A highly efficient porous rod-like Ce-doped ZnO photocatalyst for the degradation of dye contaminants in water

• Binjing Hu,
• Qiang Sun,
• Chengyi Zuo,
• Yunxin Pei,
• Siwei Yang,
• Hui Zheng and
• Fangming Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1157–1165, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.115

CuInSe₂ quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy on amorphous SiO₂ surfaces

• Henrique Limborço,
• Pedro M.P. Salomé,
• Rodrigo Ribeiro-Andrade,
• Jennifer P. Teixeira,
• Nicoleta Nicoara,
• Kamal Abderrafi,
• Joaquim P. Leitão,
• Juan C. Gonzalez and
• Sascha Sadewasser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1103–1111, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.110

• performance of vacuum-prepared materials and non-vacuum-prepared materials is usually attributed to the sensitivity of the chalcopyrite semiconductor to external contaminants [29], to the dependency of its properties on the preparation method [30], and to the self-doping characteristics of the chalcopyrite

In situ AFM visualization of Li–O₂ battery discharge products during redox cycling in an atmospherically controlled sample cell

• Kumar Virwani,
• Younes Ansari,
• Khanh Nguyen,
• Francisco José Alía Moreno-Ortiz,
• Jangwoo Kim,
• Maxwell J. Giammona,
• Ho-Cheol Kim and
• Young-Hye La

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 930–940, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.94

• cathode while minimizing the chance of exposure to external sources of contaminants. The electrolyte consisted of lithium nitrate (LiNO3) as a salt in tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME) solvent containing three concentrations of water: <20 ppm, ≈2500 ppm and ≈4600 ppm. Water has been added in

An iridescent film of porous anodic aluminum oxide with alternatingly electrodeposited Cu and SiO₂ nanoparticles

• Menglei Chang,
• Huawen Hu,
• Haiyan Quan,
• Hongyang Wei,
• Zhangyi Xiong,
• Jiacong Lu,
• Pin Luo,
• Yaoheng Liang,
• Jianzhen Ou and
• Dongchu Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 735–745, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.73

• -based structural coloring of the aluminum alloy Pretreatment For removing oily contaminants and dirt, the 6063 aluminum alloy sample was first washed in an alkaline solution for 3–4 min, and then washed with deionized (DI). Afterward, it was put into an acidic eluent for the acid-based washing for 2–3

Biomimetic synthesis of Ag-coated glasswing butterfly arrays as ultra-sensitive SERS substrates for efficient trace detection of pesticides

• Guochao Shi,
• Mingli Wang,
• Yanying Zhu,
• Yuhong Wang,
• Xiaoya Yan,
• Xin Sun,
• Haijun Xu and
• Wanli Ma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 578–588, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.59

• . Sample preparation Before preparing the samples, the glasswing butterfly wings were first cleaned in deionized water for 10 min to remove the adsorbed contaminants. Afterwards, the transparent regions were cut out as templates for SERS-active substrates. Ag nanofilms were sputtered on the G.b. wings by

New micro/mesoporous nanocomposite material from low-cost sources for the efficient removal of aromatic and pathogenic pollutants from water

• Emmanuel I. Unuabonah,
• Robert Nöske,
• Jens Weber,
• Christina Günter and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 119–131, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.11

• of such contaminants is a necessity for public health in many developing countries because these pollutants can negatively alter important biochemical processes and thus are a critical threat to the health of plants, animals, and humans [5]. In addition to chemical contaminants, the removal of

• situations. As a result, cheap yet highly efficient materials that can be used for the purification of very large volumes of water are therefore highly sought after [4]. This approach applies to all subgroups of contaminants – heavy metals, organic pollutants, and biological contaminants. One approach to

In situ characterization of nanoscale contaminations adsorbed in air using atomic force microscopy

• Jesús S. Lacasa,
• Lisa Almonte and
• Jaime Colchero

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2925–2935, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.271

• sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), alcohols (e.g., ethanol) or acetone [24], ultraviolet (UV) [25] and ozone treatment [26], imaging of gratings [27][28], heating to evaporate contaminants [29][30], argon bombardment and even ultrasound, to much more aggressive methods, such as cleaning in piranha solution

