Self-assembly of amino acids toward functional biomaterials

• Huan Ren,
• Lifang Wu,
• Lina Tan,
• Yanni Bao,
• Yuchen Ma,
• Yong Jin and
• Qianli Zou

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1140–1150, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.85

• cancer cells [50]. Furthermore, naphthalimide (NI) derivatives can also be used as end-capping materials for amino acids. Naphthalimide has unique photophysical properties and photostability as a luminescent material for aggregation-induced emission (AIE), which can display high emission properties in

• the aggregated state and can be used for imaging [51]. Importantly, NI exhibits hydrophobicity and π–π stacking due to the aromatic moieties, and is prone to dynamic aggregation, which can be used in self-assembled construction units [52]. For example, Hsu et al. [53] self-assembled NI and

• phenylalanine to produce hydrogels driven by hydrogen bonds and π–π interactions and to form microfiber three-dimensional networks at 1 wt % and pH 7.4. The microfibers have AIE properties and strong blue emission under an ultraviolet lamp. Ni-terminated hydrogels of NI-Phe exhibit viscoelasticity with a

Criteria ruling particle agglomeration

• Dieter Vollath

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1093–1100, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.81

• ensembles of particles, these two descriptions are identical. The Boltzmann entropy S is given by S = k·ln(W), with k the Boltzmann constant. For an ensemble consisting of N elements subdivided in I groups, each one consisting of ni elements, the number of possibilities W is described as: In the further

• discussions, for simplicity, instead of the entropy S, a reduced entropy S* = S/k is used. After applying Stirling’s equation, for large numbers of particles, the Boltzmann entropy may be rewritten as: Setting ni/N = pi, one obtains the Gibbs entropy of mixing: Equation 2 and Equation 3 demonstrate that, in

• , the approximation with an exponential function Ni = a·exp(−bi), where a and b are parameters describing the distribution function, is depicted. The variable i stands for the volume of the particles in multiples of the initial particle size. Except for particle numbers of less than 20 one realizes a

Assessment of the optical and electrical properties of light-emitting diodes containing carbon-based nanostructures and plasmonic nanoparticles: a review

• Keshav Nagpal,
• Erwan Rauwel,
• Frédérique Ducroquet and
• Protima Rauwel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1078–1092, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.80

• various metal nanostructures for improved performance. Figure 3 presents optical images of GaN-based blue LED and UV LED with different current-spreading layers (ITO, Ni on graphene, and graphene) [42]. For a particular injection current value, the turn-on voltages for blue LED recorded on various anodes

• were 3.5 (ITO), 6.2 (graphene), and 4.8 V (Ni on graphene). However, for UV LED, the observed operating voltage reduced significantly from 13.2 (graphene) to 7.1 V (Ni on graphene). Even though the ITO anode remained superior, the Ni–graphene nanocomposite nevertheless displayed 83% of the EL intensity

• under different current-spreading layers (ITO, Ni on graphene, and graphene) at 1 and 20 mA current injections, respectively. Figure 3a and Figure 3b were adapted from [42], with the permission of AIP Publishing. This content is not subject to CC BY 4.0. (a) EL spectra of LED having 2 and 5 nm Au–CNT

Progress and innovation of nanostructured sulfur cathodes and metal-free anodes for room-temperature Na–S batteries

• Marina Tabuyo-Martínez,
• Bernd Wicklein and
• Pilar Aranda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 995–1020, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.75

• capacity of these electrodes depends on two mechanisms, the deposition/stripping of Na and the insertion/extraction of Na+. Metal scaffolds and meshes fabricated from Cu, Ni, Ni@Cu, or Al are other materials onto which Na can be plated. As shown in a recent work, porous Ni structures formed on Cu foil

• served as 3D current collector for plating Na [71]. Porous Al current collectors are also interesting Na plating substrates due to the lower weight and cost of Al compared to Cu and Ni. The resultant Al/Na anodes displayed high cycle stability (1000 cycles) with minimal Coulombic efficiency loss [72

