Spin-coated planar Sb₂S₃ hybrid solar cells approaching 5% efficiency

• Pascal Kaienburg,
• Benjamin Klingebiel and
• Thomas Kirchartz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2114–2124, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.200

• MoOx forms a tunneling junction with the HTM is typical for organic solar cells in an n-i-p configuration. The cell area was 0.16 cm2. Layer and device characterization: The scanning electron microscope was a Zeiss (Leo) Gemini 1550 with Shottky field-emission cathode and an in-lens detector. The

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

• vertically aligned nanostructuration of TiO2 also makes this system attractive, since it ensures direct percolation paths for the photogenerated electrons from the donor–acceptor interface to the cathode, while providing a simple, controlled and ordered architecture. Furthermore, studies are available in

• bias, while fixing the growth temperature to 450 °C and the tilt angle between the substrate and the cathode axis to 60°. Anatase TiO2 layers with a 200 nm thick nanocolumnar morphology have been deposited on 85 nm-thick ITO-coated glass substrates (Naranjo B.V., sheet resistance of 15 Ω·sq). The

Metal-free catalysis based on nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials: a photoelectron spectroscopy point of view

• Mattia Scardamaglia and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2015–2031, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.191

• splitting of water to molecular hydrogen via hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction (HER and OER, respectively) are fundamental working mechanisms at the cathode of fuel cells, metal–air batteries and dye-sensitized solar cells [2]. However, the current working catalysts are based on expensive metals, such

• studies on the oxidation of oxalic acid on charcoal containing nitrogen and iron [7]. In 1966, activated carbon, heated at high temperatures in the presence of ammonia, was used in the cathode of a fuel cell showing an enhanced activity for the electrochemical reduction of oxygen [8]. However, a metal

• introduction of nitrogen into various carbon-based cathode catalysts for the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) [105]. Different preparation methods were used: nitrogen doping using ammonia resulted in high amounts of pyridinic N, while using pyrolysis of nitrogen-containing precursors the amount of

Synthesis of rare-earth metal and rare-earth metal-fluoride nanoparticles in ionic liquids and propylene carbonate

• Marvin Siebels,
• Lukas Mai,
• Laura Schmolke,
• Kai Schütte,
• Juri Barthel,
• Junpei Yue,
• Jörg Thomas,
• Bernd M. Smarsly,
• Anjana Devi,
• Roland A. Fischer and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1881–1894, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.180

• ]. For EuF3, no oxygen peak was seen in the XPS analysis. Therefore, SAED and PXRD data in combination with HR-XPS exclude any contamination of the REF3-NPs with metal(III) oxides. Metal fluorides are used, for example, as cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries [6]. The lithium-ion battery is one of

Direct AFM-based nanoscale mapping and tomography of open-circuit voltages for photovoltaics

• Katherine Atamanuk,
• Justin Luria and
• Bryan D. Huey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1802–1808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.171

• from below through an underlying transparent conducting anode and substrate (FTO/glass). Local currents are detected from above by the AFM probe serving as a positionable cathode. The local photovoltaic properties can vary widely for the heterogeneous microstructure compared to the mean (macroscopic

Toward the use of CVD-grown MoS₂ nanosheets as field-emission source

• Geetanjali Deokar,
• Nitul S. Rajput,
• Junjie Li,
• Francis Leonard Deepak,
• Wei Ou-Yang,
• Nicolas Reckinger,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Jean-Francois Colomer and
• Mustapha Jouiad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1686–1694, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.160

• displays, X-ray sources and cold-cathode electron sources [2]. 1D and 2D materials such as carbon nanotubes [3], ZnO nanorods [1], LaB6 nanowires [2], SnS2 nanosheets (NSs) [4], vertically aligned graphene [5], WS2 nanotubes [6], MoSe2 nanosheets [7], and MoS2 NSs [8][9][10] are potential field-emitter

• deposited on the FTO glass substrate served as electron-emission cathode and another piece of conductive FTO glass was used as anode. The distance between the cathode and anode was fixed at 220 µm by using thin glass spacers. The FE current (I) versus the applied voltage (V) was measured using an

• SEM (Figure 5c) and Raman spectroscopy (not shown as it is identical to the as-grown NSs). It was thus confirmed that they are of similar quality to that of as-grown NSs. The Fowler–Nordheim (F–N) equation [28] was modified for a cathode with nanometric field emitters as follows: E = U/d, where U is

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes coated with zinc oxide nanoparticles as sulfur encapsulator for high-performance lithium/sulfur batteries

• Yan Zhao,
• Zhengjun Liu,
• Liancheng Sun,
• Yongguang Zhang,
• Yuting Feng,
• Xin Wang,
• Indira Kurmanbayeva and
• Zhumabay Bakenov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1677–1685, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.159

