N₂⁺-implantation-induced tailoring of structural, morphological, optical, and electrical characteristics of sputtered molybdenum thin films

• Usha Rani,
• Kafi Devi,
• Divya Gupta and
• Sanjeev Aggarwal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 495–509, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.38

• subsequent alterations in the material properties. As indicated by the TRIM simulations, a single nitrogen ion with this energy can produce 95 displacements, that is, 95 vacancies and no replacement collisions, before coming to a stop, as illustrated in Figure 1D. This significant level of displacement

• . There is a dip in the refractive index between 300 and 700 nm, attributed to the LSPR of molybdenum nanoparticles. Defects include interstitials, vacancies, and structural deformation, which modify the electrical and lattice structure of the material [49][50]. The refractive index of both as-deposited

• may influence the electrical properties. As the thickness changes, the internal stress distribution could lead to impediments in electron transport, causing slight deviations from linearity. Nitrogen ions create defects, vacancies, or impurities in the molybdenum film, acting as scattering centers for

Quantification of lead through rod-shaped silver-doped zinc oxide nanoparticles using an electrochemical approach

• Ravinder Lamba,
• Gaurav Bhanjana,
• Neeraj Dilbaghi,
• Vivek Gupta and
• Sandeep Kumar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 422–434, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.33

• of oxygen on the surface by means of the formation of oxygen vacancies, leading to enhanced catalytic activity. Also, the small doping of Ag introduces more active sites on the catalyst surface, potentially improving the overall catalytic activity [12][13]. This study demonstrates an efficient and

• region of the Brillouin zone. Oxygen vacancies are commonly linked to the A1(LO) phonon mode. The presence of a small peak at 218 cm−1 denotes the radial movement of Ag atoms. Raman peaks at around 356 cm−1 are specifically attributed to the A1(TO) mode. Also, the results of Ag doping in ZnO coincide

Tailoring of physical properties of RF-sputtered ZnTe films: role of substrate temperature

• Kafi Devi,
• Usha Rani,
• Arun Kumar,
• Divya Gupta and
• Sanjeev Aggarwal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 333–348, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.25

• II–VI semiconductor with a direct bandgap of 2.26 eV, which lies in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum. ZnTe is a p-type semiconductor because of zinc vacancies and has a low electron affinity of 3.53 eV at room temperature [5]. It exists in both zincblende and wurtzite structures

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

• recombination rates, and the generated oxygen vacancies, ultimately enhancing catalytic efficiency in visible light or solar-simulated light. The durability of the modified TiO2 relied on the number of electrons in the dopants and their ionic size. Although researchers have significantly improved the catalytic

• photocatalyst [74]. In a recent study, Jeyaprakash and coworkers [75] synthesized Ti3+-doped TiO2 with oxygen vacancies utilizing ultrasonic treatment for the degradation of tetracycline (TC) via sono-photocatalysis under visible halogen lamp irradiation. The modified TiO2 demonstrated remarkable degradation of

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

• framework and the CO2 adsorbate. A third strategy for obtaining high CO2 adsorption selectivity is to prepare MOFs from metal ion nodes that are uncoordinated, thus having accessible coordination vacancies known as open metal sites (OMSs). This strategy, illustrated in Figure 2c, is a prominent method for

Advanced atomic force microscopy techniques V

• Philipp Rahe,
• Ilko Bald,
• Nadine Hauptmann,
• Regina Hoffmann-Vogel,
• Harry Mönig and
• Michael Reichling

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2025, 16, 54–56, doi:10.3762/bjnano.16.6

• characterization of defects in a single layer of graphene on iridium that were induced by rare-gas ion bombardment by using combined scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) measurements and NC-AFM [12]. The authors reveal that presumed monoatomic vacancies, as deduced from STM measurements alone, have rather

Effect of radiation-induced vacancy saturation on the first-order phase transformation in nanoparticles: insights from a model

• Aram Shirinyan and
• Yuriy Bilogorodskyy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1453–1472, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.117

• , and other emerging nanotechnologies. When HDCMs are exposed to radiation, such as ion bombardment or exposure to high-energy radiation sources, defects (vacancies, interstitials, point defect clusters, voids, and interstitial loops) are created in the crystal lattice because of the displacement of

• (dpa) (equivalent to 40 years of service). Under irradiation, the main point defects are vacancies and interstitials. Point defects can develop into clusters of dislocations, stacking faults, or voids. They can also relax onto existing sinks such as dislocation loops, grain boundaries, phase interfaces