• intermetallic compounds (M-Sn/Sb/P with M = Sn, Sb, P, Si, Bi, Cu, Ni, Fe, Zn). Fully sodiated Sb, Sn, and P form the phases Na3Sb, Na15Sn4, and Na3P, which offer theoretical capacities of 660, 847 and 2596 mAh·g−1, respectively [73]. However, the measured values are usually somewhat lower due to cycle

Uniform arrays of gold nanoelectrodes with tuneable recess depth

• Elena O. Gordeeva,
• Ilya V. Roslyakov,
• Alexey P. Leontiev,
• Alexey A. Klimenko and
• Kirill S. Napolskii

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 957–964, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.72

• of Ni [24] and Cu [27] in AAO templates. Cross-sectional SEM images were used for the estimation of the position of the main growth front of nanowires (see dashed red lines in Figure 2c–e) at the final stage of the templated electrodeposition. It can be seen that the main growth front is below the

Molecular assemblies on surfaces: towards physical and electronic decoupling of organic molecules

• Sabine Maier and
• Meike Stöhr

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 950–956, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.71

• successfully employed hBN to investigate the pristine properties of particular molecules. Schaal et al. [86] showed that hBN on Ni(111) electronically decoupled tetraphenyldibenzoperiflanthene such that the molecular vibronic progression was observable by in situ differential reflectance spectroscopy, which is

• otherwise only achieved for multilayers on the bare Ni. On hBN/Cu(111), Zimmermann et al. [87] could visualize the molecular orbitals of pyrene derivatives by STM at the submolecular level, while Brülke et al. [88] measured the fluorescence of monolayer perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA), which is

In situ transport characterization of magnetic states in Nb/Co superconductor/ferromagnet heterostructures

• Olena M. Kapran,
• Roman Morari,
• Taras Golod,
• Evgenii A. Borodianskyi,
• Vladimir Boian,
• Andrei Prepelita,
• Nikolay Klenov,
• Anatoli S. Sidorenko and
• Vladimir M. Krasnov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 913–923, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.68

• polydomain state, which triggers the flux-flow phenomenon. With further increase of the field, the polydomain state gradually turns into the opposite P state. This picture is consistent with the assessment based on the Hall effect, Figure 1i, and MR analysis, Figure 2, and with earlier FORC analysis of Ni

Effects of temperature and repeat layer spacing on mechanical properties of graphene/polycrystalline copper nanolaminated composites under shear loading

• Chia-Wei Huang,
• Man-Ping Chang and
• Te-Hua Fang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 863–877, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.65

• nanoplatelets (GNPs) in a copper matrix the in-plane tensile strength was increased by 26% [17]. Li et al. used graphene nanoplatelets decorated with Ni nanoparticles as addition in a Cu matrix. These Ni-GPL/Cu composites exhibited a 42% increase in ultimate tensile strength (UTS) over that of pure Cu, with

• only 0.8 vol % of Ni-GPLs [18]. Jiang et al. demonstrated that a pristine graphene (PG)/Cu composite showed a 90% enhancement of yield strength, and 81% increase of compression strength compared to pure copper [19]. Graphene is regarded as a reinforcement component in composites; it has been confirmed

Comprehensive review on ultrasound-responsive theranostic nanomaterials: mechanisms, structures and medical applications

• Sepand Tehrani Fateh,
• Lida Moradi,
• Elmira Kohan,
• Michael R. Hamblin and
• Amin Shiralizadeh Dezfuli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 808–862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.64

Local stiffness and work function variations of hexagonal boron nitride on Cu(111)

• Abhishek Grewal,
• Yuqi Wang,
• Matthias Münks,
• Klaus Kern and
• Markus Ternes

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 559–565, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.46

• well-controlled adsorption and electronic properties [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. In such systems, h-BN shows a rich structural and electronic morphology, which depends on the lattice mismatch and the interaction strength with the substrate: Large and flat lattice-matched terraces for h-BN/Ni(111

Boosting of photocatalytic hydrogen evolution via chlorine doping of polymeric carbon nitride

• Malgorzata Aleksandrzak,
• Michalina Kijaczko,
• Wojciech Kukulka,
• Daria Baranowska,
• Martyna Baca,
• Beata Zielinska and
• Ewa Mijowska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 473–484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.38

