Multilayer capsules made of weak polyelectrolytes: a review on the preparation, functionalization and applications in drug delivery

• Varsha Sharma and
• Anandhakumar Sundaramurthy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 508–532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.41

• al. by using a combination of theory, simulation and experiments on the arbitrary sequence of charges [41]. The results indicated that an increase in charge fraction and blockiness generally leads to an increase in the two-phase region of the phase diagram, thereby showing enhanced phase separation

Implementation of data-cube pump–probe KPFM on organic solar cells

• Benjamin Grévin,
• Olivier Bardagot and
• Renaud Demadrille

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 323–337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.24

• of the solvent and additives used for the film deposition from solution. The use of PTB7:PC71BM is widely documented. It is now well established that films of good morphology, namely with a nanoscale phase separation, can be obtained from solutions containing 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) as solvent

Microbubbles decorated with dendronized magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical imaging: effective stabilization via fluorous interactions

• Da Shi,
• Justine Wallyn,
• Dinh-Vu Nguyen,
• Francis Perton,
• Delphine Felder-Flesch,
• Sylvie Bégin-Colin,
• Mounir Maaloum and
• Marie Pierre Krafft

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2103–2115, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.205

• phase separation in fluorocarbon/hydrocarbon mixtures [45][46]. These results tell us that the dendronized IONPs fitted with a C2F5 group have a higher affinity for the phospholipid film than those grafted with C2H5. Conclusion We report that small and highly stable magnetic MBs incorporating IONPs in

Fabrication and characterization of Si_1−xGe_x nanocrystals in as-grown and annealed structures: a comparative study

• Muhammad Taha Sultan,
• Adrian Valentin Maraloiu,
• Ionel Stavarache,
• Jón Tómas Gudmundsson,
• Andrei Manolescu,
• Valentin Serban Teodorescu,
• Magdalena Lidia Ciurea and
• Halldór Gudfinnur Svavarsson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1873–1882, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.182

• consists of core–shell NCs/NPs with the core being Ge-rich Si1−xGex NCs (crystallographic peak (111) position, shifts from 27.87° to 27.75° for MLs in as-grown and annealed at 800 °C states, respectively) surrounded by a shell of crystalline Si in amorphous SiGeO. This behavior can be explained by phase

• separation in the SiGe nanoparticles due to Ge segregation [34][35] at higher temperatures (i.e., Ge-rich SiGe core), which leaves a crystalline Si shell. A similar GIXRD diffractogram was observed by Tuğay et al. [6], for a comparable structure composed of SiGe NCs embedded in a SiO2 matrix fabricated via

Materials nanoarchitectonics at two-dimensional liquid interfaces

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Michio Matsumoto,
• Taizo Mori and
• Lok Kumar Shrestha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1559–1587, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.153

• the balance between two competitive interactions, the phase separation of fluorocarbons and hydrocarbons and the attractive interaction between guanidiuium and carboxylate, to fabricate nanoscopic domains within a two-dimensional mixture of hydrocarbon guanidinium and fluorocarbon carboxylic acid [198

Ceria/polymer nanocontainers for high-performance encapsulation of fluorophores

• Kartheek Katta,
• Dmitry Busko,
• Yuri Avlasevich,
• Katharina Landfester,
• Stanislav Baluschev and
• Rafael Muñoz-Espí

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 522–530, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.53

• dissolved in the liquid hexadecane core before polymerization of the shell. The nanocapsule formation takes place by phase separation between the formed polymer and hexadecane [46]. The surface of the nanocapsules was negatively charged, as proven by polyelectrolyte titration (surface charge density of 1.6

Colloidal chemistry with patchy silica nanoparticles

• Pierre-Etienne Rouet,
• Cyril Chomette,
• Laurent Adumeau,
• Etienne Duguet and
• Serge Ravaine

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2989–2998, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.278

• Ravensteijn has also reported asymmetric dumbbell-like particles, i.e., with two nodules of different chemical compositions, obtained through a phase separation process during the styrene emulsion polymerization seeded with cross-linked polystyrene (PS) particles coated with a thin layer of poly(vinylbenzyl

