Miniemulsion copolymerization of (meth)acrylates in the presence of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes for reinforced coating applications

• Bertha T. Pérez-Martínez,
• Lorena Farías-Cepeda,
• Víctor M. Ovando-Medina,
• José M. Asua,
• Lucero Rosales-Marines and
• Radmila Tomovska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1328–1337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.134

• composites maintained the reinforcement, whereas the blends behaved as a liquid-like material. This suggests the formation of a 3D network, in good agreement with the high content of insoluble polymer in the in situ composites. Keywords: electrical conductivity; hybrid polymers; mechanical properties

• between the clamps of 2 mm. The mechanical properties of the films were determined by tensile test measurement. The films with an average thickness of 450 µm were prepared by drying in Teflon molds at 25 °C and 80% humidity for 3 days. The measurements were performed in an MTS Insight 10 instrument at a

• dissipation mechanism when the MWCNTs slide at the interface with polymer in presence of PVP, as previously reported in case of organic/inorganic hybrids [43]. The strong polymer–MWCNT interaction substantially improves the mechanical properties of the in situ composites, particularly at high temperatures

Atomic structure of Mg-based metallic glass investigated with neutron diffraction, reverse Monte Carlo modeling and electron microscopy

• Rafał Babilas,
• Dariusz Łukowiec and
• Laszlo Temleitner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1174–1182, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.119

• , Gd, Nd) system is one of the most highly investigated [8]. The good mechanical properties together with a large supercooled liquid region and high glass-forming ability with critical cooling rates below 103 K/s make the Mg-TM-RE amorphous alloys attractive for a wide range of engineering applications

Preparation of thick silica coatings on carbon fibers with fine-structured silica nanotubes induced by a self-assembly process

• Benjamin Baumgärtner,
• Hendrik Möller,
• Thomas Neumann and
• Dirk Volkmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1145–1155, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.116

• oxidation protection of carbon fibers at elevated temperatures. The good mechanical properties of carbon fibers are preserved under vacuum and inert atmospheres up to temperatures higher than 2000 °C. However, in an oxidative environment, carbon fibers show a low oxidation resistance, i.e., even at

Hierarchically structured nanoporous carbon tubes for high pressure carbon dioxide adsorption

• Julia Patzsch,
• Deepu J. Babu and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1135–1144, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.115

• attractive as a potential material for catalysis and electronic and photonic devices due to its semiconducting nature with a wide band gap, excellent mechanical properties, chemical inertness and thermal conductivity [13][14][15][16][17]. Especially, one-dimensional SiC in the form of nanowires or nanorods

Assembly of metallic nanoparticle arrays on glass via nanoimprinting and thin-film dewetting

• Sun-Kyu Lee,
• Sori Hwang,
• Yoon-Kee Kim and
• Yong-Jun Oh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1049–1055, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.106

• result strongly supports the effect of a stiffer substrate on the properties of thin films, as already indicated by other researchers [33][34]. However, despite this effect, the plots clearly reveal the effect of the annealing temperature on the mechanical properties of the resists: the modulus and

• a hardness of 7 GPa and a modulus of 55 GPa, the resist was expected to mostly transform into pure silica in the annealing process at 550 °C. The resist annealed at 600 °C showed dramatic degradation of its mechanical properties. This is attributed to the residual stress built up between the

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

• Paul Christian and
• Anna Maria Coclite

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

• ), this allows for the deposition of highly hydrophobic p-(PFDA-co-EGDMA) surfaces with control over the thermal expansion (and mechanical properties) being established by the cross-linker degree. Conclusion The morphological and structural properties of linear and cross-linked p-PFDA films deposited by

Bio-inspired micro-to-nanoporous polymers with tunable stiffness

• Julia Syurik,
• Ruth Schwaiger,
• Prerna Sudera,
• Stephan Weyand,
• Siegbert Johnsen,
• Gabriele Wiegand and
• Hendrik Hölscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 906–914, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.92

• Background: Inspired by structural hierarchies and the related excellent mechanical properties of biological materials, we created a smoothly graded micro- to nanoporous structure from a thermoplastic polymer. Results: The viscoelastic properties for the different pore sizes were investigated in the glassy

• several examples of porous structures and composites having excellent mechanical properties that surpass the properties of the constituent materials. Prominent examples are wood, bone, or bird beaks [1]. The outstanding properties of the pomelo peel, though, are less known. The pomelo (Citrus maxima) is a