• , in nanosilver, a dislocation loop migrates to the free surface of the particle within 0.1 s [4]. This suggests that dislocation loops and interstitials are leveled out fairly quickly in nanoparticles, making vacancies the main defects that affect the material’s properties. According to experimental

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

• activity of the modified nanomaterials can be modulated by the dopant concentration. Figure 9 shows for both investigated samples a main emission peak at 420 nm and a smaller one at 480 nm. According to the literature data, both maxima correspond to the excitonic PL related to surface oxygen vacancies and

• signal of the SG sample (assigned to surface oxygen vacancies and defects) and can be further analyzed taking into account the photocatalytic test results. Photocatalytic activity Oxidative photodegradation of oxalic acid in aqueous solution (Figure 13) was used to compare the catalytic activity of the

Interface properties of nanostructured carbon-coated biological implants: an overview

• Mattia Bartoli,
• Francesca Cardano,
• Erik Piatti,
• Stefania Lettieri,
• Andrea Fin and
• Alberto Tagliaferro

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 1041–1053, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.85

• defects, including passivation and vacancies [78]. Deposition methods for the synthesis of carbon coatings The addition of nanostructured and nanosized carbon species into materials for biological applications can be attained by several techniques such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor

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

• peak at 530.1 eV standing for Fe–O bonds and a minor peak at 532 eV assigned to oxygen-related vacancies within the framework of Fe2O3 [35]. In contrast, the O 1s spectrum of the M-100Fe@Fe2O3#1.80 sample was composed of three peaks, namely, a major peak at 531.6 eV for C=O bonds and two minor peaks

Effect of repeating hydrothermal growth processes and rapid thermal annealing on CuO thin film properties

• Monika Ozga,
• Eunika Zielony,
• Aleksandra Wierzbicka,
• Anna Wolska,
• Marcin Klepka,
• Marek Godlewski,
• Bogdan J. Kowalski and
• Bartłomiej S. Witkowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 743–754, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.62

• vacancies present in the material, consequently leading to an elevation in the work function value. The combination of O2 and N2 was chosen over pure oxygen because of cost-effectiveness. At the same time, efforts were made to ensure that the selected annealing atmosphere was closer to the composition of

Elastic modulus of β-Ga₂O₃ nanowires measured by resonance and three-point bending techniques

• Annamarija Trausa,
• Sven Oras,
• Sergei Vlassov,
• Mikk Antsov,
• Tauno Tiirats,
• Andreas Kyritsakis,
• Boris Polyakov and
• Edgars Butanovs

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 704–712, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.58

• error simulations of the geometry uncertainty indicate that a ±25 nm width error (SEM method) and ±15 nm height error (AFM method) for NWs with 100 nm width/height corresponds to the observed scattering in elastic modulus values in Figure 4. Finally, point defects, such as oxygen vacancies, can increase

• the average bond length and thus result in a reduction in the elastic modulus [31][32][33]. For example, Wang et al. [34] showed that ZnO NWs with a higher density of oxygen vacancies, inferred from photoluminescence measurements, exhibited significantly (up to 20%) lower Young’s modulus. Wang et al

• . [35] measured a lower (up to 16%) elastic modulus for Al2O3 NBs in comparison to the theoretical value and attributed this difference to oxygen vacancies within NBs. As per our previous study [36], our as-grown Ga2O3 NWs exhibit a strong photoluminescence band related to oxygen vacancies, indicating a

Exfoliation of titanium nitride using a non-thermal plasma process

• Priscila Jussiane Zambiazi,
• Dolores Ribeiro Ricci Lazar,
• Larissa Otubo,
• Rodrigo Fernando Brambilla de Souza,
• Almir Oliveira Neto and
• Cecilia Chaves Guedes-Silva

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 631–637, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.53

• is attributed to the vibration of heavy titanium ions around nitrogen vacancies, while the 592 cm−1 peak arises from nitrogen ion vibrations near titanium vacancies [22][23][24]. Remarkably, the Raman spectra for both bulk and exfoliated TiN samples are similar. This consistency suggests that the non

Aero-ZnS prepared by physical vapor transport on three-dimensional networks of sacrificial ZnO microtetrapods

• Veaceslav Ursaki,
• Tudor Braniste,
• Victor Zalamai,
• Emil Rusu,
• Vladimir Ciobanu,
• Vadim Morari,
• Daniel Podgornii,
• Pier Carlo Ricci,
• Rainer Adelung and
• Ion Tiginyanu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 490–499, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.44