• the interlayers of PCN and not on its π-conjugated planes as it is in the case with other commonly used metal/non-metal (Cu, Ni, C, N or O) modifications [42][43][44][45][46]. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to obtain the molecular structure information of the carbon nitride

A review on nanostructured silver as a basic ingredient in medicine: physicochemical parameters and characterization

• Gabriel M. Misirli,
• Kishore Sridharan and
• Shirley M. P. Abrantes

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 440–461, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.36

• AgNPs, adding new features to the nanoparticles. For example, with the addition of nickel or iron in the production of bimetallic silver nanoparticles, Ag@Ni or Ag@Fe, respectively [42], the nanoparticles acquire magnetic properties. These magnetic nanoparticles have the potential to be used in

• polyvinylpyrrolidone The polyol synthesis was presented by Fievét et al. (1989) as a versatile synthesis route for various metallic and bimetallic nanoparticles, viz. Ag, Au, Cu, Co, Ni, Pd, Pt, CoNi, and FeNi with the possibility to obtain different shapes and sizes [139][140]. In this process, a suitable solid

Nickel nanoparticle-decorated reduced graphene oxide/WO₃ nanocomposite – a promising candidate for gas sensing

• Ilka Simon,
• Alexandr Savitsky,
• Rolf Mülhaupt,
• Vladimir Pankov and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 343–353, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.28

• –carbon composite (Ni@rGO). Previous work with WO3 had used either NiO (as part of the WO3 lattice), solely carbon, Pd-surface decorated WO3 (Pd@WO3), or Pd or Pt@carbon@WO3. We demonstrate the gas response for pure WO3, rGO/WO3 and Ni@rGO/WO3 sensing elements towards NO2 and acetone in air as well as

• towards CO in N2. The addition of 0.35 wt % Ni@rGO composite to WO3 enables the increase of the sensory response by more than 1.6 times for NO2 vapors. The gas response towards acetone using 0.35 wt % Ni@rGO/WO3 composite was 1.5 times greater for 3500 ppm than for 35,000 ppm acetone. For 0.35 wt % Ni@rGO

• , formation of heterojunctions, or size reduction [18][19]. Doping of WO3 with nickel improves the humidity sensing compared to neat WO3. Attributed to a greater number of electrons donated by Ni atoms, higher surface area, and smaller bandgap energy, Ni-doped WO3 has a faster response, higher sensitivity

A review on the biological effects of nanomaterials on silkworm (Bombyx mori)

• Sandra Senyo Fometu,
• Guohua Wu,
• Lin Ma and
• Joan Shine Davids

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 190–202, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.15

• the silkworm fat body. The treatment with TiO2 NPs activated the insulin signaling pathway of the silkworm by enhancing the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fat when compared to the control group. Ni et al. [120] reported that feeding silkworm larvae with 5 g/mL of TiO2 NPs led to the

Fusion of purple membranes triggered by immobilization on carbon nanomembranes

• René Riedel,
• Natalie Frese,
• Fang Yang,
• Martin Wortmann,
• Raphael Dalpke,
• Daniel Rhinow,
• Norbert Hampp and
• Armin Gölzhäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 93–101, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.8

• (NTA) terminal groups for the interaction with the His-tagged PMs forming a quasi-monolayer of His-tagged PM on top of the CNM-NTA. The formation of the Ni-NTA/His-tag complex leads to the unidirectional orientation of PM on the CNM substrate. Electrophoretic sedimentation was employed to optimize the

• is essentially one monolayer of PM patches on the CNM, but the coverage is less than 100% and in some regions irregularly arranged PM patches overlap. Immobilization of PM was achieved by complex formation of nickel(II) nitrilotriacetic acid (Ni-NTA), coupled to the NBPT CNM, with the C-terminal

• reduced to 2 mm for electrophoretic experiments (drop was in contact with both plates). Since WT PM is negatively charged on both sides, the substrate plate was chosen as the positive pole of the capacitor to attract the PM sheets. To enhance binding the positively charged side of c-His PM to the Ni-NTA

Free and partially encapsulated manganese ferrite nanoparticles in multiwall carbon nanotubes