• method was successfully used to characterize the influence of the microstructure of a new type of polyurethanes on their mechanical properties [26] and is, therefore, promising to characterize the graded porous materials. SEM images of the porous surface before and after nanoindentation are shown in

Relationships between chemical structure, mechanical properties and materials processing in nanopatterned organosilicate fins

• Gheorghe Stan,
• Richard S. Gates,
• Qichi Hu,
• Kevin Kjoller,
• Craig Prater,
• Kanwal Jit Singh,
• Ebony Mays and
• Sean W. King

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 863–871, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.88

• molecular/chemical structure characterization has only been recently demonstrated with the advent of atomic-force-microscopy-based infrared spectroscopy (AFM-IR) and related techniques. Therefore, we have combined measurements of chemical structures with AFM-IR and of mechanical properties with contact

• resonance AFM (CR-AFM) to investigate the fabrication of 20–500 nm wide fin structures in a nanoporous organosilicate material. We show that by combining these two techniques, one can clearly observe variations of chemical structure and mechanical properties that correlate with the fabrication process and

• /erosion rate of the photoresist and hardmask layers utilized to define and transfer the desired pattern into the nanoporous organosilicate [35]. As we will show, feature-size dependences also manifest as variations of composition and mechanical properties within the resulting nanoporous organosilicate

Hybrid nanomaterials: from the laboratory to the market

• Verónica de Zea Bermudez,
• Fabrice Leroux,
• Pierre Rabu and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 861–862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.87

• context is that the most desirable properties typically do not arise from a single material or chemical composition. Rather, these highly sought after properties, such as specific magnetic, optical, electrical, biological, or mechanical properties, arise from a delicate interplay of several material

Investigation of growth dynamics of carbon nanotubes

• Marianna V. Kharlamova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 826–856, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.85

• ] possess extraordinary physical, chemical and mechanical properties [3]. They are unique nanoscale objects, because their electronic structure (metallic or semiconducting) is solely dependent on the atomic structure [3][4]. Since the discovery of SWCNTs, attempts of many researchers have been aimed at

First examples of organosilica-based ionogels: synthesis and electrochemical behavior

• Andreas Taubert,
• Ruben Löbbicke,
• Barbara Kirchner and
• Fabrice Leroux

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 736–751, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.77

• IGs combine the advantageous (mechanical) properties of organosilica hosts and the IL 1-methyl-3-(3-sulfobutyl)imidazolium para-toluenesulfonate, [BmimSO3H][PTS], which has a high ionic conductivity and can be synthesized in high purity in a very simple reaction at near-quantitative yields. The

• stiffness. Although the mechanical properties are still under investigation, the current data show that the organosilica matrix materials exhibit much higher stabilities towards drying and shrinking than conventional silica monoliths. While the latter often break upon drying, the current monoliths do shrink

Synthesis of graphene–transition metal oxide hybrid nanoparticles and their application in various fields

• Arpita Jana,
• Elke Scheer and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 688–714, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.74

• flexibility, and extraordinary electronic quality, and its superior thermal and mechanical properties [2][3]. Graphene exhibits high mechanical strength (>1060 GPa) and an exceptional Young’s modulus of 1 TPa [4]. Furthermore, single layer graphene is the strongest material ever tested [5]. It also exhibits

Dispersion of single-wall carbon nanotubes with supramolecular Congo red – properties of the complexes and mechanism of the interaction

• Anna Jagusiak,
• Barbara Piekarska,
• Tomasz Pańczyk,
• Małgorzata Jemioła-Rzemińska,
• Elżbieta Bielańska,
• Barbara Stopa,
• Grzegorz Zemanek,
• Janina Rybarska,
• Irena Roterman and
• Leszek Konieczny

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 636–648, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.68

• mapping of the topography and mechanical properties. The samples were dialyzed for 24 h to deionized water, then a 1 µL droplet of SWNT–CR suspension was placed onto a freshly cleaved mica surface (for AFM measurements) or onto a 300 mesh copper TEM grid (for TEM measurements) and dried overnight in a

• . The nominal radius of the tip before the measurement was 2 nm. PeakForce QNM (PF QNM) performs a very fast curve at every pixel in the image. Using PF QNM mode visualization, maps of both the surface and mechanical properties were generated simultaneously. This allowed to obtain following

