Concurrent nanoscale surface etching and SnO₂ loading of carbon fibers for vanadium ion redox enhancement

• Jun Maruyama,
• Shohei Maruyama,
• Tomoko Fukuhara,
• Toru Nagaoka and
• Kei Hanafusa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 985–992, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.99

• nanoparticles; redox flow batteries; surface etching; Introduction Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are energy conversion and storage devices that involve the reduction and oxidation of electroactive species in electrolyte solutions and have attracted much attention due to their scalability and safety. Various

Renewable energy conversion using nano- and microstructured materials

• Harry Mönig and
• Martina Schmid

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 771–773, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.76

• Harry Monig Martina Schmid Physikalisches Institut, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Wilhelm-Klemm-Str. 10, D-48149 Münster, Germany Fakultät für Physik und CENIDE, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Lotharstr. 1, D-47057 Duisburg, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.10.76 Keywords: energy conversion

• metropolitan areas requires a paradigm shift away from the conventional practise of fossil fuel combustion. Therefore, the development of new technologies based on renewable energy conversion should be one of the major goals of the global society. The Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology thematic issue “Nano

• - and microstructures for energy conversion: materials and devices” provides insights into the latest developments in the related fields. Besides a focus on solar-cell concepts [1][2][3][4][5], it also addresses light harvesting by solar fuel production [6][7], and energy storage by batteries [8

Towards rare-earth-free white light-emitting diode devices based on the combination of dicyanomethylene and pyranine as organic dyes supported on zinc single-layered hydroxide

• Jeff L. Nyalosaso,
• Rachod Boonsin,
• Pierre Vialat,
• Damien Boyer,
• Geneviève Chadeyron,
• Rachid Mahiou and
• Fabrice Leroux

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 760–770, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.75

• issue. In this context, it seems crucial to identify new cheap and REE-free phosphors capable of delivering cost-effective light energy conversion. Luminescent organic dyes are a relevant alternative to REEs. Indeed, they are known to exhibit high luminous efficiency at low cost and may be associated

Reduced graphene oxide supported C₃N₄ nanoflakes and quantum dots as metal-free catalysts for visible light assisted CO₂ reduction

• Md Rakibuddin and
• Haekyoung Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 448–458, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.44

• -C3N4 from 2D sheets by facile hydrothermal reactions. Recently, solar energy conversion using g-C3N4 QDs has attracted significant attention [20][21][22]. Besides, g-C3N4 has also been coupled with noble-metal-free compounds for higher catalytic activity [23][24][25][26][27]. Despite all these

Scanning probe microscopy for energy-related materials

• Rüdiger Berger,
• Benjamin Grévin,
• Philippe Leclère and
• Yi Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 132–134, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.12

• , Shanghai, PR of China 10.3762/bjnano.10.12 Keywords: energy conversion and storage, in-operando, Scanning Probe Microscopy, Scanning Force Microscopy; In order to stimulate, bundle and strengthen the activities in the field of scanning probe microscopy for energy applications, we have organized a

• perfectly reflect the current activities and advances in the field of scanning probe microscopy for energy applications. The term “energy applications” refers to materials that are used for energy conversion, energy transport and energy storage. In these fields, intensive basic and applied research is

Electrolyte tuning in dye-sensitized solar cells with N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) iron(II) sensitizers

• Mariia Karpacheva,
• Catherine E. Housecroft and
• Edwin C. Constable

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 3069–3078, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.285

• ; N-heterocyclic carbene iron(II) complex; solar energy conversion; sustainable energy; Introduction The field of dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs) has developed significantly [1][2][3] since the pioneering publication of O’Regan and Grätzel [4]. Photoconversion efficiencies (η) of ≈11–14% have been

Femtosecond laser-assisted fabrication of chalcopyrite micro-concentrator photovoltaics

• Franziska Ringleb,
• Stefan Andree,
• Berit Heidmann,
• Jörn Bonse,
• Katharina Eylers,
• Owen Ernst,
• Torsten Boeck,
• Martina Schmid and
• Jörg Krüger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 3025–3038, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.281

• principle is illustrated for the case of dot-shaped solar cells. Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) require significantly less absorber material and, at the same time, the concentration of light allows for a more efficient energy conversion. The material saving potential for a squared array of microabsorbers

Nanostructure-induced performance degradation of WO₃·nH₂O for energy conversion and storage devices

• Zhenyin Hai,
• Mohammad Karbalaei Akbari,
• Zihan Wei,
• Danfeng Cui,
• Chenyang Xue,
• Hongyan Xu,
• Philippe M. Heynderickx,
• Francis Verpoort and
• Serge Zhuiykov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2845–2854, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.265

• Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, P.R. China 10.3762/bjnano.9.265 Abstract Although 2D layered nanomaterials have been intensively investigated towards their application in energy conversion and storage devices, their disadvantages have rarely been explored so far especially compared to

• nanoscience and nanotechnology with their exotic properties and versatility of applications [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Among all 2D nanomaterials, 2D transition metal oxides (TMOs) are the group with the highest electrochemical activities for energy conversion and storage [11][12][13][14][15]. As the

