Insights into the electronic and atomic structures of cerium oxide-based ultrathin films and nanostructures using high-brilliance light sources

• Paola Luches and
• Federico Boscherini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 860–871, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.65

• ; Introduction Transition metal oxides in the form of thin films or nanostructures find extensive use in sustainable energy technologies [1][2]. They serve as active materials or supports for catalysts for various chemical reactions, essential to energy conversion, sensing, and environmental remediation [3][4

• dynamic processes occurring for example upon photoexcitation. Among transition metal oxides, cerium oxide (or ceria) has unique redox properties, linked to the relative stability of Ce cations in the 4+ and 3+ oxidation states, which make the material highly effective in automotive catalysts and in the

• reported in Figure 3c. The exposure to the photon beam induces a much more pronounced decrease of Zr4+ intensity in the ceria–zirconia mixed oxide film than in pure zirconia. This was ascribed to a synergy between the two oxides inducing an oxygen transfer from ceria to zirconia upon reduction using soft X

Facile one-step radio frequency magnetron sputtering of Ni/NiO on stainless steel for an efficient electrode for hydrogen evolution reaction

• Ha Huu Do,
• Khac Binh Nguyen,
• Phuong N. Nguyen and
• Hoai Phuong Pham

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 837–846, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.63

• fabricated metal/metal oxide-based nanomaterials using various solution-based methods for alkaline HER because of the efficacy of metal oxides in breaking water molecules. In this context, Ni/NiO-based nanomaterials were evaluated as promising catalysts for industrial applications because of their Gibbs free

Morphology and properties of pyrite nanoparticles obtained by pulsed laser ablation in liquid and thin films for photodetection

• Akshana Parameswaran Sreekala,
• Bindu Krishnan,
• Rene Fabian Cienfuegos Pelaes,
• David Avellaneda Avellaneda,
• Josué Amílcar Aguilar-Martínez and
• Sadasivan Shaji

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 785–805, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.60

• oxidizable sulfide ion coexist in iron sulfides, making their synthesis more difficult than that of iron oxide [17]. Unlike FeS2, there are reports on the synthesis of other iron-based oxides via PLAL. These studies have demonstrated the successful production of Fe3O4 nanoparticles by ablating iron plates in

Changes of structural, magnetic and spectroscopic properties of microencapsulated iron sucrose nanoparticles in saline

• Sabina Lewińska,
• Pavlo Aleshkevych,
• Roman Minikayev,
• Anna Bajorek,
• Mateusz Dulski,
• Krystian Prusik,
• Tomasz Wojciechowski and
• Anna Ślawska-Waniewska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 762–784, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.59

• for the possible phase (i.e., any of the FeOOH polymorphs) are not observed. The XRD results also do not indicate the presence of iron oxides. The explanation to this is most probably a combination of two facts. The major contribution to the sample mass originates from the additives (ca. 95%), where

• the alginate implies a slight disordering of the crystal structure of iron oxides. This disorder may result from more structural and local point defects and unsaturated bonds, making it more prone to forming an ionic cross-linking complex. In this context, the coexistence of oxyhydroxide with Fe3

Efficiency of single-pulse laser fragmentation of organic nutraceutical dispersions in a circular jet flow-through reactor

• Tina Friedenauer,
• Maximilian Spellauge,
• Alexander Sommereyns,
• Verena Labenski,
• Tuba Esatbeyoglu,
• Christoph Rehbock,
• Heinz P. Huber and
• Stephan Barcikowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 711–727, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.55

• extraction methods, exemplified by extraction from coffee powders [10] and alkaloid drug extraction from ground root powder [11]. Initially, LSPC research focused on inorganic materials such as metals [12][13], semiconductors [1], and oxides [14][15], where the particle formation mechanisms are well

Nanostructured materials characterized by scanning photoelectron spectromicroscopy

• Matteo Amati,
• Alexey S. Shkvarin,
• Alexander I. Merentsov,
• Alexander N. Titov,
• María Taeño,
• David Maestre,
• Sarah R. McKibbin,
• Zygmunt Milosz,
• Ana Cremades,
• Rainer Timm and
• Luca Gregoratti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 700–710, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.54