• we conclude that the effective Hamaker constant of the system decreases when the tip–sample system is more contaminated. This, in our opinion, is easily understood in terms of the higher Hamaker constant of platinum compared to that of organic contaminants, which most likely constitute most of the

• HCl (hydrochloric acid, 37%). Again, the cantilevers are sonicated (or immersed) for about 1 min in this solution and then rinsed with plenty of Milli-Q water. This second step removes metallic (ionic) contaminants that may have been deposited in the Standard Clean-1 cleaning step. In addition, for

Charged particle single nanometre manufacturing

• Philip D. Prewett,
• Cornelis W. Hagen,
• Claudia Lenk,
• Steve Lenk,
• Marcus Kaestner,
• Tzvetan Ivanov,
• Ahmad Ahmad,
• Ivo W. Rangelow,
• Xiaoqing Shi,
• Stuart A. Boden,
• Alex P. G. Robinson,
• Dongxu Yang,
• Sangeetha Hari,
• Marijke Scotuzzi and
• Ejaz Huq

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2855–2882, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.266

• Electron beam induced deposition. We begin with a brief review of EBID, which addresses the fabrication of dots and lines in SEM, TEM and STM on bulk and thin film substrates, as well as sub-10 nm FEBIP for specialised applications. Since the darkening due to decomposition of surface contaminants was first

Disorder in H⁺-irradiated HOPG: effect of impinging energy and dose on Raman D-band splitting and surface topography

• Lisandro Venosta,
• Noelia Bajales,
• Sergio Suárez and
• Paula G. Bercoff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2708–2717, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.253

• contaminants, allowing for the detection of elements even when the concentrations are only a few parts per million. The measurements were performed with a low current of protons at 2 MeV in order to leave the graphite lattice fairly undisturbed prior to the ion irradiation. Our PIXE spectra (not shown) had low

• oriented to identify a possibly significant Fe contamination. Instead, we observed the presence of some other contaminants attributed to Al, coming from the collision chamber; Si, probably from the substrate where the HOPG sample was mounted and some traces of Ca, of unknown origin. Irradiation experiments

Nanocellulose: Recent advances and its prospects in environmental remediation

• Katrina Pui Yee Shak,
• Yean Ling Pang and
• Shee Keat Mah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2479–2498, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.232

• concerns warrant the application of bio-renewable polymers in the production of nanomaterials. In recent years, nanomaterials have displayed potential in effective detection and removal of greenhouse gases, chemical contaminants, organic pollutants, and biological agents. These materials come in various

• its polymer chains. Reactive –OH groups are proven to enhance the adsorption behaviour of modified nanocellulose, especially towards organic contaminants. However, the hydrophilic nature of nanocellulose might cause it to aggregate during the drying process due to the greater number of –OH groups on

SERS active Ag–SiO₂ nanoparticles obtained by laser ablation of silver in colloidal silica

• Cristina Gellini,
• Francesco Muniz-Miranda,
• Alfonso Pedone and
• Maurizio Muniz-Miranda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2396–2404, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.224

• , solvents as acetonitrile and benzene, and contaminants as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, dioxins, nitroaromatic derivatives, and many others. All these compounds are inadequate to interact strongly with silver, but could be captured by

• chemical reactants. These nanocomposites, which combine the adsorption properties of silica with the plasmonic properties of nanometer-sized silver, can be used for several purposes, for example, for the SERS detection of environmental contaminants such as POPs (persistent organic pollutants), as

Recent highlights in nanoscale and mesoscale friction

• Andrea Vanossi,
• Dirk Dietzel,
• Andre Schirmeisen,
• Ernst Meyer,
• Rémy Pawlak,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Marcin Kisiel,
• Shigeki Kawai and
• Nicola Manini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1995–2014, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.190

• technological impact. For example, the treatment of surfaces with molecular layers can have beneficial effects as it is well known from PTFE-coated surfaces. There is a need of alternative coatings for modern touch screens to prevent fingerprints and other contaminants. Surfaces for medical applications are

• important prerequisite of these experiments is to operate the instrument under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions, where contaminants can be avoided. In the case of Kawai et al. [58], the GNRs were grown by on-surface chemistry through evaporating a precursor of 10,10’-dibromo-9,9’-bianthryl monomers. By suitable

