Magnetic switching of nanoscale antidot lattices

• Ulf Wiedwald,
• Joachim Gräfe,
• Kristof M. Lebecki,
• Maxim Skripnik,
• Felix Haering,
• Gisela Schütz,
• Paul Ziemann,
• Eberhard Goering and
• Ulrich Nowak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 733–750, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.65

Comparative kinematical analyses of Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) snap traps

• Simon Poppinga,
• Tim Kampowski,
• Amélie Metzger,
• Olga Speck and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 664–674, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.59

• ). Comparison of snapping durations in air and under water and characterization of snapping modes Traps were recorded in air (temperature in our lab ca. 20–25 °C, relative air humidity ca. 34.5–43.5%) and under water. For each trial we used 30 different traps from 30 different plants so that, in total, 60 traps

Cantilever bending based on humidity-actuated mesoporous silica/silicon bilayers

• Christian Ganser,
• Gerhard Fritz-Popovski,
• Roland Morak,
• Parvin Sharifi,
• Benedetta Marmiroli,
• Barbara Sartori,
• Heinz Amenitsch,
• Thomas Griesser,
• Christian Teichert and
• Oskar Paris

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 637–644, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.56

• cylindrical pores with elliptical cross-section on an ordered pore lattice. The film is deposited on silicon-based commercial atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilevers using dip coating. This bilayer cantilever is mounted in a humidity controlled AFM, and its deflection is measured as a function of relative

• humidity. We also investigate a similar film on bulk silicon substrate using grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS), in order to determine nanostructural parameters of the film as well as the water-sorption-induced deformation of the ordered mesopore lattice. The strain of the mesoporous

• , humidity-induced bending of bilayer structures is frequently used for actuation purposes. Prominent examples are the opening of tree cones [5], or the complex movement of the dispersal units of wild wheat [6] and ice plants [7]. In all these systems the movement is caused by the bending of bilayer

Correlative infrared nanospectroscopic and nanomechanical imaging of block copolymer microdomains

• Benjamin Pollard and
• Markus B. Raschke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 605–612, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.53

• ]. However, the tapping phase is also affected by the intermittent formation of a capillary water neck between tip and sample as the cantilever oscillates, which can lead to either net attractive or net repulsive regimes depending on tapping amplitude, relative humidity, and local curvature of the tip and

• relative humidity during the measurement (13%) indicate that we are operating near the threshold between attractive and repulsive regimes [30]. The delicate balance between repulsive capillary forces and overall van der Waals interaction could result in the finer variations across the PMMA microdomain. We

Nanoscale effects in the characterization of viscoelastic materials with atomic force microscopy: coupling of a quasi-three-dimensional standard linear solid model with in-plane surface interactions

• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 554–571, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.49

• effects are expected for surfaces that are more cross-linked than the bulk material or surfaces that react with the environment, and also surfaces that absorb or adsorb moisture, which also depends on the environmental temperature and humidity. It is therefore expected that the surface will play an

Contact-free experimental determination of the static flexural spring constant of cantilever sensors using a microfluidic force tool

• John D. Parkin and
• Georg Hähner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 492–500, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.43

• hysteresis at all while others showed more pronounced hysteresis, in particular Tap525. A change in the alignment of the cantilever relative to the channel had no effect on the observed phenomenon. The hysteresis could be related to changes in the humidity surrounding the cantilever as the fluid flow of dry

• nitrogen from the microchannel acts to decrease humidity with increasing fluid speed [8]. The metal coating on some of the cantilevers might also delaminate or let water enter, inducing some stress and causing additional bending, which is removed when nitrogen from the channel decreases the surrounding

• humidity. Checking the quality factors Q and the resonance frequencies of the resonance peaks for very low flow speeds at the beginning of the measurements and at the end did not reveal significant differences. If there is some stress induced, it is certainly small and not revealed by the Q-factor or the

Length-extension resonator as a force sensor for high-resolution frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy in air

• Hannes Beyer,
• Tino Wagner and
• Andreas Stemmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 432–438, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.38

• in air or liquid have been reported so far, for example on mica [13][15], Si(111) [16], on a grating [17], HOPG, and DNA origami [18]. Froning et al. [18] also discussed the influence of the environmental conditions on the sensor properties. Temperature and humidity changes lead to variations in

• temperature and humidity sensor (SHT71, Sensirion AG [22]). Basic image processing (e.g., levelling) is done with the Gwyddion software [23]. To determine the sensitivity S of the LER a thermal noise spectrum was acquired around the resonance frequency (Figure 1c). Integration over the noise power spectral