• ; operando; oxides; scanning photoelectron spectromicroscopy; semiconductor nanowires; transition metal dichalcogenides; XPS; Introduction Nanometer or micrometer-sized materials play a key role in modern technologies in the search of new routes for unforeseen performances generating breakthroughs in

• promising, their performance is often limited by surface properties of the III–V semiconductor material, which furthermore can vary for individual nanowires. This includes native oxides on semiconductor surfaces and their possible removal, surface passivation, and interface defects [27]. Therefore, in-depth

• a weaker in-built potential at the surface. This effect can be expected from surface band bending due to defects or native oxides at the surface. This demonstrates the necessity for both bulk- and surface-sensitive measurements in order to fully understand the local potential distribution in such

Retrieval of B1 phase from high-pressure B2 phase for CdO nanoparticles by electronic excitations in Cd_xZn_1−xO composite thin films

• Arkaprava Das,
• Marcin Zając and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 551–560, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.43

• in the CZ900_313Ag thin film. The generation of VO in semiconducting oxides due to energetic ion irradiation is well-documented, as the formation energy for VO is lower than that for defects such as cation interstitials [7]. The peak at 532.2 eV is thus solely attributed to VO, with no contribution

Effect of additives on the synthesis efficiency of nanoparticles by laser-induced reduction

• Rikuto Kuroda,
• Takahiro Nakamura,
• Hideki Ina and
• Shuhei Shibata

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 464–472, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.35

• Co nanoparticles synthesized by LAL with IPA. The synthesized nanoparticles might be oxides. TEM images of a) Hf, b) Al, and c) Y nanoparticles synthesized by LAL with IPA. The synthesized nanoparticles might be oxides. Acknowledgements We would like to acknowledge the members of the Analytical

Size control of nanoparticles synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in liquids using donut-shaped beams

• Abdel Rahman Altakroury,
• Oleksandr Gatsa,
• Farbod Riahi,
• Zongwen Fu,
• Miroslava Flimelová,
• Andrei Samokhvalov,
• Stephan Barcikowski,
• Carlos Doñate-Buendía,
• Alexander V. Bulgakov and
• Bilal Gökce

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 407–417, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.31

• environmentally friendly, ensuring high chemical purity, and minimizing the need for precursors and stabilizers [11][12]. PLAL can be used to synthesize a wide range of metallic and non-metallic NPs, including alloys, (doped) oxides, and polymers [13][14][15]. PLAL allows for the generation of complex NPs with

ReactorAFM/STM – dynamic reactions on surfaces at elevated temperature and atmospheric pressure

• Tycho Roorda,
• Hamed Achour,
• Matthijs A. van Spronsen,
• Marta E. Cañas-Ventura,
• Sander B. Roobol,
• Willem Onderwaater,
• Mirthe Bergman,
• Peter van der Tuijn,
• Gertjan van Baarle,
• Johan W. Bakker,
• Joost W. M. Frenken and
• Irene M. N. Groot

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 397–406, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.30

• ]. Alongside the pressure gap, the existence of the materials gap refers to the complexity and heterogeneity of real catalysts. Such catalysts are compounds that possess a special complex mixture consisting essentially of metals, oxides, and promoters, supported on refractory oxides. The requirement of a

Emerging strategies in the sustainable removal of antibiotics using semiconductor-based photocatalysts

• Yunus Ahmed,
• Keya Rani Dutta,
• Parul Akhtar,
• Md. Arif Hossen,
• Md. Jahangir Alam,
• Obaid A. Alharbi,
• Hamad AlMohamadi and
• Abdul Wahab Mohammad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 264–285, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.21

• four distinct generations [52], each shedding light on the mechanisms of various photocatalysts used for pollutant degradation, namely, single-component transition metal oxides (TMOs) representing the first generation, doped TMOs, binary TMOs, and doped binary TMOs as the second generation, and