Ternary nanocomposites of reduced graphene oxide, polyaniline and hexaniobate: hierarchical architecture and high polaron formation

• Claudio H. B. Silva,
• Maria Iliut,
• Christopher Muryn,
• Christian Berger,
• Zachary Coldrick,
• Vera R. L. Constantino,
• Marcia L. A. Temperini and
• Aravind Vijayaraghavan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2936–2946, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.272

• range of rGO flakes coated with PANI and decorated with hexNb nanoparticles. Such organization was attributed to the good stability of the dispersion, which does not present major aggregation and phase separation. The dispersions of the ternary rGO/PANI/hexNb sample can be deposited on surfaces by

Site-controlled formation of single Si nanocrystals in a buried SiO₂ matrix using ion beam mixing

• Xiaomo Xu,
• Thomas Prüfer,
• Daniel Wolf,
• Hans-Jürgen Engelmann,
• Lothar Bischoff,
• René Hübner,
• Karl-Heinz Heinig,
• Wolfhard Möller,
• Stefan Facsko,
• Johannes von Borany and
• Gregor Hlawacek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2883–2892, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.267

• + or Ne+ ion beam mixing of Si into a buried SiO2 layer followed by thermally activated phase separation. Binary collision approximation and kinetic Monte Carlo methods are conducted to gain atomistic insight into the influence of relevant experimental parameters on the Si NC formation process. Energy

• between the SiO2 layers and perpendicular to the incident Ne+ beam. Keywords: helium ion microscopy; ion beam mixing; Monte Carlo simulations; phase separation; single electron transistor; Introduction Silicon has been the main material in the semiconductor industry for almost all use cases with the

• is supported by computer simulations of the ion beam mixing and phase separation process. Second, a systematic study of Si+ NC formation is reported, to define optimized irradiation and annealing parameters. Third, these parameters are adapted to the FIB approach using the HIM. For this scenario

Block copolymers for designing nanostructured porous coatings

• Roberto Nisticò

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2332–2344, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.218

• /homopolymer formulations [81][82]. The microdomain arrangement is affected by heating, since BCs can exhibit phase mixing upon heating, due to the increase in the translational (or combinatorial) entropy and subsequent decrease of the phases interaction area. It can also exhibit phase separation as a result

Electrospun one-dimensional nanostructures: a new horizon for gas sensing materials

• Muhammad Imran,
• Nunzio Motta and
• Mahnaz Shafiei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2128–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.202

• template is removed by annealing. The morphology of the NFs is dependent on sputtering time, resulting in uniformly distributed branches all over stem. Jun et al. [77] developed polypyrrole (PPy)-coated SnO2 tube-in-tube structures using single-nozzle electrospinning with a phase separation solvent method

• , respectively (Figure 8k,l) [183]. Similarly, a very low concentration of acetone (120 ppb) can be detected with a fast response/recovery time (11/6s) using thin-walled wrinkled layer SnO2 NTs functionalized with Pt by a controlled phase separation technique [163]. The selectivity of SnO2 NFs is also improved

Nanoconjugates of a calixresorcinarene derivative with methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) fragments for drug encapsulation

• Alina M. Ermakova,
• Julia E. Morozova,
• Yana V. Shalaeva,
• Victor V. Syakaev,
• Aidar T. Gubaidullin,
• Alexandra D. Voloshina,
• Vladimir V. Zobov,
• Irek R. Nizameev,
• Olga B. Bazanova,
• Igor S. Antipin and
• Alexander I. Konovalov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2057–2070, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.195

• fragments [32] and appear due to the reaction conditions (see Experimental section). Because of the presence of mPEG groups, compound 3 can be considered a non-ionic surfactant. It is known, that in aqueous solutions of non-ionic surfactants increasing temperatures leads to phase separation. There are two

• a phase separation up to 90 °C, while solutions of 3 in a physiological solution of sodium chloride (0.9% NaCl) solution or in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, pH 7.4) clouded at 60 °C (Figure 4a). DLS method showed that an increase of the particle size of 3 in the presence of salts occurred already

