ionic concentration of the electrolyte, thus, the ions redistribution caused by the charged solid–liquid interface results in the change of the

Electrochemical coating of dental implants with anodic porous titania for enhanced osteointegration

• Amirreza Shayganpour,
• Alberto Rebaudi,
• Pierpaolo Cortella,
• Alberto Diaspro and
• Marco Salerno

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2183–2192, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.224

• the anodization in the presence of electrolyte additives such as magnesium, these can be incorporated into the porous coating. The proposed method for the surface nanostructuring of biomedical implants should allow for integration of conventional microscale treatments such as sandblasting with

• the whole process as either potentiostatic or galvanostatic. During this process the conditions may change, making one target value easier to attain than the other at a given electrolyte conductivity and temperature. Within intermediate ranges of the above quantities (e.g., 20–180 V and 0.1–1.5 A

• concentration as high as ≈10 at %. In fact, from APA fabrication, it is also known that some amount of electrolyte anions (typically 3–8 wt %) are incorporated into the porous oxide during anodization [6]. The same applies also for the anodization of Ti, and thus the observed P has to be ascribed to phosphate

Enhanced model for determining the number of graphene layers and their distribution from X-ray diffraction data

• Beti Andonovic,
• Abdulakim Ademi,
• Anita Grozdanov,
• Perica Paunović and
• Aleksandar T. Dimitrov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2113–2122, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.216

• thickness distribution is used to calculate theoretical 002 X-ray diffraction (XRD) peak intensities. An analysis was performed upon graphene samples produced by two different electrochemical procedures: electrolysis in aqueous electrolyte and electrolysis in molten salts, both using a nonstationary current

• presented in this work is the following: graphene samples obtained by electrolysis in molten salts are denominated GMSE1, GMSE3 and GMSE4, and graphene samples produced by electrolysis in aqueous electrolyte are denominated GAE1 and GAE2. Results and Discussion The XRD pattern of each of the samples was

• position method of calculation. Graphene produced by electrolysis in aqueous electrolyte and the model in Equation 1 Graphene samples GAE1 and GAE2 produced by electrolysis in aqueous solution from two different raw graphite materials, using nonstationary current regime, are analyzed here. Typical TEM

Nanostructured superhydrophobic films synthesized by electrodeposition of fluorinated polyindoles

• Gabriela Ramos Chagas,
• Thierry Darmanin and
• Frédéric Guittard

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2078–2087, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.212

• -electrode while saturated calomel (SCE) was taken as reference electrode. The electrolyte used was a 0.1 mol solution of tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (Bu4NClO4) in anhydrous acetonitrile. Before the electrodeposition, the solution was degassed under argon and 0.01 mol of monomer was introduced. After the

Electrochemical behavior of polypyrrol/AuNP composites deposited by different electrochemical methods: sensing properties towards catechol

• Celia García-Hernández,
• Cristina García-Cabezón,
• Cristina Medina-Plaza,
• Fernando Martín-Pedrosa,
• Yolanda Blanco,
• José Antonio de Saja and
• María Luz Rodríguez-Méndez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2052–2061, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.209

• to the irreproducibility and therefore conclusions could not be deduced. The irreproducibility observed in stainless steel can be clearly attributed to pitting processes produced by chloride ions. In consequence, reproducibility could be improved by changing the supporting electrolyte. According to

• this idea, the influence of the supporting electrolyte was further investigated using phosphate buffer. As expected, the large size and high charge of the phosphate anions, made difficult the diffusion of anions inside the polymeric film producing a broadening of the peaks and the increase in the

• stainless steel, caused by pitting process can be avoided by using phosphate buffer as supporting electrolyte. As an electrochemical sensor, the Ppy/AuNP deposited on platinum exhibited important electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of catechol. The effect was higher in films obtained by CP than

Comprehensive characterization and understanding of micro-fuel cells operating at high methanol concentrations

• Aldo S. Gago,
• Juan-Pablo Esquivel,
• Neus Sabaté,
• Joaquín Santander and
• Nicolas Alonso-Vante

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2000–2006, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.203

• such as alkaline, microfluidic or bio-fuel cells. Thus, the design and micro-fabrication of parts and components such as current collectors, fuel reservoir, gas diffusion layers (GDL), the electrolyte membrane, and of course, the electrode catalysts, can be improved. The applied characterization