• Saja Al-Khabouri,
• Salim Al-Harthi,
• Toru Maekawa,
• Mohamed E. Elzain,
• Ashraf Al-Hinai,
• Ahmed D. Al-Rawas,
• Abbsher M. Gismelseed,
• Ali A. Yousif and
• Myo Tay Zar Myint

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1891–1904, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.170

• ). The particles have an elongated shape, expanding longitudinally in the available hollow space. In the transverse direction, the particle is restricted by the walls of the MWCNTs. The residual Ni, left in the MWCNTs due to the adapted preparation method, are attracted to the particles inside the MWCNTs

• ) carbon, (e) manganese, (f) iron, (g) nickel (the source of Ni is the original MWCNTs used as catalyst), and (h) overlays of MnFe2O4/MWCNTs. The arrows in (a) and (b) are pointing at MWCNTs layers, which are coating the partially encapsulated nanoparticles. (i–l) The majority of the MnFe2O4 nanoparticles

Unravelling the interfacial interaction in mesoporous SiO₂@nickel phyllosilicate/TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures for photocatalytic activity

• Bridget K. Mutuma,
• Xiluva Mathebula,
• Isaac Nongwe,
• Bonakele P. Mtolo,
• Boitumelo J. Matsoso,
• Rudolph Erasmus,
• Zikhona Tetana and
• Neil J. Coville

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1834–1846, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.165

• , the electron–hole recombination can be inhibited by loading metals, such as Ni [12], V, Fe [13], Ag [14], and Cu–Ni [15], on the TiO2 surface, which accelerates the formation of hydroxyl radicals and, consequently, improves the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. In contrast, the doping of TiO2 with

• optical properties The three-step synthesis involved the generation of the SiO2 spheres, the reaction of the surface of SiO2 with Ni to give a NiPS-covered SiO2 spheres, and the addition of TiO2 to create the final product. SEM images show the spherical morphology of the mSiO2 and mSiO2@NiPS

• core and an outer mesoporous shell (Figure 1a and Figure 1d). The inner diameter of the SiO2 spheres was measured to be 415 ± 11 nm with a shell thickness of 80 ± 15 nm. After addition of Ni salt and thermal treatment, the core–shell nanospheres have been maintained but they are now covered with flake

Self-standing heterostructured NiC_x-NiFe-NC/biochar as a highly efficient cathode for lithium–oxygen batteries

• Shengyu Jing,
• Xu Gong,
• Shan Ji,
• Linhui Jia,
• Bruno G. Pollet,
• Sheng Yan and
• Huagen Liang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1809–1821, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.163

• specific discharge capacity of the best sample was 27.14 mAh·cm−2 at a stable discharge voltage of 2.75 V. The hybridization between the d-orbital of Ni and s and p-orbitals of carbon in NiCx, formed at 900 °C, enhanced the electrocatalytic performance due to the synergistic effect between these components

• +/Li. Results and Discussion The overall process of synthesizing NiFe-PBA/PP-T is schematically illustrated in Figure 1. Initially, the freshly cut pomelo peel was mixed with Na3C6H5O7, Ni(NO3)2, and K3[Fe(CN)6] to form bimetallic Prussian blue analogues with a MOF structure at room temperature. Ni3[Fe

• (CN)6]2 precipitate was formed when Ni(NO3)2 and K3[Fe(CN)6] were mixed. During the formation of Ni3[Fe(CN)6]2, Ni ions and N atoms from the hexacyanoferrate [Fe(CN)6]3− cross-link, which results in the formation of a three-dimensional and cubic framework with abundant Ni, Fe, N, and C within the

Transient coating of γ-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles with glutamate for its delivery to and removal from brain nerve terminals

• Konstantin Paliienko,
• Artem Pastukhov,
• Michal Babič,
• Daniel Horák,
• Olga Vasylchenko and
• Tatiana Borisova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1381–1393, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.122

• investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM; JEOL JEM 200 CX). The number-average diameter (Dn) was calculated by the measurement of at least 800 particles from different microphotographs of the same sample using the IMAGEJ program. Dn = ΣNiDi/ΣNi, where Ni is the number of particles with the

