Low-cost plasmonic solar cells prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis

• Erki Kärber,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Ilona Oja Acik,
• Valdek Mikli,
• Arvo Mere,
• Ilmo Sildos and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2398–2402, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.249

• planar ZnO were prepared entirely by chemical spray pyrolysis. Au nanoparticles (Au-NPs) were formed via thermal decomposition of a gold(III) chloride trihydrate (HAuCl4·3H2O) precursor by spraying 2 mmol/L of the aqueous precursor solution onto a substrate held at 260 °C. Current–voltage scans and

• % increase (from 4.6 to 7.5 mA/cm2) of the short-circuit current density was observed when 2.5 mL of the precursor solution was deposited onto the rear side of the solar cell. Keywords: Au nanoparticles; chemical spray pyrolysis; extremely thin absorber; plasmon resonance; solar cell; Introduction The cost

Inorganic Janus particles for biomedical applications

• Isabel Schick,
• Steffen Lorenz,
• Dominik Gehrig,
• Stefan Tenzer,
• Wiebke Storck,
• Karl Fischer,
• Dennis Strand,
• Frédéric Laquai and
• Wolfgang Tremel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2346–2362, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.244

• efficiencies. This influence was mainly ascribed to the enhanced dye absorption by the magnified near-field of Au nanoparticles and the plasmon-enhanced photocurrent generation (Figure 6c) [51]. Synthesis of inorganic Janus particles The synthesis of hetero-nanoparticles requires an even higher degree of

• monitored by optical spectroscopy [56][73]. The synthetic route can easily be applied to other material compositions as previously demonstrated by the formation of heterostructures composed out of gold and manganese oxide [39]. Au@MnO heterodimers were prepared using preformed Au nanoparticles as seeds, as

• the domain sizes of Au@MnO heterodimer nanoparticles in comparison to spherical Au nanoparticles. The shift of the absorption maximum amounts to 30 to 60 nm depending on the ratio of the domain sizes of Au and MnO. Mie’s theory describes the direct dependence of the surface plasmon resonance from the

Electrical contacts to individual SWCNTs: A review

• Wei Liu,
• Christofer Hierold and
• Miroslav Haluska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2202–2215, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.229

• most cases. This can be explained by the relatively poor wettability of gold to SWCNTs. As shown in Figure 7a, discrete Au nanoparticles are formed on suspended SWCNTs [57]. In contrast, Pd forms a nearly continuous coating on the SWCNT [57], which indicates a good adhesion to the sidewall of carbon

Properties of plasmonic arrays produced by pulsed-laser nanostructuring of thin Au films

• Katarzyna Grochowska,
• Katarzyna Siuzdak,
• Peter A. Atanasov,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Anna Dikovska,
• Nikolay N. Nedyalkov and
• Gerard Śliwiński

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2102–2112, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.219

• (see distributions in Figure 5) [31]. The effect originates in the difference of surface coverage by the R6G dried film and by the Au nanoparticles. The latter is low and does not exceed 30%, while the dye film covers the entire nanoarray surface together with the inter-particle areas. In consequence

A study on the consequence of swift heavy ion irradiation of Zn–silica nanocomposite thin films: electronic sputtering

• Compesh Pannu,
• Udai B. Singh,
• Dinesh. C. Agarwal,
• Saif A. Khan,
• Sunil Ojha,
• Ramesh Chandra,
• Hiro Amekura,
• Debdulal Kabiraj and
• Devesh. K. Avasthi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1691–1698, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.179

• yield of Au from Au–silica nanocomposite on the size of Au nanoparticles. To the best of our knowledge, no reports are available on sputtering of Zn nanoparticles embedded in silica matrix by using SHI. Zn nanoparticles have great potential for application in several fields. These can be used in cancer

Donor–acceptor graphene-based hybrid materials facilitating photo-induced electron-transfer reactions

• Anastasios Stergiou,
• Georgia Pagona and
• Nikos Tagmatarchis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1580–1589, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.170