• +0.15 Hz. The air flow to the AFM housing is controlled via a hose and a reservoir. The air supplied to the reservoir was changed from low humidity air to normal room air after eight minutes. Figure 3a shows dew point , frequency shift Δf, and frequency shift offset Δfoffset applied by the slow feedback

Time-dependent growth of crystalline Au⁰-nanoparticles in cyanobacteria as self-reproducing bioreactors: 2. Anabaena cylindrica

• Liz M. Rösken,
• Felix Cappel,
• Susanne Körsten,
• Christian B. Fischer,
• Andreas Schönleber,
• Sander van Smaalen,
• Stefan Geimer,
• Christian Beresko,
• Georg Ankerhold and
• Stefan Wehner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 312–327, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.30

• washed during preparation to ensure only the presence of biomass bound nanoparticles, see “Materials and Methods” section for details. LIBS in the supernatants can proof this, but this is a challenging task since humidity makes measurements complicated for this method. Conclusion The cyanobacterium

Functional fusion of living systems with synthetic electrode interfaces

• Oskar Staufer,
• Sebastian Weber,
• C. Peter Bengtson,
• Hilmar Bading,
• Joachim P. Spatz and
• Amin Rustom

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 296–301, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.27

• stage represents an individual multinucleated cell confined by one continuous plasma membrane, featuring complex membrane potential oscillations [2] correlated with problem solving strategies [3][4] and electrochemical reactions to varying environmental conditions, including light [5] and humidity [6

• the Physarum/NEI preparation as an “autonomous” humidity sensor, employing the cell’s intrinsic capability to respond to environmental humidity changes [6]. Physarum/NEI sandwiches were prepared as described and the potential was recorded over time (Figure 4) while the humidity inside the experimental

• chamber was varied using a custom-built ventilation system (see Supporting Information File 1). An abrupt reduction in humidity resulted in a biphasic electrical response, consisting of a rapid hyperpolarization in the range of −1 mV followed by a slower depolarization of approximately +1.5 mV (Figure 4

Chemiresistive/SERS dual sensor based on densely packed gold nanoparticles

• Sanda Boca,
• Cosmin Leordean,
• Simion Astilean and
• Cosmin Farcau

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2498–2503, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.259

• -like assemblies of gold NPs are formed by computer-controlled periodic movement and stopping of the substrate. The process is performed under ambient conditions at 22–25 °C and a humidity of 32–35%. Sample characterization: Optical extinction spectra were measured with a Jasco V-670 spectrophotometer

Self-organization of gold nanoparticles on silanated surfaces

• Htet H. Kyaw,
• Salim H. Al-Harthi,
• Azzouz Sellai and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2345–2353, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.242

• silanization process) and the amine (NH2) from the aminopropyl groups (pointing away from the surface) for further functionalization [5]. APTES has been extensively studied, and it has been reported that the orientation and attachment of APTES on surfaces depend on temperature, humidity, concentration of APTES

Nanoscale rippling on polymer surfaces induced by AFM manipulation

• Mario D’Acunto,
• Franco Dinelli and
• Pasqualantonio Pingue

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2278–2289, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.234

• (relative humidity: 50 to 60% and T = 22–23 °C). How to avoid ripple formation The nanoripple formation can be either a nuisance or an opportunity. In the framework of nanolithography, one should consider the development of tools for creating but also preventing the pattern formation. Regarding this second

• load is constant and equal to 10 nN. Adapted with permission from [31]. Copyright 2001 American Chemical Society. Solvent-enriched polymer films. Examples of 3D ripple structures on PCL (left) and PET (right). The images were obtained in air (relative humidity 40%), with a silicon conical shape tip

A single-source precursor route to anisotropic halogen-doped zinc oxide particles as a promising candidate for new transparent conducting oxide materials

• Daniela Lehr,
• Markus R. Wagner,
• Johanna Flock,
• Julian S. Reparaz,
• Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres,
• Alexander Klaiber,
• Thomas Dekorsy and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2161–2172, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.222

• exclusion of air and humidity using Schlenk techniques. [MeZnOt-Bu]4 and [EtZnOiPr]4 were synthesized according to the literature [55]. Preparation of [I(CH3)3Zn4(Ot-Bu)4] (2a): In 60 mL toluene 4 g [MeZnOt-Bu]4 (6.51 mmol) were dissolved and cooled to −78 °C. A solution of 1.65 g dried I2 in 40 mL toluene

Nitrogen-doped graphene films from chemical vapor deposition of pyridine: influence of process parameters on the electrical and optical properties