• carbon nanotubes coated with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO@NCNT) were prepared via a sol–gel route as sulfur encapsulator for lithium/sulfur (Li/S) batteries. The electrochemical properties of the S/ZnO@NCNT composite cathode were evaluated in Li/S batteries. It delivered an initial capacity of 1032

• mAh·g−1 at a charge/discharge rate of 0.2C and maintained a reversible capacity of 665 mAh·g−1 after 100 cycles. The coulombic efficiency of the cathode remains unchanged above 99%, showing stable cycling performance. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis confirmed the formation of S–Zn and S–O

• providing pathways for ion and electron transport. The as-prepared S/ZnO@NCNT composite is a promising cathode material for Li/S batteries. Keywords: batteries; nanocomposites; sol–gel processes; sulfur; zinc oxide (ZnO); Introduction Due to its high theoretical specific capacity of 1672 mAh·g−1 and

Nanoscale electrochemical response of lithium-ion cathodes: a combined study using C-AFM and SIMS

• Jonathan Op de Beeck,
• Nouha Labyedh,
• Alfonso Sepúlveda,
• Valentina Spampinato,
• Alexis Franquet,
• Thierry Conard,
• Philippe M. Vereecken,
• Wilfried Vandervorst and
• Umberto Celano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1623–1628, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.154

• cathode materials, structural, electrical and chemical information must be probed at the nanoscale and in the same area, to identify the ionic processes occurring inside each individual layer and understand the impact on the entire battery cell. In this work, we pursue this objective by using two well

• chemical information. First, we demonstrate the capability of a biased AFM tip to perform field-induced ionic migration in thin (cathode) films and its diagnosis through the observation of the local resistance change. The latter is ascribed to the internal rearrangement of Li-ions under the effect of a

• generally a solid and dense material while crystalline conductive oxides are used for the anode and cathode. As a solid electrolyte is significantly safer compared to its flammable organic liquid counterparts, its use does represent a clear advantage [2]. Moreover, the presence of crystalline ordering in

Light extraction efficiency enhancement of flip-chip blue light-emitting diodes by anodic aluminum oxide

• Yi-Ru Huang,
• Yao-Ching Chiu,
• Kuan-Chieh Huang,
• Shao-Ying Ting,
• Po-Jui Chiang,
• Chih-Ming Lai,
• Chun-Ping Jen,
• Snow H. Tseng and
• Hsiang-Chen Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1602–1612, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.152

• platinum sheet was used as the cathode. The electrolysis experiment was conducted under 40 V with an electrolysis time of 45 min. Then, the system was placed in a mixed solution of 6 wt % phosphoric acid and 1.5 wt % chromic acid, and the first pore-widening process (1 h) and the second electrolysis

Photoluminescence of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots in nematic liquid crystals in electric fields

• Margarita A. Kurochkina,
• Elena A. Konshina and
• Daria Khmelevskaia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1544–1549, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.145

• of two quartz substrates with a fixed gap of about 33 μm. Both substrates were coated by cathode sputtering with transparent conductive electrodes based on indium tin oxide. Orienting layers of rubbed polyimide and chromolane were used to obtain a planar or vertical orientation of the LC molecules

Optical near-field mapping of plasmonic nanostructures prepared by nanosphere lithography

• Gitanjali Kolhatkar,
• Alexandre Merlen,
• Jiawei Zhang,
• Chahinez Dab,
• Gregory Q. Wallace,
• François Lagugné-Labarthet and
• Andreas Ruediger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1536–1543, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.144

• thick gold wire (Goodfellow, Purity 99.99+ Annealed) was immersed to a depth of ≈1 mm in a 37% hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution (anode) in the center of a gold ring (cathode). A pulsed voltage (30 µs, 3 kHz frequency) of 7.5 V peak to peak and a +0.5 V offset was applied to the tip. The etched tip was

Electrodeposition of reduced graphene oxide with chitosan based on the coordination deposition method

• Mingyang Liu,
• Yanjun Chen,
• Chaoran Qin,
• Zheng Zhang,
• Shuai Ma,
• Xiuru Cai,
• Xueqian Li and
• Yifeng Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1200–1210, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.111

• incredible potential in the area of lab-on-a-chip devices, biofuel cells and implantable devices [9]. Aminopolysaccharide chitosan is one of the most widely used materials for electrodeposition. Due to its pH-responsive film-forming properties, chitosan can be electrodeposited as a stable film on the cathode

• in many fields. However, during the cathodic electrodeposition, H2 bubbles may be introduced in the deposited chitosan film due to the electrochemical reactions on the cathode, which can produce surface defects that will affect applications of the deposited film. In contrast, we carried out the

• . Then, the electrodeposition was conducted using a programmable DC power supply (IT6123, TW). Both the cathode and the anode were partially immersed into the deposition solution, and then a DC voltage of 1.2 V was applied. After a given electrodeposition time (e.g., 9 min), the anode was disconnected