• [29][30] and composites thereof, for instance, Au nanoparticles [31][32] have been incorporated into graphene sheets (GO or rGO) to yield donor–acceptor systems. However, the aim of this mini-review is to highlight recent advances in the preparation of graphene-based hybrid materials with organic

Near-field photochemical and radiation-induced chemical fabrication of nanopatterns of a self-assembled silane monolayer

• Ulrich C. Fischer,
• Carsten Hentschel,
• Florian Fontein,
• Linda Stegemann,
• Christiane Hoeppener,
• Harald Fuchs and
• Stefanie Hoeppener

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1441–1449, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.156

• molecules, the nanopatterns could be visualized by AFM topography maps after decoration of the formed patterns with 1.4 nm Au nanoparticles (Figure 4c). The corresponding topographic image of a 1.2 µm APTES SAM pattern reveals periodic triangular shaped structures of 3 nm height in most parts of the image

Microstructural and plasmonic modifications in Ag–TiO₂ and Au–TiO₂ nanocomposites through ion beam irradiation

• Venkata Sai Kiran Chakravadhanula,
• Yogendra Kumar Mishra,
• Venkata Girish Kotnur,
• Devesh Kumar Avasthi,
• Thomas Strunskus,
• Vladimir Zaporotchenko,
• Dietmar Fink,
• Lorenz Kienle and
• Franz Faupel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1419–1431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.154

•  1. With the increase of the Au MVF from 7 to 13%, the average diameter of the Au nanoparticles increased and for an extreme case, in which the Au MVF was about 50%, the growth of extremely large nanoparticles has been observed (Figure 1d). The selected area electron diffraction patterns

• at the TEM images of Au–TiO2 nanocomposites (Figure 1) also confirmed the growth of smaller Au nanoparticles apart from the clearly visible ones (those with dark contrast in the bright field TEM images). Such type of Ag nanoparticle growth has also been observed in other matrices, e.g., SiO2 [38

• nanoparticles embedded in TiO2 matrix can be observed (Figure 1 and Figure 2) and the IPS distances are also not too large. Bright-field TEM images of 100 MeV Ag8+ ion irradiated Au–TiO2 (MVF ≈ 15%) at different fluences are shown in Figure 3. In a pristine nanocomposite film, Au nanoparticles are well

Review of nanostructured devices for thermoelectric applications

• Giovanni Pennelli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1268–1284, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.141

• of a uniform Au film on a silicon surface, with a successive rapid thermal annealing (RTA), can be used for the fabrication of Au nanoparticles on large surfaces. Even if the nanoparticles have a random position and diameter, the average diameter and diameter dispersion can be partially controlled by

Gas sensing with gold-decorated vertically aligned carbon nanotubes

• Prasantha R. Mudimela,
• Mattia Scardamaglia,
• Oriol González-León,
• Nicolas Reckinger,
• Rony Snyders,
• Eduard Llobet,
• Carla Bittencourt and
• Jean-François Colomer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 910–918, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.104

• the case of 500 µm-long tubes. Additionally, the chemical sensitization effect of Au nanoparticles sitting on top of the CNT film may be lost beyond a given depth, which would also explain the loss of sensitivity found in 500 µm-thick films. This result could change if the density of the carbon

• general increase in response is observed. These results are in agreement to what was reported by Yao and co-workers [32]. Considering that the active sites are oxygenated defects and Au nanoparticles, a possible reaction pathway for NO2 on the surface of CNTs when the humidity level is very low is as

Scale effects of nanomechanical properties and deformation behavior of Au nanoparticle and thin film using depth sensing nanoindentation

• Dave Maharaj and
• Bharat Bhushan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 822–836, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.94

• that mechanical properties are enhanced at smaller scales. Experimental studies that directly compare local with global deformation are lacking. In this research, spherical Au nanoparticles, 500 nm in diameter and 100 nm thick Au films were selected. Nanoindentation (local deformation) and compression