• Andrea Capasso,
• Theodoros Dikonimos,
• Francesca Sarto,
• Alessio Tamburrano,
• Giovanni De Bellis,
• Maria Sabrina Sarto,
• Giuliana Faggio,
• Angela Malara,
• Giacomo Messina and
• Nicola Lisi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2028–2038, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.206

• ± 0.5 °C) and humidity (35 ± 5%). The test system consisted of a probe with four collinear WC tips (spaced overall by 3 mm), fixed on a stand (Signatone S301) and connected to a current source and a low-voltage meter. The measurements were repeated multiple times over an area of at least 1 × 1 cm2 on

Nanofibers for drug delivery – incorporation and release of model molecules, influence of molecular weight and polymer structure

• Jakub Hrib,
• Jakub Sirc,
• Radka Hobzova,
• Zuzana Hampejsova,
• Zuzana Bosakova,
• Marcela Munzarova and
• Jiri Michalek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1939–1945, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.198

• detected. The properties and behavior of each polymer during electrospinning were unique. The process parameters, such as the polymer mixture composition, voltage, electrode distance, temperature or humidity, were individually and precisely adjusted in order to produce structures that were as similar as

• the polymer mixtures at a concentration of 3 wt %. PCL was dissolved in a 1:1 (w/w) mixture of tetrahydrofuran and N,N-dimethylformamide at a concentration of 10 wt %. The electrospinning parameters were 6 rpm, 15 cm and 5.5 kV/cm. The maximum temperature was 30 °C, and the maximum relative humidity

• . PVA was dissolved in water/phosphoric acid at a concentration of 11 wt %. The electrospinning parameters were 2 rpm, 13 cm and 45–55 kV/cm. The relative humidity was 25–30%, and the temperature was 22 °C. The PVA layers were crosslinked thermally in a drying oven at 145 °C for 15 min to reach their

Template-controlled mineralization: Determining film granularity and structure by surface functionality patterns

• Nina J. Blumenstein,
• Jonathan Berson,
• Stefan Walheim,
• Petia Atanasova,
• Johannes Baier,
• Joachim Bill and
• Thomas Schimmel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1763–1768, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.180

• were previously cleaned by CO2 snow-jet treatment (at least 20 s for a 2 × 2 cm substrate). The relative humidity, measured by a Testo 635 Hygrometer, was adjusted to 40–45% during the spin-coating process. For the adjustment of the humidity, a mixture of water-saturated and pure nitrogen were led into

Nanomechanical humidity detection through porous alumina cantilevers

• Olga Boytsova,
• Alexey Klimenko,
• Vasiliy Lebedev,
• Alexey Lukashin and
• Andrey Eliseev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1332–1337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.137

• behavior of the resonance frequency of porous anodic alumina cantilever arrays during water vapor adsorption and emphasize their possible use in the micromechanical sensing of humidity levels at least in the range of 10–22%. The sensitivity of porous anodic aluminium oxide cantilevers (Δf/Δm) and the

• humidity sensitivity equal about 56 Hz/pg and about 100 Hz/%, respectively. The approach presented here for the design of anodic alumina cantilever arrays by the combination of anodic oxidation and photolithography enables easy control over porosity, surface area, geometric and mechanical characteristics

• of the cantilever arrays for micromechanical sensing. Keywords: anodic aluminium oxide; atomic force microscopy (AFM); cantilever arrays; humidity; mechanical sensor; porous alumina; Introduction The last two decades have seen a surge in resonant micro- and nanomechanical engineering raised by the

Polymer blend lithography for metal films: large-area patterning with over 1 billion holes/inch²

• Cheng Huang,
• Alexander Förste,
• Stefan Walheim and
• Thomas Schimmel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1205–1211, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.123

• polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), dissolved in methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) is used. This system forms a purely lateral structure on the substrate at controlled humidity, which means that PS droplets are formed in a PMMA matrix, whereby both phases have direct contact both to the substrate

• polystyrene (PS)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blend film from a blend solution ends with a purely lateral phase separation between the two immiscible polymers under controlled spin-coating parameters (see Figure 1a). As reported in our earlier publication, the ambient atmosphere (humidity), the molar mass

• ][39]. Conclusion Polymer blend lithography (PBL) makes use of the purely lateral phase separation of two immiscible polymers during spin-casting at controlled humidity. A metal copy of either of the polymer components can be fabricated by the selective dissolution of one component, followed by metal

From lithium to sodium: cell chemistry of room temperature sodium–air and sodium–sulfur batteries

• Philipp Adelhelm,
• Pascal Hartmann,
• Conrad L. Bender,
• Martin Busche,
• Christine Eufinger and
• Juergen Janek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1016–1055, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.105