P3HT:PCBM blend films phase diagram on the base of variable-temperature spectroscopic ellipsometry

• Barbara Hajduk,
• Henryk Bednarski,
• Bożena Jarząbek,
• Henryk Janeczek and
• Paweł Nitschke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1108–1115, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.102

• ][2][3]. Their properties are widely reported in literature [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Usually the OPV devices are constructed as sandwich structures with active layers located between cathode and anode. The most extensively studied and characterized OPV devices are bulk solar cells, with the

Review: Electrostatically actuated nanobeam-based nanoelectromechanical switches – materials solutions and operational conditions

• Liga Jasulaneca,
• Jelena Kosmaca,
• Raimonds Meija,
• Jana Andzane and
• Donats Erts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 271–300, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.29

• contact results in an increase of the electrostatic field between them, especially at their highest asperities [105], where the electrostatic field achieves high enough (≈108 V/m) values to induce FN electron emission from the electrode (cathode). This process causes a temperature increase of the other

Synthesis and characterization of electrospun molybdenum dioxide–carbon nanofibers as sulfur matrix additives for rechargeable lithium–sulfur battery applications

• Ruiyuan Zhuang,
• Shanshan Yao,
• Maoxiang Jing,
• Xiangqian Shen,
• Jun Xiang,
• Tianbao Li,
• Kesong Xiao and
• Shibiao Qin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 262–270, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.28

• Ruiyuan Zhuang Shanshan Yao Maoxiang Jing Xiangqian Shen Jun Xiang Tianbao Li Kesong Xiao Shibiao Qin Institute for Advanced Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, P. R. China Hunan Engineering Laboratory of Power Battery Cathode Materials

• caused by dissolved polysulfide molecules [1]. All of these issues still pose a challenge to overcome for the production of reversible, stable, and efficient sulfur cathodes. The currently proposed approaches to solve these issues include sulfur-based cathode modification, electrolyte modification and

• electrochemical performance than a pristine sulfur cathode. Results and Discussion Characterization of MoO2–CNFs X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the as-prepared composite fibers calcined at various temperatures are presented in Figure 1a. Well-defined features appeared for the samples heated at 550 °C due to

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

• fundamental studies including those at the molecular or sub-molecular scale [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. In contrast, the synthesis and characterization of p-type wide band gap metal oxide materials and especially the fabrication and analysis of p-type DSSCs with a photoactive cathode, are less commonly

Bombyx mori silk/titania/gold hybrid materials for photocatalytic water splitting: combining renewable raw materials with clean fuels

• Stefanie Krüger,
• Michael Schwarze,
• Otto Baumann,
• Christina Günter,
• Michael Bruns,
• Christian Kübel,
• Dorothée Vinga Szabó,
• Rafael Meinusch,
• Verónica de Zea Bermudez and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 187–204, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.21

• TEM with a LaB6 cathode operated at 120 kV. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) was done using an aberration corrected Titan 80-300 (FEI, Eindhoven, The Netherlands) with field emission gun, operated at 300 kV. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and chemical analysis

Synthesis of metal-fluoride nanoparticles supported on thermally reduced graphite oxide

• Alexa Schmitz,
• Kai Schütte,
• Vesko Ilievski,
• Juri Barthel,
• Laura Burk,
• Rolf Mülhaupt,
• Junpei Yue,
• Bernd Smarsly and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2474–2483, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.247

• the MFx-NPs. Electrochemical investigations of the FeF2-NPs@TRGO as cathode material for lithium-ion batteries were evaluated by galvanostatic charge/discharge profiles. The results indicate that the FeF2-NPs@TRGO as cathode material can present a specific capacity of 500 mAh/g at a current density of

• heterogeneous nanocatalysts [55][56]. Transition-metal-fluoride nanoparticles are applied, for example, as cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries for vehicles and other mobile devices [57]. In this field, the modification of lithium–transition-metal electrodes is a very important issue to improve the

• source for the formation of FeF3 NPs and their stabilization medium [84]. Iron fluorides were recognized as promising cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries due to the higher energy density compared to current cathode materials. Iron fluorides can undergo a conversion reaction delivering a

Comparing postdeposition reactions of electrons and radicals with Pt nanostructures created by focused electron beam induced deposition

• Julie A. Spencer,
• Michael Barclay,
• Miranda J. Gallagher,
• Robert Winkler,
• Ilyas Unlu,
• Yung-Chien Wu,
• Harald Plank,
• Lisa McElwee-White and
• D. Howard Fairbrother

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2410–2424, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.240

• identified and imaged by SEM. All of the effects of electrons and atomic hydrogen reported in this study were independent of the substrate on which the deposits were created. Deposits generated in the Auger system were imaged and analyzed ex situ using a cold-cathode field-emission SEM (JEOL 6700F, LEI