• when subjected to an applied load is important for determining their suitability for various applications. Studies have been previously performed on Au nanoparticles by doing indentation experiments to look at the effect of lateral dimension (elongation) on strength [26] and by doing compression

• indentation studies of Au nanoparticles, it is of interest to study thin Au films. As the size of the nanoparticle decreases there is less contact with the tip due to the curvature of both the tip and nanoparticle and this can lead to inaccuracies in determining the contact area. This results in errors during

Nanostructure sensitization of transition metal oxides for visible-light photocatalysis

• Hongjun Chen and
• Lianzhou Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 696–710, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.82

• water in TiO2 nanotubes with the addition of Au nanoparticles under 633 nm illumination, but a 4-fold reduction in the photocatalytic activity under UV radiation [66]. They ascribed the improvement of visible-light photocatalytic activity to the increase of the electron–hole pair generation rate by the

• complete within 50 fs and the electron injection yield reached 20–50% under 550 nm excitation [77][78]. Brückner et al. were first to use in situ EPR spectroscopy for monitoring water reduction over Au–TiO2 photocatalysts. They observed a visible-light driven electron transfer from the Au nanoparticles to

One pot synthesis of silver nanoparticles using a cyclodextrin containing polymer as reductant and stabilizer

• Arkadius Maciollek and
• Helmut Ritter

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 380–385, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.44

• ) experiments were carried out. Figure 3 shows two TEM images and corresponding size distributions with different ratios of silver nitrate to cyclodextrin containing polymer 1. The selected area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern of the Au nanoparticles 2 shows rings ascribed to Ag crystals of the face

Synthesis of embedded Au nanostructures by ion irradiation: influence of ion induced viscous flow and sputtering

• Udai B. Singh,
• D. C. Agarwal,
• S. A. Khan,
• S. Mohapatra,
• H. Amekura,
• D. P. Datta,
• Ajay Kumar,
• R. K. Choudhury,
• T. K. Chan,
• Thomas Osipowicz and
• D. K. Avasthi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 105–110, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.10

• 10.3762/bjnano.5.10 Abstract The ion-irradiation induced synthesis of embedded Au nanoparticles (NPs) into glass from islands of Au on a glass substrate is studied in the context of recoiling atoms, sputtering and viscous flow. Cross sectional transmission electron microscopy studies revealed the

• Au nanoparticles into the glass substrate. Keywords: embedded nanoparticles; ion beam irradiation; recoil implantation; Introduction Noble-metal nanoparticles (NPs) are of great interest due to their large surface-to-volume ratio and their enhanced absorption of visible light. The shape- and size

• burrowing effect during ion beam irradiation because the Au nanoparticles want to minimize their surface energy. In this way embedded Au NPs can be created by ion irradiation of Au thin films, which may be an alternative way of ion beam assisted synthesis of embedded NPs after optimizing the thickness of

Cyclic photochemical re-growth of gold nanoparticles: Overcoming the mask-erosion limit during reactive ion etching on the nanoscale

• Burcin Özdemir,
• Axel Seidenstücker,
• Alfred Plettl and
• Paul Ziemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 886–894, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.100

• Burcin Ozdemir Axel Seidenstucker Alfred Plettl Paul Ziemann Institute of Solid State Physics, Ulm University, D-89069 Ulm, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.4.100 Abstract The basic idea of using hexagonally ordered arrays of Au nanoparticles (NP) on top of a given substrate as a mask for the subsequent

• silicon nitride. Keywords: Au nanoparticles; block copolymer micellar lithography; photochemical growth; reactive ion etching; self-assembly; Introduction Nanoparticles (NP), though primarily sought-after because of their new size- and shape-dependent physical or chemical properties, also play an

• approaches suffer from the restricted flexibility of changing the inter-domain distance as well as their size with immediate consequences on the range of mask geometries. Results and Discussion As mentioned above, the basic idea of the present work is to use ordered arrays of Au nanoparticles prepared on top

Atomic force microscopy recognition of protein A on Staphylococcus aureus cell surfaces by labelling with IgG–Au conjugates