• , oxides of titanium, zinc, bismuth, and tungsten, as well as graphene, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), and their substitute materials are commonly synthesized and used as photocatalysts for the removal of antibiotics from contaminated sources. These materials are synthesized through a variety of

• , including biochar, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), functionalized mesoporous silica, porous organic polymers, zeolite, and derivatives of graphene. These substances act as a support for metal oxides and immobilize the catalyst, increase the catalyst surface area, and improve the chemical stability

Preferential enrichment and extraction of laser-synthesized nanoparticles in organic phases

• Theo Fromme,
• Maximilian L. Spiekermann,
• Florian Lehmann,
• Stephan Barcikowski,
• Thomas Seidensticker and
• Sven Reichenberger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 254–263, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.20

• organic solvents. Various nanoparticle compositions were found for iron [7][24][25] and titanium [26][55], including carbides, oxides, and oxocarbides, resulting in a higher affinity towards non-polar solvents. While this was not shown for aluminum nanoparticles previously, it is known that aluminum can

Probing the potential of rare earth elements in the development of new anticancer drugs: single molecule studies

• Josiane A. D. Batista,
• Rayane M. de Oliveira,
• Carlos H. M. Lima,
• Milton L. Lana Júnior,
• Virgílio C. dos Anjos,
• Maria J. V. Bell and
• Márcio S. Rocha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 187–194, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.15

• condensates and therefore complementing the OT study. These results point out that rare earth elements should be considered for further research studies in DNA science. Experimental Optical tweezers assays Rare earth oxides (X2O3, X = Yb, Nd, or Er) were bought from Sigma-Aldrich and used without further

• purification. Concentrate rare earth stock solutions (≈1 mM) were prepared by dissolving each oxide in deionized water, slowly adding a small quantity of HCl since these oxides are insoluble in water. From these stocks, less concentrated solutions were prepared at various rare earth concentrations by diluting

• condensation is related to the use of HCl to dissolve the rare earth oxides in solution during the sample preparation process (see section “Experimental”). It is well known that these oxides react with aqueous HCl producing the trivalent cation form of the rare earth elements and water [30]. Thus, the

A review of metal-organic frameworks and polymers in mixed matrix membranes for CO₂ capture

• Charlotte Skjold Qvist Christensen,
• Nicholas Hansen,
• Mahboubeh Motadayen,
• Nina Lock,
• Martin Lahn Henriksen and
• Jonathan Quinson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 155–186, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.14

Fabrication of hafnium-based nanoparticles and nanostructures using picosecond laser ablation

• Abhishek Das,
• Mangababu Akkanaboina,
• Jagannath Rathod,
• R. Sai Prasad Goud,
• Kanaka Ravi Kumar,
• Raghu C. Reddy,
• Ratheesh Ravendran,
• Katia Vutova,
• S. V. S. Nageswara Rao and
• Venugopal Rao Soma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1639–1653, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.129

• literature. In our earlier reports, HfO2 nanoparticles, nanoribbons, and nanofibres were synthesised by ablating HfO2 pellets utilising femtosecond laser pulses at 800 nm [10][30]. A bulk Hf target was also ablated in another work using nanosecond laser pulses in different liquids to synthesise oxides and

• ) in different solvents. They observed that the choice of the surrounding liquid environment allowed them to tune the properties of the iron-based NPs, for example, the generation of iron oxides or carbides. In the present case, the surrounding liquid possibly had a huge influence on the formation of

Liver-targeting iron oxide nanoparticles and their complexes with plant extracts for biocompatibility

• Shushanik A. Kazaryan,
• Seda A. Oganian,
• Gayane S. Vardanyan,
• Anatolie S. Sidorenko and
• Ashkhen A. Hovhannisyan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1593–1602, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.125

• in most biological and chemical reactions involved in the production of medical materials [10][11][12][13]. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), such as iron oxides, not only exhibit superparamagnetism and high magnetic susceptibility, they also possess unique physical properties, biocompatibility