A comparative study of the nanoscale and macroscale tribological attributes of alumina and stainless steel surfaces immersed in aqueous suspensions of positively or negatively charged nanodiamonds

• Colin K. Curtis,
• Antonin Marek,
• Alex I. Smirnov and
• Jacqueline Krim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2045–2059, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.205

• and the sample was then immersed into 4 wt % oxalic acid solution maintained at 0 °C. A cathode was placed in the bath and an electric potential of 40 V was applied between the anode and the cathode. Anodization was halted at 3 min yielding an approximately 100 nm thick Al2O3 layer. After the

Growth and characterization of textured well-faceted ZnO on planar Si(100), planar Si(111), and textured Si(100) substrates for solar cell applications

• Chin-Yi Tsai,
• Jyong-Di Lai,
• Shih-Wei Feng,
• Chien-Jung Huang,
• Chien-Hsun Chen,
• Fann-Wei Yang,
• Hsiang-Chen Wang and
• Li-Wei Tu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1939–1945, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.194

• (LPCVD) were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and cathode luminescence (CL) measurements. The results show that ZnO grown on planar Si(100), planar Si(111), and textured Si(100) substrates favor the growth of ZnO(110) ridge-like, ZnO

• . Keywords: atomic force microscopy; cathode luminescence; scanning electron microscopy; silicon solar cells; transparent conducting oxide; X-ray diffraction; ZnO; Introduction Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), with both high electrical conductivity and optical transparency, could be used as a

• by LPCVD. These three samples are characterized and analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and cathode luminescence (CL) measurements. The grain structure, average grain size, and associated strains are shown to agree well with the

Freestanding graphene/MnO₂ cathodes for Li-ion batteries

• Şeyma Özcan,
• Aslıhan Güler,
• Tugrul Cetinkaya,
• Mehmet O. Guler and
• Hatem Akbulut

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1932–1938, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.193

• coin cells. The initial specific capacity of graphene/α-, β-, and γ-MnO2 freestanding cathodes was found to be 321 mAhg−1, 198 mAhg−1, and 251 mAhg−1, respectively. Finally, the graphene/α-MnO2 cathode displayed the best cycling performance due to the low charge transfer resistance and higher

• electrochemical reaction behavior. Graphene/α-MnO2 freestanding cathodes exhibited a specific capacity of 229 mAhg−1 after 200 cycles with 72% capacity retention. Keywords: CR2016 coin cells; freestanding cathode; graphene; Li-ion battery; MnO2; Introduction Nowadays low cost, clean and sustainable energy

• capacity of Li-ion batteries. In commercial Li-ion batteries, LiCoO2, which has a specific capacity of 140 mAh/g, is used as the cathode material although it has many disadvantages such as high cost, toxicity and limited sources. Therefore, researchers have been developing different cathode materials such

Application of visible-light photosensitization to form alkyl-radical-derived thin films on gold

• Rashanique D. Quarels,
• Xianglin Zhai,
• Neepa Kuruppu,
• Jenny K. Hedlund,
• Ashley A. Ellsworth,
• Amy V. Walker,
• Jayne C. Garno and
• Justin R. Ragains

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1863–1877, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.187

• arenediazonium ion can accept a single electron from a cathode to generate aryl radical and N2 at relatively high potentials. Rapid covalent bonding [11][12][13][14] of aryl radical to surfaces followed by further attachment of radicals to already-grafted arenes results in polymerization and generates dense

Self-assembly of chiral fluorescent nanoparticles based on water-soluble L-tryptophan derivatives of p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene

• Pavel L. Padnya,
• Irina A. Khripunova,
• Olga A. Mostovaya,
• Timur A. Mukhametzyanov,
• Vladimir G. Evtugyn,
• Vyacheslav V. Vorobev,
• Yuri N. Osin and
• Ivan I. Stoikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1825–1835, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.184

• ) were prepared similar to those studied by DLS. The sample on the chuck was moved in the vacuum chamber apparatus by Quorum (Q 150T ES). A conductive layer was deposited by the cathode sputtering technique using an Au/Pd alloy (80/20). The thickness of the alloy was 15 nm. Possible paths of the

Two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic energy generation and environmental remediation applications

• Suneel Kumar,
• Ashish Kumar,
• Ashish Bahuguna,
• Vipul Sharma and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1571–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.159

• achieved in 1972 by Fujishima and Honda on a TiO2 anode and Pt cathode under ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation [6]. After this, research interest in exploring semiconductors for hydrogen production has grown significantly and many research groups have focussed their studies in this direction [7][8][9][10

• as an anode and is connected to a Pt cathode. The photogenerated electrons reduce H+ ions to generate H2 on the Pt electrode while holes oxidize water to form O2 on TiO2 electrode, as illustrated in the Figure 4a. After this discovery, semiconductor-based materials with suitable band gaps have