Effect of localized helium ion irradiation on the performance of synthetic monolayer MoS₂ field-effect transistors

• Jakub Jadwiszczak,
• Pierce Maguire,
• Conor P. Cullen,
• Georg S. Duesberg and
• Hongzhou Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1329–1335, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.117

• the deposited metal–semiconductor contact interface. Recent work has shown that irradiation-induced heating of the electrode area can reverse majority carrier polarity in MoTe2 [31], while pre-treatment with a broad-beam argon ion source can decrease the contact resistance of Ni-MoS2 two-fold [32]. In

Ultrasensitive detection of cadmium ions using a microcantilever-based piezoresistive sensor for groundwater

• Dinesh Rotake,
• Anand Darji and
• Nitin Kale

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1242–1253, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.108

• , cement manufacturing units, electroplating industry, manufacturing units of PVC, Ni–Cd batteries, fertilizers, pesticides, photovoltaic devices, soil, and sediments. Cadmium is a highly toxic heavy metal ion (HMI). Cadmium poisoning may cause fatigue, headaches, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, bone

Nonadiabatic superconductivity in a Li-intercalated hexagonal boron nitride bilayer

• Kamila A. Szewczyk,
• Izabela A. Domagalska,
• Artur P. Durajski and
• Radosław Szczęśniak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1178–1189, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.102

• phosphorene [9][10][11] are mechanically stable only when placed on a substrate [12][13][14]. The substrate should be selected so that it changes the physical properties of the low-dimensional system as little as possible. In the case of graphene, the following substrate materials were used: Co [15], Ni [16

Hybridization vs decoupling: influence of an h-BN interlayer on the physical properties of a lander-type molecule on Ni(111)

• Maximilian Schaal,
• Takumi Aihara,
• Marco Gruenewald,
• Felix Otto,
• Jari Domke,
• Roman Forker,
• Hiroyuki Yoshida and
• Torsten Fritz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1168–1177, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.101

• also indications in the literature for a significant hybridization, which results in a perturbation of the intrinsic molecular properties. In this work we study the electronic and optical properties as well as the lateral structure of tetraphenyldibenzoperiflanthene (DBP) on Ni(111) with and without an

• the DBP molecules are well decoupled from the Ni(111) surface. Furthermore, a highly ordered DBP monolayer is obtained on h-BN/Ni(111) by depositing the molecules at a substrate temperature of 170 °C. The structural results are obtained by quantitative low-energy electron diffraction and low

• -temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. Finally, the investigation of the valence band structure by ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the low work function of h-BN/Ni(111) further decreases after the DBP deposition. For this reason, the h-BN-passivated Ni(111) surface may serve as potential

Applications of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles in drug and therapeutic delivery, and biotechnological advancements

• Maria Suciu,
• Corina M. Ionescu,
• Alexandra Ciorita,
• Septimiu C. Tripon,
• Dragos Nica,
• Hani Al-Salami and
• Lucian Barbu-Tudoran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1092–1109, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.94

Microwave-induced electric discharges on metal particles for the synthesis of inorganic nanomaterials under solvent-free conditions

• Vijay Tripathi,
• Harit Kumar,
• Anubhav Agarwal and
• Leela S. Panchakarla

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1019–1025, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.86

• nanoparticles of Cu and Ni and one-dimensional nanorods of CuS, ZnF2, and NiF2 protected with fluorinated amorphous carbon. We have also synthesized reduced graphene oxide and partially rolled graphene by this method. Keywords: electric discharges; microwave synthesis; nanomaterials; transmission electron

• of Cu, Ni, und Zn nanoparticles from metal particles. Also, we can control the morphology of the nanomaterials, which has not been achieved before. ZnF2, NiF2, and CuS nanorods covered with amorphous fluorinated carbon were synthesized. We have also extended this procedure to synthesize reduced

• with either graphite or graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) yields carbon-coated or nitrogen-doped carbon-coated metallic nanoparticles. When these reactions are conducted in a Teflon reactor, the products are further functionalized with fluorine. Figure 3a shows XRD patterns of Cu and Ni nanoparticles