• photocatalytic and antibacterial applications [39]. Unfortunately, despite the great number of 2D WO3 compounds and their hydrates synthesized and utilized for energy conversion and storage applications, their weakness has not yet been investigated thoroughly. In this study, WO3·nH2O (n = 0, 1, 2) was fabricated

Enhancement of X-ray emission from nanocolloidal gold suspensions under double-pulse excitation

• Wei-Hung Hsu,
• Frances Camille P. Masim,
• Armandas Balčytis,
• Hsin-Hui Huang,
• Tetsu Yonezawa,
• Aleksandr A. Kuchmizhak,
• Saulius Juodkazis and
• Koji Hatanaka

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2609–2617, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.242

• observed after experiments. It has been already reported, under similar experimental conditions, that the energy conversion efficiency of the laser pulse to hard X-rays, the electron temperatures, and X-ray photon numbers are estimated to be about 10−8 [25], 3–10 keV [27], and 3.8 × 1010 photons s−1 4πsr−1

Au–Si plasmonic platforms: synthesis, structure and FDTD simulations

• Anna Gapska,
• Marcin Łapiński,
• Paweł Syty,
• Wojciech Sadowski,
• Józef E. Sienkiewicz and
• Barbara Kościelska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2599–2608, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.241

• . However, the number of works on this subject has increased significantly over the last ten years. This is mainly due to technological needs related to the development of optoelectronics, photonics, electronics and energy conversion systems, fields in which metallic nanostructures found their application

A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO₂/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications

• Laurie Letertre,
• Roland Roche,
• Olivier Douhéret,
• Hailu G. Kassa,
• Denis Mariolle,
• Nicolas Chevalier,
• Łukasz Borowik,
• Philippe Dumas,
• Benjamin Grévin,
• Roberto Lazzaroni and
• Philippe Leclère

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2087–2096, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.197

• Office of the Belgian Federal Government (BELSPO-PAI VII/5), and the FRS-FNRS PDR Project ’Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Nanomaterials for Energy COnversion and STOrage Devices on FLEXible and Stretchable Substrates’ (ECOSTOFLEX). L.L. is grateful to FRIA and FRS-FNRS for a doctoral fellowship and a travel

Improving the catalytic activity for hydrogen evolution of monolayered SnSe_2(1−x)S_2x by mechanical strain

• Sha Dong and
• Zhiguo Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1820–1827, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.173

• knowledge, theoretical studies related to the system of 2D SnSe2(1−x)S2x alloys as catalysts for HER have been reported rarely. Tuning the electronic properties and catalytic behaviour of SnSe2(1−x)S2x monolayers for HER by strain engineering is required for their application in the energy conversion field

A zero-dimensional topologically nontrivial state in a superconducting quantum dot

• Pasquale Marra,
• Alessandro Braggio and
• Roberta Citro

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1705–1714, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.162

• HybridNanoDev project under Grant no. RBFR1236VV, the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/ 2007-2013) ERC Grant No. 615187-COMANCHE for partial financial support, the CNR-CONICET cooperation programme “Energy conversion in quantum nanoscale hybrid devices”, and

Multimodal noncontact atomic force microscopy and Kelvin probe force microscopy investigations of organolead tribromide perovskite single crystals

• Yann Almadori,
• David Moerman,
• Jaume Llacer Martinez,
• Philippe Leclère and
• Benjamin Grévin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1695–1704, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.161

• (BELSPO-PAI VII/5), the FRS-FNRS PDR Project “Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Nanomaterials for Energy COnversion and STOrage Devices on FLEXible and Stretchable Substrates (ECOSTOFLEX)”, and MP 1307 COST Action “Stable Next-Generation Photovoltaics: Unraveling Degradation Mechanisms of Organic and Perovskite

Cr(VI) remediation from aqueous environment through modified-TiO₂-mediated photocatalytic reduction

• Rashmi Acharya,
• Brundabana Naik and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1448–1470, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.137

• , which is only 3% of the total solar radiation, resulting in limited use of pure TiO2 in solar energy conversion [76][77][78]. (ii) The recombination of excited charge carriers in bare TiO2 takes place at such a high rate that more than 90% of the recombination processes occur in 10 ns [79], leaving

Surface-plasmon-enhanced ultraviolet emission of Au-decorated ZnO structures for gas sensing and photocatalytic devices

• T. Anh Thu Do,
• Truong Giang Ho,
• Thu Hoai Bui,
• Quang Ngan Pham,
• Hong Thai Giang,
• Thi Thu Do,
• Duc Van Nguyen and
• Dai Lam Tran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 771–779, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.70

• . Keywords: Au-decorated ZnO; carrier dynamics; gas sensors; photocatalyst; SPR effect; Introduction Inorganic transition metal oxide sensor devices have attracted attention in particular for improving gas sensing, energy conversion, electronics, photocatalysis and optoelectronic devices [1][2][3][4]. Among