• annealing, dehalogenation as well as cyclodehydrogenation can be achieved, which leads to clean, defect-free GNRs. Therefore, ideal contacts, free of contaminants, can be grown on the gold surface. The GNRs are observed to move preferentially in the [−101] direction, where the moiré pattern forming with Au

Electromigrated electrical optical antennas for transducing electrons and photons at the nanoscale

• Arindam Dasgupta,
• Mickaël Buret,
• Nicolas Cazier,
• Marie-Maxime Mennemanteuil,
• Reinaldo Chacon,
• Kamal Hammani,
• Jean-Claude Weeber,
• Juan Arocas,
• Laurent Markey,
• Gérard Colas des Francs,
• Alexander Uskov,
• Igor Smetanin and
• Alexandre Bouhelier

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1964–1976, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.187

• momentary rise of the conductance, which we attribute to the desorption of surface contaminants as well as a temperature annealing of the constriction due to dissipation of the electrical power in this area. This effect can be traced in Figure 2a at around t = 150 s. An example of another temperature effect

Synthesis of a MnO₂/Fe₃O₄/diatomite nanocomposite as an efficient heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for methylene blue degradation

• Zishun Li,
• Xuekun Tang,
• Kun Liu,
• Jing Huang,
• Yueyang Xu,
• Qian Peng and
• Minlin Ao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1940–1950, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.185

• ) oxide (Fe3O4); manganese(IV) oxide (MnO2); Introduction Organic contaminants are widely distributed in water and soil due to the excessive emissions of industrial processes, which causes a great threat to the ecosystem as well as to human health [1][2][3]. Most of the organic pollutants are toxic and

• degradation of organic contaminants) and show the advantages of a fast reaction rate and being cost-efficient [8]. However, the practical application is limited through issues such as the narrow acidic pH range, non-selective oxidation, H2O2 storage and sludge removal [9][10]. To overcome the limitation, the

• composite is the most effective strategy [14]. Through this strategy, catalysts with controllable particle size, better dispersion and decreased agglomeration are easy to be synthesized and are expected to significantly increase the contact between active sites and contaminants. In addition, with the

Synthesis of hafnium nanoparticles and hafnium nanoparticle films by gas condensation and energetic deposition

• Irini Michelakaki,
• Nikos Boukos,
• Dimitrios A. Dragatogiannis,
• Spyros Stathopoulos,
• Costas A. Charitidis and
• Dimitris Tsoukalas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1868–1880, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.179

• produced by inert-gas condensation. In order to avoid contaminants the base pressure prior to deposition was ca. 9·10−7 mbar, a high-purity (99.95%) sputtering Hf target was utilized, and thorough target presputtering was performed prior to deposition. All depositions were performed at room temperature

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

Formation mechanisms of boron oxide films fabricated by large-area electron beam-induced deposition of trimethyl borate

• Aiden A. Martin and
• Philip J. Depond

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1282–1287, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.120

• except for the two O-rings used in the differential pumping apparatus. This provides a deposition rate attributed to residual contaminants of less than 50 nm in 30 min at room temperature under high vacuum (ca. 10−4 Pa). A focused, Gaussian profile 2 keV, 20 μA, 200 μm radius (ω0, radius at 1/e2

Heterostuctures of 4-(chloromethyl)phenyltrichlorosilane and 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)-21H,23H-porphine prepared on Si(111) using particle lithography: Nanoscale characterization of the main steps of nanopatterning

• Phillip C. Chambers and
• Jayne C. Garno

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1211–1219, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.112

• distinct differences in the interfacial chemistry of the uncovered silicon surface within the nanoholes versus the surrounding OTS matrix. A closer look at the hexagonal arrangement of nanoholes is presented in Figure 2c and 2d. A few bright spots on the areas of OTS reveal trace contaminants that were not

• Figure 3b [38]. A close-up view of three nanodots are shown in zoom-in topography and phase images in Figures 3c and 3d. The heights and sizes of the nanodots are quite similar, without nonspecific attachment of contaminants in surrounding areas of the OTS resist film. There is a dark outline surrounding

• ) were rinsed with water and cleaned in piranha solution (3:1 sulfuric acid to hydrogen peroxide) for 1.5 h to remove surface contaminants. Caution: this solution is highly corrosive and should be handled carefully. The substrates were then rinsed with ultrapure water and dried under nitrogen. After