Nanocomposites comprised of homogeneously dispersed magnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles and poly(methyl methacrylate)

• Sašo Gyergyek,
• David Pahovnik,
• Ema Žagar,
• Alenka Mertelj,
• Rok Kostanjšek,
• Miloš Beković,
• Marko Jagodič,
• Heinrich Hofmann and
• Darko Makovec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1613–1622, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.153

• in toluene resulted in the rapid flocculation of the iron-oxide nanoparticles, which was macroscopically visible as a phase separation (Figure 1). This phase separation was more pronounced when a small permanent magnet was placed beside the container, as shown in Figure 1. The flocculation is most

• conducted in the suspension of NP-RA in toluene to which methacrylic anhydride and pyridine were added. At the beginning of the polymerization the suspension was colloidal; however, after a short time of polymerization, the macroscopic phase separation was clearly visible. In contrast, the suspension of NP

Absence of free carriers in silicon nanocrystals grown from phosphorus- and boron-doped silicon-rich oxide and oxynitride

• Daniel Hiller,
• Julian López-Vidrier,
• Keita Nomoto,
• Michael Wahl,
• Wolfgang Bock,
• Tomáš Chlouba,
• František Trojánek,
• Sebastian Gutsch,
• Margit Zacharias,
• Dirk König,
• Petr Malý and
• Michael Kopnarski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1501–1511, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.141

• broad overview of all available techniques and approaches [11]. Here, we focus on the Si NC growth via phase separation of PECVD-deposited, P- or B-doped silicon-rich oxide thin films via annealing at high temperatures. Additionally, we focus on comparatively lowly doped samples (on the order of 0.1–1

Patterning of supported gold monolayers via chemical lift-off lithography

• Liane S. Slaughter,
• Kevin M. Cheung,
• Sami Kaappa,
• Huan H. Cao,
• Qing Yang,
• Thomas D. Young,
• Andrew C. Serino,
• Sami Malola,
• Jana M. Olson,
• Stephan Link,
• Hannu Häkkinen,
• Anne M. Andrews and
• Paul S. Weiss

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2648–2661, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.265

• measured by electron diffraction [55][56]. At molecular resolution, scanning probe measurements have revealed the rearrangement of Au surface atoms [57][58][59], diffusion and alignment of adatom–adsorbate complexes [50][60], and phase separation of SAMs composed of molecules with different backbones or

• terminal functionalities [61][62][63]. Phase separation is driven by stronger intermolecular interactions between one type of SAM molecule vs another in mixed SAMs. The rearrangement and displacement of molecules in mixed monolayers can also be manipulated by choosing other head groups, such as selenols

Changes of the absorption cross section of Si nanocrystals with temperature and distance

• Michael Greben,
• Petro Khoroshyy,
• Sebastian Gutsch,
• Daniel Hiller,
• Margit Zacharias and
• Jan Valenta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2315–2323, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.231

• displays [3]. A device fabrication process demands an effective control of size, shape and density of Si NCs. All those requirements can be met via the superlattice approach in combination [4] with the phase-separation of sub-stoichiometric oxides (SiOx) where the NC spacing in all three dimensions can be

Advances and challenges in the field of plasma polymer nanoparticles

• Andrei Choukourov,
• Pavel Pleskunov,
• Daniil Nikitin,
• Valerii Titov,
• Artem Shelemin,
• Mykhailo Vaidulych,
• Anna Kuzminova,
• Pavel Solař,
• Jan Hanuš,
• Jaroslav Kousal,
• Ondřej Kylián,
• Danka Slavínská and
• Hynek Biederman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2002–2014, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.200

• prove advantageous, especially if more reactive metals are considered. For example, titanium is known to form strong TiC bonds when sputtered in organic plasma [74]. Carbidization of titanium atoms may hinder metal–polymer phase separation and it may even change the properties of titanium inclusions

Nanotopographical control of surfaces using chemical vapor deposition processes

• Meike Koenig and
• Joerg Lahann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1250–1256, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.126