• and toxicity effects; as of May 2024, the website clinicaltrials.gov listed data on the development of 51 clinical protocols involving iron oxides NPs [25][26][27]. Surface chemistry and delivery route of MNPs affect their biodistribution patterns and circulation time in the body [28]. It is known

The round-robin approach applied to nanoinformatics: consensus prediction of nanomaterials zeta potential

• Dimitra-Danai Varsou,
• Arkaprava Banerjee,
• Joyita Roy,
• Kunal Roy,
• Giannis Savvas,
• Haralambos Sarimveis,
• Ewelina Wyrzykowska,
• Mateusz Balicki,
• Tomasz Puzyn,
• Georgia Melagraki,
• Iseult Lynch and
• Antreas Afantitis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1536–1553, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.121

• reliable except the one NM sample whose leverage value was equal to 0.859. Random forest regression model Data preprocessing To facilitate data analysis, the unique string feature names of the chemical formula descriptors were converted into a binary variable. For this purpose, metal oxides (e.g., CeO2 and

Electrochemical nanostructured CuBTC/FeBTC MOF composite sensor for enrofloxacin detection

• Thi Kim Ngan Nguyen,
• Tien Dat Doan,
• Huy Hieu Luu,
• Hoang Anh Nguyen,
• Thi Thu Ha Vu,
• Quang Hai Tran,
• Ha Tran Nguyen,
• Thanh Binh Dang,
• Thi Hai Yen Pham and
• Mai Ha Hoang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1522–1535, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.120

• capacity, and an acceptable efficacy of the electron transfer, Cu3(BTC)2 exhibited a good sensitivity to 2,4-dichlorophenol in the range from 0.04 to 1.00 μM with a limit of detection (LOD) of 9 nM in differential pulse voltammetry measurements. Moreover, the combination of metal oxides and MOFs showed better

Mn-doped ZnO nanopowders prepared by sol–gel and microwave-assisted sol–gel methods and their photocatalytic properties

• Cristina Maria Vlăduț,
• Crina Anastasescu,
• Silviu Preda,
• Oana Catalina Mocioiu,
• Simona Petrescu,
• Jeanina Pandele-Cusu,
• Dana Culita,
• Veronica Bratan,
• Ioan Balint and
• Maria Zaharescu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1283–1296, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.104

• -efficient than conventional heating methods [12][13][14]. This approach is particularly advantageous in technology applications, as it significantly reduces reaction times from days to mere hours or minutes and enables the production of nanocrystalline oxides in the form of powders and films on various

• of amorphous oxide nanopowders, the precipitation of nanocrystalline metal oxides, and the drying and thermal treatment of oxide films [23]. However, there has been comparatively less focus on studying chemical reactions in sol–gel solutions under microwave irradiation [24][25][26][27]. Numerous

• oxides have been synthesized by exposing precursor solutions to microwave irradiation, including MgO [28], RuO2 [29], ZrO2 [30], WO3 [31], SiO2 [32], TiO2 [33][34], and ZnO [12]. The microwave power utilized in these processes varied from 140 W [34] to 850 W [29]. ZnO is a widely studied n-type oxide

Introducing third-generation periodic table descriptors for nano-qRASTR modeling of zebrafish toxicity of metal oxide nanoparticles

• Supratik Kar and
• Siyun Yang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1142–1152, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.93

• range of substances that can be categorized as carbon-based, metal oxides, semiconductors, polymers, clays, emulsions, or metals [2]. Metal oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) are metallic oxides that exist within the nanoscale range and can be intentionally created or occur naturally [3]. Under the rapid

• ) of the zebrafish hatching enzyme (ZHE1) of 24 MONPs is utilized for the modeling study [33]. The experimental data (%EIzebrafish) ranged from −1.04 (Co3O4) to 44.72 (Cr2O3). Descriptor calculation Models were developed based on the fundamental properties of these metal oxides that can be obtained

Recent progress on field-effect transistor-based biosensors: device perspective

• Billel Smaani,
• Fares Nafa,
• Mohamed Salah Benlatrech,
• Ismahan Mahdi,
• Hamza Akroum,
• Mohamed walid Azizi,
• Khaled Harrar and
• Sayan Kanungo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 977–994, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.80