Effect of annealing treatments on CeO₂ grown on TiN and Si substrates by atomic layer deposition

• Silvia Vangelista,
• Rossella Piagge,
• Satu Ek and
• Alessio Lamperti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 890–899, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.83

• , we can conclude that CeO2 is stable up to 600 °C with no annealing effects on its structure or chemical composition. Moreover, annealing (at 300 °C in O2) helps in the removal of the adsorbed moisture and in reducing residual contaminants, such as carbon, from the deposition process. However, the

Heavy-metal detectors based on modified ferrite nanoparticles

• Urszula Klekotka,
• Ewelina Wińska,
• Elżbieta Zambrzycka-Szelewa,
• Dariusz Satuła and
• Beata Kalska-Szostko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 762–770, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.69

• life, detect contaminants [5] and receive intelligent packaging [6]. A lot of research is focused on the reduction of the amount of fat in the products through the use of nanotechnological solutions. The idea to use fat in the forms of nanoemulsions, e.g., in cream or mayonnaise, became very popular in

Tuning adhesion forces between functionalized gold colloidal nanoparticles and silicon AFM tips: role of ligands and capillary forces

• Sven Oras,
• Sergei Vlassov,
• Marta Berholts,
• Rünno Lõhmus and
• Karine Mougin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 660–670, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.61

• that under ambient conditions an adsorbed thin water film exists at the NPs–substrate interface, that should increase the capillary forces and indirectly the adhesion between NPs and tip. On the other hand, high polarity of –COOH group increases the reactivity of NPs with airborne contaminants, which

Anchoring Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in a reduced graphene oxide aerogel matrix via polydopamine coating

• Błażej Scheibe,
• Radosław Mrówczyński,
• Natalia Michalak,
• Karol Załęski,
• Michał Matczak,
• Mateusz Kempiński,
• Zuzanna Pietralik,
• Mikołaj Lewandowski,
• Stefan Jurga and
• Feliks Stobiecki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 591–601, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.55

• batteries [8][9][10][11], supercapacitors [12][13][14][15][16]), sensors (gas sensors [17][18][19], biosensors [20][21]) and adsorbers (oil pollution [22][23], organic contaminants [24][25]). Moreover, the properties of GO-based aerogels can be modified by addition of various functional additives, e.g

Fabrication and photoactivity of ionic liquid–TiO₂ structures for efficient visible-light-induced photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants in aqueous phase

• Anna Gołąbiewska,
• Marta Paszkiewicz-Gawron,
• Aleksandra Sadzińska,
• Wojciech Lisowski,
• Ewelina Grabowska,
• Adriana Zaleska-Medynska and
• Justyna Łuczak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 580–590, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.54

• , evaluated for all samples, were estimated to be higher than nominal values related to the respective IL cations (see Table 3). This may be caused by adsorption of additional carbon contaminants on the finally prepared IL-assisted TiO2 because of the exposure of the samples to air prior to the XPS analysis

Single-step process to improve the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube yarn

• Maria Cecilia Evora,
• Xinyi Lu,
• Nitilaksha Hiremath,
• Nam-Goo Kang,
• Kunlun Hong,
• Roberto Uribe,
• Gajanan Bhat and
• Jimmy Mays

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 545–554, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.52

• intensity for the C–O peak (see Figure 1). As also illustrated in Table 1, some traces of contaminant elements (sulfur (S), iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al)) were observed in XPS spectra of all samples, which can be attributed to traces of the inhibitor metal salt, FeSO4 and other contaminants. The samples

Photocatalytic and adsorption properties of TiO₂-pillared montmorillonite obtained by hydrothermally activated intercalation of titanium polyhydroxo complexes

• Mikhail F. Butman,
• Nikolay L. Ovchinnikov,
• Nikita S. Karasev,
• Nataliya E. Kochkina,
• Alexander V. Agafonov and
• Alexandr V. Vinogradov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 364–378, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.36

• to anionic ones. The pillared materials prepared using hydrothermal treatment combine sorptive and photocatalytic properties and can be recommended for mineralization and decomposition of organic contaminants, even in highly acidic media. Experimental Montmorillonite A fraction of MM particles with a