Anodization-based process for the fabrication of all niobium nitride Josephson junction structures

• Massimiliano Lucci,
• Ivano Ottaviani,
• Matteo Cirillo,
• Fabio De Matteis,
• Roberto Francini,
• Vittorio Merlo and
• Ivan Davoli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 539–546, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.58

• oxidized Nb (bottom part) is rather smooth and exhibits good adhesion (we shall later comment more on the mechanical properties). The oxide film grown on the NbN has a different final thickness due to different lattice parameters (Figure 9). NbN has a cubic structure (Fm−3m, space group 255, a = 0.44 nm

Methods for preparing polymer-decorated single exchange-biased magnetic nanoparticles for application in flexible polymer-based films

• Laurence Ourry,
• Delphine Toulemon,
• Souad Ammar and
• Fayna Mammeri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 408–417, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.43

• : PMMA and PS, which have very similar properties (e.g., specific temperatures, mechanical properties, density) but rather different side chains; PMMA has an aliphatic ester group while PS has a more rigid aromatic ring. However, despite their structural and reactivity differences, we followed the same

Biological and biomimetic materials and surfaces

• Stanislav Gorb and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 403–407, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.42

• . The ability of copepod species to efficiently break stable diatom structures is based on feeding tools with strongly specialized material architecture, chemical compositions and mechanical properties. The paper by Michels et al. [15] is the review of recent studies on copepod feeding tools. Their

• interconnected porous systems and compressive strengths from 0.45 to 1.0 MPa, which demonstrates the rather strong potential of this approach for fabrication of biocompatible scaffolds. In general, this Thematic Series discusses numerous experimental methods for the characterization of the mechanical properties

Impact of surface wettability on S-layer recrystallization: a real-time characterization by QCM-D

• Jagoba Iturri,
• Ana C. Vianna,
• Alberto Moreno-Cencerrado,
• Dietmar Pum,
• Uwe B. Sleytr and
• José Luis Toca-Herrera

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 91–98, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.10

• highly sensitive to the mass (of the order of a few nanograms per square centimeter) and the mechanical properties of the surface-bound layer and can be monitored simultaneously and in real time. Conceptually, differences in frequency reflect interaction of the bacterial protein with the substrate, while

Graphene–polymer coating for the realization of strain sensors

• Carmela Bonavolontà,
• Carla Aramo,
• Massimo Valentino,
• Giampiero Pepe,
• Sergio De Nicola,
• Gianfranco Carotenuto,
• Angela Longo,
• Mariano Palomba,
• Simone Boccardi and
• Carosena Meola

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 21–27, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.3

• thin coatings characterized by high optical transparency and large electrical piezoresitivity. Such properties envisage potential applications of this polymer-supported coating for use in strain sensing. The electrical and mechanical properties of these PMMA/graphene coatings were characterized by

• constitutes the maximum achievable performance of silicon-based sensors. The electrical resistance and mechanical properties of the graphene-coated PMMA slat were investigated by current–voltage (I–V) measurements and micro-Raman spectroscopy (μ-RS) during bending tests. Moreover, infrared thermographic

Annealing-induced recovery of indents in thin Au(Fe) bilayer films

• Anna Kosinova,
• Ruth Schwaiger,
• Leonid Klinger and
• Eugen Rabkin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2088–2099, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.199

• traditional methods of high-strain deformation, such as rolling or forging, are not applicable. Nanoindentation is widely used for characterizing the mechanical properties of nano- and micro-scale specimens. It can also be employed to produce defects of controlled shape and size, and to introduce high plastic

“Sticky invasion” – the physical properties of Plantago lanceolata L. seed mucilage

• Agnieszka Kreitschitz,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1918–1927, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.183

• wall is also maintained through diverse bonds such as covalent bonds and ionic or hydrogen interactions [21]. Consequently, the interaction between individual components of the cell wall can influence its physical characteristics such as its mechanical properties [22]. The physical properties of the

• cell wall depend on its chemical composition. For example, the addition of certain matrix substances decreases the cell-wall stiffness [23], and lignification causes a higher mechanical strength [24]. Such changes of mechanical properties can also be seen in the case of mucilaginous cell wall. This