• FET-based biosensors. 2.2.22 T-shape channel TFET-based biosensors. Shaw et al. [38] designed, for the first time, a split-gate T-shaped channel tunnel (SG TSC) TFET-based biosensor. In this structure, the middle part of the gate oxide is etched away to form a cavity in between the gate oxides on

Identification of structural features of surface modifiers in engineered nanostructured metal oxides regarding cell uptake through ML-based classification

• Indrasis Dasgupta,
• Totan Das,
• Biplab Das and
• Shovanlal Gayen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 909–924, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.75

• advancement of nanotechnology has led to the widespread utilization of engineered nanostructured metal oxides (ENMOs) in various industrial and biomedical applications [1]. Nanoparticles (NPs) are described by the International Organization for Standardization as structures characterized by one, two, or three

• line (e.g., 6, 9, and 15). Other descriptors including maxssO, maxHBd, maxdO, ndO, ndssC, and nHBDon_Lipinski contribute less to the cellular uptake of ENMOs in the U937 cell line. Conclusion Identifying the surface modifiers of engineered nanostructured metal oxides (ENMOs) that enhance affinity for

• modifiers of nanostructured metal oxides. This may facilitate a higher therapeutic response by surface modifier-mediated site-specific targeting to the cell surface receptors of particular cell types. Further availability of sufficient and reliable uptake data of ENMOs in other cell types is also needed for

Facile synthesis of Fe-based metal–organic frameworks from Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles and their application for CO₂/N₂ separation

• Van Nhieu Le,
• Hoai Duc Tran,
• Minh Tien Nguyen,
• Hai Bang Truong,
• Toan Minh Pham and
• Jinsoo Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 897–908, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.74

• ]. Additionally, iron oxides were considered as iron precursors required to make MIL-100(Fe). The first candidate Fe3O4 was used to successfully fabricate MIL-100(Fe) in a hydrothermal reactor in the absence of HF and HNO3 [26][27]; it resulted in enhanced porosity of the obtained material when increasing the

• environment. In contrast to metallic iron and iron salts, iron oxides are acknowledged for their easy storage and abundant availability in raw materials derived from natural iron oxidation processes and steelmaking industry waste [29][30]. These characteristics play a crucial role in the selection of

A review on the structural characterization of nanomaterials for nano-QSAR models

• Salvador Moncho,
• Eva Serrano-Candelas,
• Jesús Vicente de Julián-Ortiz and
• Rafael Gozalbes

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 854–866, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.71

• common to find nano-QSAR models focused on groups of nanoforms that have different activity but are chemically homogeneous in their core, that is, which include NMs with the same or similar core composition (e.g., only nanotubes and fullerenes, or only metal oxides). One example is the use of the count

• toxicity of metal oxides using two parameters, namely, the experimentally measured concentration of the metal (expressed as a percentage) and the conduction band energy, which was calculated from different physicochemical constants and also from experimental measurements of zeta potential and diffuse

• such as those of Liu et al. [76] and Fourches et al. [44] that describe a series of NMs with different compositions, including different iron oxides and quantum dots, only on the basis of their size, magnetic values, and zeta potential, without any direct consideration of the composition (i.e., no

Laser synthesis of nanoparticles in organic solvents – products, reactions, and perspectives

• Theo Fromme,
• Sven Reichenberger,
• Katharine M. Tibbetts and
• Stephan Barcikowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 638–663, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.54

• the formation of reducing agents for metal nanoparticle formation during irradiation of metal salt solutions with ultrashort pulses. Several LRL syntheses of nanoparticles, which provide either noble metals, base metals, or oxides, are available and, given the recent review of Frias Batista et al

• gave rise to an amorphous iron core, while tetrahydrofuran and dimethyl sulfoxide formed magnetite/maghemite or metallic iron. Oxides were detected for acetonitrile and dimethylformamide, and ablation in ethanol resulted in iron carbides [100]. Iron carbide formation was also found for ablation in