Stiffness of sphere–plate contacts at MHz frequencies: dependence on normal load, oscillation amplitude, and ambient medium

• Jana Vlachová,
• Rebekka König and
• Diethelm Johannsmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 845–856, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.87

• the holder one day before the experiment and by controlling temperature, but they cannot be avoided altogether. Experiments were undertaken in ambient air with no additional control of temperature or humidity. For further details on the experiment (on the processing of raw data and on the calculation

Transformation of hydrogen titanate nanoribbons to TiO₂ nanoribbons and the influence of the transformation strategies on the photocatalytic performance

• Melita Rutar,
• Nejc Rozman,
• Matej Pregelj,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Romana Cerc Korošec,
• Andrijana Sever Škapin,
• Aleš Mrzel,
• Srečo D. Škapin and
• Polona Umek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 831–844, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.86

• concentration began to rise. The system was kept at a temperature of 25 ± 3 °C and a relative humidity of 22 ± 3%. The light source was a 300 W Xe lamp (Newport Oriel Instrument, USA). The lamp imitates the solar spectrum and emits both ultraviolet (UV) and visible light (vis). The radiance intensity on the

Capillary and van der Waals interactions on CaF₂ crystals from amplitude modulation AFM force reconstruction profiles under ambient conditions

• Annalisa Calò,
• Oriol Vidal Robles,
• Sergio Santos and
• Albert Verdaguer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 809–819, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.84

• [24] from amplitude and phase distance (APD) curves collected on CaF2 crystals containing water patches on their surface. We then compared the obtained profiles with those observed under low humidity conditions, i.e., when water is not present on the crystals. The Sader–Jarvis–Katan method has been

• recently applied to reconstruct the force on mica and graphite samples and changes in the shape of the resulting profiles were studied under different environmental conditions. An evolution in the force curves was observed keeping these surfaces at high humidity levels for long times [9][10]. At high

• humidity and long times of exposure plateau-like features where force was approximately constant for 1–2 nm before contact were observed. This kind of force profile, approximating a square well [14], has been already proposed to explain, from the phenomenological point of view, typical APD curves observed

Conformal SiO₂ coating of sub-100 nm diameter channels of polycarbonate etched ion-track channels by atomic layer deposition

• Nicolas Sobel,
• Christian Hess,
• Manuela Lukas,
• Anne Spende,
• Bernd Stühn,
• M. E. Toimil-Molares and
• Christina Trautmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 472–479, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.48

• were measured on a OCA35 apparatus from Dataphysics Instruments GmbH. Distilled water with a volume of 2 µL was dropped onto the membrane surface at 21 °C and 50% relative humidity of air. Besides ALD coating, the samples were not treated otherwise prior to measurements. Results and Discussion

A scanning probe microscope for magnetoresistive cantilevers utilizing a nested scanner design for large-area scans

• Tobias Meier,
• Alexander Förste,
• Ali Tavassolizadeh,
• Karsten Rott,
• Dirk Meyners,
• Roland Gröger,
• Günter Reiss,
• Eckhard Quandt,
• Thomas Schimmel and
• Hendrik Hölscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 451–461, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.46

• ]. If exposed to ambient conditions with a relative humidity of around 40%, the topographic contrast on those two materials disappears in amplitude modulation imaging. The height difference, however, can be observed if the sample is scanned in a liquid [63]. Therefore, we conclude that the vanishing

Boosting the local anodic oxidation of silicon through carbon nanofiber atomic force microscopy probes

• Gemma Rius,
• Matteo Lorenzoni,
• Soichiro Matsui,
• Masaki Tanemura and
• Francesc Perez-Murano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 215–222, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.20

• resolution and tip preservation than the contact mode [11][12]. The improvement of the water meniscus comes from the control of the water meniscus dimensions, which depends on several parameters, including tip–sample distance, humidity and electrical field. Remarkably, LAO-AFM can be performed in dynamic

• captured and subtracted. All tests are performed at room conditions, with a temperature of 25 °C and under a controlled relative humidity ranging from 20 to 40%. The Si substrates consist of chips cut from Si(100) wafers. Organic contamination on the chips was removed by oxygen plasma etching before the

• voltage is 20 V, relative humidity (RH) is 36%. Results of LAO-AFM on Si with CNF (a) and Si (b) probes as a function of the bias voltage (in V). Writing speed is 1 μm/s, RH is 36%. Monitoring chemical and mechanical stability of CNF probes for LAO-AFM. SEM images before (a) and after (c) the definition