• processes, including those related to oxygen species adsorbed by the huge surface of the aeromaterial, as previously observed in ZnS nanostructures [42]. Some of these states may be related to oxygen vacancies and complex centers. Under ambient conditions, some oxygen species from the air are adsorbed at

• the surface states, forming complexes with oxygen vacancies. These complexes may be responsible for the PL band around 2.4 eV. Under vacuum conditions, the oxygen species are desorbed from the surface, annihilating the formed complexes. As a result, the intensity of the PL band around 2.4 eV decreases

• [43]. The adsorption of oxygen species from the environment on the sample surface promoted by oxygen vacancies results also in a strong interaction between the photoexcited electrons captured by oxygen vacancies and the adsorbed oxygen species. The formation of the SnO2 phase in the prepared aero-ZnS

Unveiling the nature of atomic defects in graphene on a metal surface

• Karl Rothe,
• Nicolas Néel and
• Jörg Kröger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 416–425, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.37

• , during its epitaxial growth in surface science experiments or its fabrication for applications, defects, that is, deviations from the ideal 2D lattice, inevitably occur. Examples for defects are vacancies, interstitial atoms, grain boundaries, stacking faults or wrinkles [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13

• domains with ▲ and ▼ tentatively marking hcp and fcc stacking, while the dot (●) indicates the mound top site of the moiré lattice (10 mV, 5 nA, 8 nm × 8 nm). (b) Two adjacent type-1 vacancies located at an hcp (left) and an fcc (right) position of the moiré lattice (10 mV, 55 nA, 3.6 nm × 3.6 nm). Red

Classification and application of metal-based nanoantioxidants in medicine and healthcare

• Nguyen Nhat Nam,
• Nguyen Khoi Song Tran,
• Tan Tai Nguyen,
• Nguyen Ngoc Trai,
• Nguyen Phuong Thuy,
• Hoang Dang Khoa Do,
• Nhu Hoa Thi Tran and
• Kieu The Loan Trinh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 396–415, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.36

• ]. The heterostructures increase surface electron deficiency, redox couples, and oxygen vacancies through an intrinsic electric field and lattice mismatch at the metal–semiconductor interface. Thus, a high level of oxygen vacancies enhances the adsorption and activation of oxygen-containing ROS, that is

• higher Ce4+ content are known to have higher CAT activity, while cerium nanomaterials with greater Ce3+ content enhance SOD activity. It was reported that Ce3+ has more oxygen vacancies providing more active sites for the binding of superoxide radicals on the surface [77][78][79]. By controlling the Ce3

Investigating ripple pattern formation and damage profiles in Si and Ge induced by 100 keV Ar⁺ ion beam: a comparative study

• Indra Sulania,
• Harpreet Sondhi,
• Tanuj Kumar,
• Sunil Ojha,
• G R Umapathy,
• Ambuj Mishra,
• Ambuj Tripathi,
• Richa Krishna,
• Devesh Kumar Avasthi and
• Yogendra Kumar Mishra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 367–375, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.33

• , which confirms the near surface amorphization in Si in comparison to Ge. The main defects are the point defects such as interstitials and vacancies produced due to energy transfer between the incoming ions and the target atoms (Figure 6). The range of defect depths calculated from RBS-c spectra for Ar

Controllable physicochemical properties of WO_x thin films grown under glancing angle

• Rupam Mandal,
• Aparajita Mandal,
• Alapan Dutta,
• Rengasamy Sivakumar,
• Sanjeev Kumar Srivastava and
• Tapobrata Som

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 350–359, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.31

• revealed from the XRD studies, as-deposited NS-WOx films are amorphous in nature, whereas post-growth vacuum-annealed (at 673 K for 1 h) films show an amorphous-to-crystalline structural phase transition. XPS analysis confirms an increasing concentration of defect density in the form of oxygen vacancies

• conduction across the heterojunction with increasing film thickness indicates a possible role of oxygen vacancies in facilitating smooth charge transport till the thickness reaches 30 nm, above which the series resistance effect within the WOx film starts to dominate. Overall, this study demonstrates a wide

Determining by Raman spectroscopy the average thickness and N-layer-specific surface coverages of MoS₂ thin films with domains much smaller than the laser spot size

• Felipe Wasem Klein,
• Jean-Roch Huntzinger,
• Vincent Astié,
• Damien Voiry,
• Romain Parret,
• Houssine Makhlouf,
• Sandrine Juillaguet,
• Jean-Manuel Decams,
• Sylvie Contreras,
• Périne Landois,
• Ahmed-Azmi Zahab,
• Jean-Louis Sauvajol and
• Matthieu Paillet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2024, 15, 279–296, doi:10.3762/bjnano.15.26