• Elena B. Tatlybaeva,
• Hike N. Nikiyan,
• Alexey S. Vasilchenko and
• Dmitri G. Deryabin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 743–749, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.84

• cell-surface markers for atomic force microscopy (AFM). The use of 30-nm size Au nanoparticles conjugated with immunoglobulin G (IgG) allowed the visualization, localization and distribution of protein A–IgG complexes on the surface of S. aureus. The selectivity of the labelling method was confirmed in

Catalytic activity of nanostructured Au: Scale effects versus bimetallic/bifunctional effects in low-temperature CO oxidation on nanoporous Au

• Lu-Cun Wang,
• Yi Zhong,
• Haijun Jin,
• Daniel Widmann,
• Jörg Weissmüller and
• R. Jürgen Behm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 111–128, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.13

• considered as an advantage for the understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the catalytic activity of NPG catalysts, and hence the catalytic behavior of nanoscaled Au, without the complications brought about by the interactions between the support material and the Au nanoparticles and the direct

• with earlier proposals for Ag-contaminated submicron-size Au nanoparticles [34] and highly active mesoporous oxide-supported AuAg catalysts [35][36]. From calculations based on density functional theory, Moskaleva et al. found a significant reduction of the barrier for O2 dissociation in the vicinity

Characterization and properties of micro- and nanowires of controlled size, composition, and geometry fabricated by electrodeposition and ion-track technology

• Maria Eugenia Toimil-Molares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 860–883, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.97

• defects such as twinning or slips are expected to influence the electrical and thermal transport properties, as well as the mechanical stability of nanowires. 2.2 Gold nanowires Numerous theoretical predictions and experiments have demonstrated that Au nanoparticles and nanowires are promising elements

Tuning the properties of magnetic thin films by interaction with periodic nanostructures

• Ulf Wiedwald,
• Felix Haering,
• Stefan Nau,
• Carsten Schulze,
• Herbert Schletter,
• Denys Makarov,
• Alfred Plettl,
• Karsten Kuepper,
• Manfred Albrecht,
• Johannes Boneberg and
• Paul Ziemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 831–842, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.93

• present work. We employ preparation routes that are based on (i) self-assembly of Au nanoparticles and (ii) homogeneous size-reduction of self-assembled polystyrene particles. On such non-close-packed nanostructures thin Fe films or Co/Pt multilayers are grown with in-plane and out-of-plane easy axis of

• of Co/Pt multilayers with out-of-plane anisotropy deposited on a more densely packed array of Au nanoparticles. Results and Discussion Preparation of percolated magnetic thin films Percolated magnetic thin films have been prepared by various techniques [15][16]. One necessary requirement is a

• , respectively. Alternatively to film deposition on size-reduced PS particles for percolated magnetic films, one may use self-assembly of inorganic spheres, such as Au nanoparticles, for nanostructuring. Commercially available Au colloid solutions with particle sizes of 60 and 40 nm have been used to prepare

Controlled positioning of nanoparticles on a micrometer scale

• Fabian Enderle,
• Oliver Dubbers,
• Alfred Plettl and
• Paul Ziemann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 773–777, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.86

• arranged in arrays of a certain geometry. For this purpose, a method is introduced combining the bottom-up self-organization of precursor-loaded micelles providing Au nanoparticles (NPs), with top-down electron-beam lithography. As an example, 13 nm Au NPs are arranged in a square array with interparticle

• additionally allows a broad variation of geometries for the finally arranged NPs. Results and Discussion Preparation of Au nanoparticles (NPs) The starting point of the present approach is the fabrication of hexagonally arranged Au NPs applying a previously reported recipe based on the self-organization of

• interparticle distance was fixed at an average value of 102 ± 3 nm, for reasons to be discussed further below. Selecting Au nanoparticles on the micrometer scale The basic idea behind selecting individual Au NPs on the micrometer scale is outlined by the schematics presented in Figure 2. A negative resist (AR