• , condensable species into the gas feed mixture ensures phase separation simultaneously with the polymerization and crosslinking reactions. The porogen is removed in a post-deposition process using vacuum or solvent treatment. Gupta and co-workers demonstrated that in the iCVD process the monomer itself can act

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

• -sized fine particles. The black and grey particles are dispersed randomly and densely in the amorphous matrix. The high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) results were used to observe phase separation in the studied glass after heat treatment. The image collected in HAADF mode allows randomly distributed

• al. [34] used the HAADF technique to indicate a local compositional fluctuation caused by nanoscale phase separation in Zr–Cu–Ni–Al–Ti bulk metallic glasses. They achieved bright contrast regions with size above 2 nm. The authors also stated that the identified contrasts are in good agreement with

• high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) observation was used to observe phase separation. The HAADF mode allowed randomly distributed, dark contrasts regions with size from 4 to 6 nm to be observed. The value of the first coordination shell radius was found to be similar to the interplanar spacings

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

• -CO2 to form a homogeneous solution; (ii) pore nucleation and phase separation induced by a thermodynamic instability, which is usually caused by a temperature increase or a pressure decrease, and (iii) pore growth due to diffusion of SC-CO2 from the polymer matrix to the pores [20]. When the polymer

Analysis and modification of defective surface aggregates on PCDTBT:PCBM solar cell blends using combined Kelvin probe, conductive and bimodal atomic force microscopy

• Hanaul Noh,
• Alfredo J. Diaz and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 579–589, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.62

• the majority of modern PSCs consist of nanoscale bulk heterojunction (BHJ) structures [7], changes in the internal structures, such as local crystallization of polymers or phase separation of donor and acceptor mixtures, greatly affect the device performance [8][9]. Extensive research has been

In situ formation of reduced graphene oxide structures in ceria by combined sol–gel and solvothermal processing

• Jingxia Yang,
• Johannes Ofner,
• Bernhard Lendl and
• Ulrich Schubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1815–1821, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.174

• 0.05 and 0.02 g, the Raman mapping showed no obvious phase separation, indicating that rGO and CeO2 were homogeneously dispersed. However, when the GO proportion was 0.2 g, phase separation (agglomeration of rGO) was observed by partial disappearance of the CeO2 signal and the enhancement of the rGO

Nano- and microstructured materials for in vitro studies of the physiology of vascular cells

• Alexandra M. Greiner,
• Adria Sales,
• Hao Chen,
• Sarah A. Biela,
• Dieter Kaufmann and
• Ralf Kemkemer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1620–1641, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.155

• order to give an overview of different microfabrication techniques, relevant examples for different approaches such as optical (photolithography [49]), mechanical (hot embossing [50] and surface cracking [51][52]) or chemical (replica molding [53][54], phase separation micromolding [55][56][57], gas

• nanostructures of few tens of nanometers, for example (Figure 4B) [53] After further modifications, the elastomer substrate can be used for cell experiments. Phase separation micromolding is an alternative, less common microfabrication technique for structured substrates. This technique consists of separating a

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

• giant vesicles (Figure 2A). Nile red was used as a general hydrophobic dye to visualize the membranes; TopFluorPC was used to assess possible phase separation between lipids and polymers. The molecular weight of PIPEO appeared to have no observable effect on the formation of vesicles despite the

• hydrophobic mismatch between lipid and polymer. This finding indicated that the selected PIPEO and DPhPC were highly miscible. The absence of phase separation towards micrometer-scale lipid- and polymer-rich domains was in line with other lipopolymer mixtures at a similar lipid-to-polymer ratio [39][42][45

• ] and similar membrane curvature [39][40][41][43][44][45][54][55]. Lipopolymer vesicles formed from mixtures containing more than 50 mol % DPhPC, however, revealed a heterogeneous distribution of TopFluorPC and a clear phase separation between polymer and lipid (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S2

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

• Benjamin Pollard Markus B. Raschke Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry, and JILA, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA 10.3762/bjnano.7.53 Abstract Intermolecular interactions and nanoscale phase separation govern the properties of many molecular soft-matter systems