• . However, the high temperature used in the CVD synthesis and interaction with the substrate can lead to lattice distortion and the presence of vacancies and doping. In the following, we limit our study to a number of layers N ≤ 4. Figure 4a compares the values of ΔωA−E measured on exfoliated (Figure 4a

Spatial variations of conductivity of self-assembled monolayers of dodecanethiol on Au/mica and Au/Si substrates

• Julian Skolaut,
• Jędrzej Tepper,
• Federica Galli,
• Wulf Wulfhekel and
• Jan M. van Ruitenbeek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1169–1177, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.97

• the Au surface. They are produced in the process of SAM formation by sulfur–gold bonds, which result in removing Au atoms from the top layer. This leaves the surface with Au atom vacancies that arrange into small islands of a few nanometers in size. This size matches the darker areas observed in the

Density functional theory study of Au-fcc/Ge and Au-hcp/Ge interfaces

• Olga Sikora,
• Małgorzata Sternik,
• Benedykt R. Jany,
• Franciszek Krok,
• Przemysław Piekarz and
• Andrzej M. Oleś

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1093–1105, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.90

• optimized supercell shown in Figure 9d, the interface energy is slightly higher (0.395 J/m2) than that of the defect-free junction. We also tested another type of defects (Au vacancies). To construct the supercell, we first found the position of slabs with the smallest possible Au–Ge distances (two such

Isolation of cubic Si₃P₄ in the form of nanocrystals

• Polina K. Nikiforova,
• Sergei S. Bubenov,
• Vadim B. Platonov,
• Andrey S. Kumskov,
• Nikolay N. Kononov,
• Tatyana A. Kuznetsova and
• Sergey G. Dorofeev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 971–979, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.80

• facile lithium transport and possess a promising capacity of 2700 and 862/737 mA·h·g−1, respectively [16][17]. In the case of the synthesized nanoscale particles, a high level of Li mobility can be reached because of their developed surface and the interconnected ordered network of silicon vacancies with

The microstrain-accompanied structural phase transition from h-MoO₃ to α-MoO₃ investigated by in situ X-ray diffraction

• Zeqian Zhang,
• Honglong Shi,
• Boxiang Zhuang,
• Minting Luo and
• Zhenfei Hu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 692–700, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.55

• from +2 to +6 [1][2], leading to a range of molybdenum oxides. Molybdenum oxides include the fully stoichiometric MoO3 with a large bandgap above 2.7 eV, the reduced oxides MoO3−x with oxygen vacancies, and the semimetal MoO2. The degree of reduction influences the bandgap energy of molybdenum oxides

Humidity-dependent electrical performance of CuO nanowire networks studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

• Jelena Kosmaca,
• Juris Katkevics,
• Jana Andzane,
• Raitis Sondors,
• Liga Jasulaneca,
• Raimonds Meija,
• Kiryl Niherysh,
• Yelyzaveta Rublova and
• Donats Erts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 683–691, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.54

• nanowires synthesized by thermal annealing of copper are a p-type semiconductor material [9][12][14]; its majority charge carriers are positive holes (h+) related to the presence of Cu vacancies or impurities. Under dry conditions, possible ionosorption of oxygen species from air on the nanowire surface

Titania nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of ethanol under simulated solar light

• Evghenii Goncearenco,
• Iuliana P. Morjan,
• Claudiu Teodor Fleaca,
• Florian Dumitrache,
• Elena Dutu,
• Monica Scarisoreanu,
• Valentin Serban Teodorescu,
• Alexandra Sandulescu,
• Crina Anastasescu and
• Ioan Balint

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 616–630, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.51

• indicate changes regarding the variation of the nanoparticle surfaces according to the value of the working pressure. Since XPS analysis is a surface measurement and the samples were calcined in air, the possibility to identify the presence of Ti3+ species and oxygen vacancies is small, but we do not

• donor levels, for example chlorine atoms [66], but most probably they are acceptor levels created by titanium vacancies [67][68]. Band-to-band transitions have not been detected as separate PL bands, taking into account the obtained bandgap values from the optical properties. But, they are surely a part

• of the complex PL band at 400 nm, the resolution of which into the components requires another investigation. Oxygen and titanium vacancies have been found. These points defects are created most probably at the surface of the powder particles because in the HRTEM figures we do not see any dislocation