Effect of spherical Au nanoparticles on nanofriction and wear reduction in dry and liquid environments

• Dave Maharaj and
• Bharat Bhushan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 759–772, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.85

• environments, to characterize friction forces and wear. However, limited studies in submerged liquid environments have been performed and further studies are needed. In this paper, spherical Au nanoparticles were studied for their effect on friction and wear under dry conditions and submerged in water. In

• nanoscale with AFM as well as on the macroscale by using a ball-on-flat tribometer to relate friction and wear reduction on the nanoscale and macroscale. Results indicate that the addition of Au nanoparticles reduces friction and wear. Keywords: AFM; drug delivery; friction; gold nanoparticles; MEMS/NEMS

• nanoparticles (120–400 nm) [29], (50–500 nm) [30], spherical SiO2 nanoparticles (30 nm) [31] and spherical Au nanoparticles (25 nm) [32], (30–50 nm) [31] and (80 nm) [33] have been studied in both contact and intermittent-contact modes in dry environments. In liquid environments, Au nanoparticles (20–30 nm

Plasmonics-based detection of H₂ and CO: discrimination between reducing gases facilitated by material control

• Gnanaprakash Dharmalingam,
• Nicholas A. Joy,
• Benjamin Grisafe and
• Michael A. Carpenter

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 712–721, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.81

• sensitivity of the response to parameters such as shape, size and composition of the nanoparticles [14]. Ando et al. have reported, in one of the earlier investigations of sensing at high temperatures, the plasmonic sensing characteristics of Au nanoparticles when embedded in a CuO matrix, at a working

• oxygen on these supports with the activity of the Au nanoparticles produces an active material towards CO oxidation [29]. Thus, it was proposed that the ability of the YSZ support to provide reactive oxygen for CO oxidation increases the critical diameter for CO oxidation enhancement into the 10–30 nm

Focused electron beam induced deposition: A perspective

• Michael Huth,
• Fabrizio Porrati,
• Christian Schwalb,
• Marcel Winhold,
• Roland Sachser,
• Maja Dukic,
• Jonathan Adams and
• Georg Fantner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 597–619, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.70

Directed deposition of silicon nanowires using neopentasilane as precursor and gold as catalyst

• Britta Kämpken,
• Verena Wulf,
• Norbert Auner,
• Marcel Winhold,
• Michael Huth,
• Daniel Rhinow and
• Andreas Terfort

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 535–545, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.62

• metal [14]. The most frequently used catalytic metal is gold [15] although other metals are known to catalyze the growth of silicon NWs as well [16][17][18]. If gold is used as a catalyst, e.g., by deposition of Au nanoparticles on the substrate, the VLS-growth process is reported to start above the

• coordinate to the Au nanoparticles. The chemisorption of the nanoparticles proceeded by simple immersion into the respective solution and resulted in surfaces that were evenly, but not closely decorated by the nanoparticles (Figure 8). The average distance between two nanoparticles could be estimated to be

Approaches to nanostructure control and functionalizations of polymer@silica hybrid nanograss generated by biomimetic silica mineralization on a self-assembled polyamine layer

• Jian-Jun Yuan and
• Ren-Hua Jin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 760–773, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.84

• exploited to functionalize the nanograss film with three representative species, namely porphyrin, Au nanoparticles and titania. Of particular note, the novel silica@titania composite nanograss surface demonstrated the ability to convert its wetting behavior between the extreme states (superhydrophobic

• optics or chips. LPEI@silica nanograss decorated with Au nanoparticles Furthermore, we found that LPEI that has been hybridized into silica nanograss is also available for the functionalization of LPEI@silica nanograss. To confirm the chemical availability of LPEI in hybrid nanograss for in situ

• visualization indicated that Au nanoparticles were well-distributed over the whole nanoribbon structure, with a slight enrichment in the center part of the ribbon (Figure 8c), which probably reflects the presence of LPEI in the hybrid silica structure. HRTEM observation revealed that the Au nanoparticles had a