Mechanistic insights into plasmonic photocatalysts in utilizing visible light

• Kah Hon Leong,
• Azrina Abd Aziz,
• Lan Ching Sim,
• Pichiah Saravanan,
• Min Jang and
• Detlef Bahnemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 628–648, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.59

• . Such materials have already been applied in various environmental and energy conversion applications [36]. Recently, the evolution of a metal-free semiconductor, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), has been discovered as an alternative for plasmonic photocatalysts. This metal-free semiconductor by

• equal energy levels. This constructive finding propelled the potential applications of electrochemical energy conversion, electroanalysis and electrochemical devices [173]. Overall, it is clear that the plasmonic metals are able to concentrate and channel the energy of low intensity visible light into

Anchoring of a dye precursor on NiO(001) studied by non-contact atomic force microscopy

• Sara Freund,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Nathalie Marinakis,
• Edwin C. Constable,
• Ernst Meyer,
• Catherine E. Housecroft and
• Thilo Glatzel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 242–249, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.26

• discussed [15][16]. Such p-type DSSCs are a first step towards the fabrication of hybrid tandem solar cells where both electrodes will be photoactive allowing for higher open-circuit voltages and energy conversion efficiencies [15][17]. The first reported p-type wide band gap metal oxide material was NiO

Co-reductive fabrication of carbon nanodots with high quantum yield for bioimaging of bacteria

• Jiajun Wang,
• Xia Liu,
• Gesmi Milcovich,
• Tzu-Yu Chen,
• Edel Durack,
• Sarah Mallen,
• Yongming Ruan,
• Xuexiang Weng and
• Sarah P. Hudson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 137–145, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.16

• water, low photobleaching and low cytotoxicity. They show great potential for bioimaging, photocatalysis, energy conversion, fluorescent ink and sensing applications [1][2][3]. In a bioimaging application perspective, the detection of bacteria by microscopic visualization is an essential benchmark

Review on optofluidic microreactors for artificial photosynthesis

• Xiaowen Huang,
• Jianchun Wang,
• Tenghao Li,
• Jianmei Wang,
• Min Xu,
• Weixing Yu,
• Abdel El Abed and
• Xuming Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 30–41, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.5

• low energy conversion efficiency (typically <1%) to capture sunlight and CO2 for the production of carbohydrates, even after billions of years of evolution, and it is far from its theoretical limit of 30% [48]. This gives great room to develop an improved scientific solution to produce basic food

• photocatalytic efficiency [90][91][92][93][94]. Besides, biomimetic or bioinspired strategies for the synthesis of semiconductor materials represents a significant advancement in the development of high-efficiency and cost-effective visible-light photocatalysts for solar energy conversion [65][66][67]. Given the

Ab initio study of adsorption and diffusion of lithium on transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers

• Xiaoli Sun and
• Zhiguo Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2711–2718, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.270

• structure can also affect the energy conversion efficiency, for example in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The basal plane of 2H-MoS2 is inert [30], where that of 1T'-MoS2 is catalytically active for HER [31]. Until now, there is no systematic study on the family of transition metal dichalcogenide

Enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting performance using morphology-controlled BiVO₄ with W doping

• Xin Zhao and
• Zhong Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2640–2647, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.264

• Xin Zhao Zhong Chen School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore, Singapore 10.3762/bjnano.8.264 Abstract Nanostructures exhibit numerous merits to improve the efficiency in solar-to-energy conversion. These include shortened

Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy of difurylethene-based photochromic single-molecule junctions

• Youngsang Kim,
• Safa G. Bahoosh,
• Dmytro Sysoiev,
• Thomas Huhn,
• Fabian Pauly and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2606–2614, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.261

• : inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy; molecular junction; photochromic; single molecule; Introduction Molecular junctions hold promise for the realization of novel miniaturized electronic circuits [1][2][3][4][5][6] as well as for thermoelectric energy conversion devices [7][8][9][10]. Optoelectronic

Refractive index sensing and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using silver–gold layered bimetallic plasmonic crystals

• Somi Kang,
• Sean E. Lehman,
• Matthew V. Schulmerich,
• An-Phong Le,
• Tae-woo Lee,
• Stephen K. Gray,
• Rohit Bhargava and
• Ralph G. Nuzzo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2492–2503, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.249

• Energy Frontier Research Center on Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion and was performed using resources at the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory Central Facilities at the University of Illinois, including the Center for Microanalysis of Materials; the Micro/Nanofabrication

Numerical investigation of the tribological performance of micro-dimple textured surfaces under hydrodynamic lubrication

• Kangmei Li,
• Dalei Jing,
• Jun Hu,
• Xiaohong Ding and
• Zhenqiang Yao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2324–2338, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.232

• micro-dimple. In terms of energy conversion, part of the energy transferred from the moving film upper wall to the fluid is dissipated by being converted to the kinetic energy of recirculation. Therefore, the load-carrying capacity is reduced. This phenomenon could be called the recirculation effect