Evolution of the graphite surface in phosphoric acid: an AFM and Raman study

• Rossella Yivlialin,
• Luigi Brambilla,
• Gianlorenzo Bussetti,
• Matteo Tommasini,
• Andrea Li Bassi,
• Carlo Spartaco Casari,
• Matteo Passoni,
• Franco Ciccacci,
• Lamberto Duò and
• Chiara Castiglioni

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1878–1884, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.180

• electrochemical (EC) treatment, graphite is carefully ultrasonicated to ease the exfoliation process. After that single- or multi-layer graphene sheets with a size of about 1 μm can be retrieved from the electrochemical bath. The electronic and mechanical properties of the graphene sheets [1][2][3][4][5][6] and

A new approach to grain boundary engineering for nanocrystalline materials

• Shigeaki Kobayashi,
• Sadahiro Tsurekawa and
• Tadao Watanabe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1829–1849, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.176

• performance nanocrystalline or submicrometer-grained materials with desirable mechanical properties such as enhanced fracture resistance. Finally, the potential power of GBE is demonstrated for high performance functional materials like gold thin films through precise control of electrical resistance based on

• ]), and also by other quite different methods such as crystallization from amorphous solids [57], extensive work has been performed on the mechanical properties of bulk UFG and nanostructured materials and excellent reviews have been written. Among those previous reviews [19][20][55][56][57][58][59][60

• properties such as hardness and on control of segregation-induced intergranular brittleness and fatigue fracture. Then we will introduce a new approach to GBE based on fractal analysis of grain boundary microstructure for development of nanocrystalline materials with high performance and desirable mechanical

3D printing of mineral–polymer bone substitutes based on sodium alginate and calcium phosphate

• Aleksey A. Egorov,
• Alexander Yu. Fedotov,
• Anton V. Mironov,
• Vladimir S. Komlev,
• Vladimir K. Popov and
• Yury V. Zobkov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1794–1799, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.172

• fabrication of complex-structured composite bone substitutes using appropriate raw materials and a new “ink”. Depending on the processing parameters and conditions, it is possible to achieve materials with adjustable mechanical properties, specified composition, morphology and CP crystal size. Our results may

• phosphate reacts with alginate through the carboxyl groups of amino acids and calcium in calcium phosphate, because the frequency changes are observed for groups located near calcium ions in the phosphate structures [13]. The compressive strength of 3D printed samples is shown in Figure 6. The mechanical

• properties of 3D printed samples are relatively low due to the weak bonding between different printed layers. However, the compressive strength of composite materials increased with alginate concentration from 0.45 MPa up to about 1.0 MPa at p ≤ 0.005. The increase in the compressive strength can be

Effective intercalation of zein into Na-montmorillonite: role of the protein components and use of the developed biointerfaces

• Ana C. S. Alcântara,
• Margarita Darder,
• Pilar Aranda and
• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1772–1782, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.170

• were evaluated as bio-organoclays for the incorporation in zein and starch biopolymer films, which exhibited good compatibility, homogeneity and mechanical properties, and made it possible to avoid the addition of compatibilizers or plasticizers. These results suggest that these new biohybrid materials

• separation in absolute ethanol, while the PCT phase was firstly solubilized in 80% (v/v) ethanol/water. The polyacrylamide gels at 20% were silver-stained for band visualization. Mechanical properties The mechanical properties, Young’s modulus (E) and elongation at break, of the bionanocomposite film samples

Prediction of the mechanical properties of zeolite pellets for aerospace molecular decontamination applications

• Guillaume Rioland,
• Patrick Dutournié,
• Delphine Faye,
• T. Jean Daou and
• Joël Patarin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1761–1771, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.169

• describes a mathematical model to predict the mechanical properties (uniaxial and diametric compression) of these pellets for arbitrary dimensions (height and diameter) using a design of experiments (DOE) methodology. A second-degree polynomial equation including interactions was used to approximate the

• experimental results. This leads to an empirical model for the estimation of the mechanical properties of zeolite pellets with 5 wt % of binder. The model was verified by additional experimental tests including pellets of different dimensions created with different applied pressures. The optimum dimensions

• used in industry [16][17][18][19]. In most applications, and for more convenience (i.e., handling, transport), zeolites cannot be used in powder-form. For space-based applications, particulate contamination has to be avoided. However, binders are necessary to improve the mechanical properties and to