Impact of the anodization time on the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ nanotubes

• Jesús A. Díaz-Real,
• Geyla C. Dubed-Bandomo,
• Juan Galindo-de-la-Rosa,
• Luis G. Arriaga,
• Janet Ledesma-García and
• Nicolas Alonso-Vante

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2628–2643, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.244

• synthesis methods resulting in a wide range of morphologies, such as mesoporous structures [4], microtubes [5], microdendrites, nanoparticles [6][7][8], nanorods [9][10], nanotubes [11][12][13], nanowires [14], and nanosheets [15][16]. Standing out from the rest of the synthesis techniques, electrochemical

Enhanced antineoplastic/therapeutic efficacy using 5-fluorouracil-loaded calcium phosphate nanoparticles

• Shanid Mohiyuddin,
• Saba Naqvi and
• Gopinath Packirisamy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2499–2515, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.233

• both in vitro and in vivo studies [5]. Gold nanoparticles conjugated with a trans-activating transcriptional activator (TAT) peptide modification encapsulated with the drug doxorubicin showed enhanced toxicity in brain cancer models [6]. Further, mesoporous silica nanoparticles were successfully used

• the bulk. Thus metal-based NPs applied to biomedical applications could contradict the success of disease prognosis and treatment. Upon synthesis via solvent-extraction or calcination procedures, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) were found to inhibit cellular respiration [10] in the in vivo

Thickness-dependent photoelectrochemical properties of a semitransparent Co₃O₄ photocathode

• Malkeshkumar Patel and
• Joondong Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2432–2442, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.228

• ]. Existing studies have measured a photocurrent of 33.6 μA·cm−2 in 0.5 M Na2S on a mesoporous Co3O4 nanosheet grown through in situ transformation from hexagonal Co(OH)2 to spinel Co3O4 [18]. Hong et al. demonstrated a photocurrent of 0.4 mA·cm−2 from Co3O4 nanowire photocathodes, which could be enhanced to

• ) morphology of a 230 nm thick Co3O4 film on FTO/glass, cross-sectional images of (g) a thin Co3O4 (70 nm) film on FTO/glass substrate showing the densely packed film covering the FTO surface, and of (h) a thicker Co3O4 layer (230 nm) showing the mesoporous aspect attributed to the Kirkendall diffusion-driven

Block copolymers for designing nanostructured porous coatings

• Roberto Nisticò

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2332–2344, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.218

• ) parts linked together by chemical bonds [101]. Analogous to surfactants, even amphiphilic block copolymers (such as the PS-b-PEO ones) can be used as templating agents [4]. As reported by Yu and co-workers [102], PS-b-PEO copolymers were used for the production of mesoporous silica films where a cubic

• close-packed spherical system was obtained by solvent evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) process. Different pore sizes can be obtained by changing the block length in the soft templates. By coupling the spin-coating deposition technique with the soft-templating approach, mesoporous silica coatings

• nanostructure. AFM images reported in this study show that after thermal treatment, a mesoporous titania coating is obtained where the spherical pore systems correspond to the PS spherical domains in the hybrid film before calcination. Depending on the formulation parameters and following the same procedure

Lead-free hybrid perovskites for photovoltaics

• Oleksandr Stroyuk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2209–2235, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.207

• mesoporous metal oxide (TiO2) scaffold [67]. Later, it was recognized that Pb-based HPs are incomparably more efficient when applied as light harvesters in photovoltaic planar or bulk heterojunction solar cells. Such cells have two designs – a “conventional” n–i–p design with a HP layer deposited onto the

• and MAI on mesoporous titania scaffolds [147]. After covering with a Spiro-MeOTAD HTL, the MAMnI3-based device showed a response to the visible light illumination that was stable for at least 2000 s in an on/off cycling test [147]. A similar response to the UV light was observed for MA2MnCl4

• the morphology of the scaffold, varying from island-like for the compact TiO2 layers to a more homogeneous MABI deposit on the mesoporous TiO2 [157]. The TiO2/MABI composites can be produced by a double-step interdiffusion method including sequential deposition of BiI3 and CH3NH3I layers followed by

Electrospun one-dimensional nanostructures: a new horizon for gas sensing materials

• Muhammad Imran,
• Nunzio Motta and
• Mahnaz Shafiei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2128–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.202

• , and larger surface-to-volume ratio [34]. The large surface-area-to-volume ratio of nanofibers (NFs), hollow nanofibers (HNFs), nanotubes (NTs) and nanowires (NWs) with micro/mesoporous surfaces results in improved adsorption and better reaction kinetics of gas-sensitive materials. Nanofibers can be

• , respectively [225]. Al2O3–In2O3 composites with a heterostructure and mesoporous tubular structure have been applied to room temperature NOx sensing [226]. These composite NTs can detect 291 ppb of NOx at room temperature with a response of 0.74 and a response time of 24 s. The atomic ratios of In and Al were

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

• thin absorber (ETA) architecture, which is similar to that of dye-sensitized solar cells [21]. A thin absorber layer of around 10 nm [22] is deposited on a mesoporous TiO2 scaffold and the pores are subsequently filled with a hole transport material (HTM). Progress in terms of device efficiency can be

• of sulfur in the precursor (SbCl3/TU = 1.8) [29]. In a first step, the film morphology was studied. While the Sb-TU process allows the homogeneous deposition of Sb2S3 in a mesoporous TiO2 scaffold which enables device efficiencies comparable to other deposition methods [29], direct thermal

• crystalline phase of Sb2S3 for a thin layer on a mesoporous TiO2 scaffold [22][57]. For PDS measurements of the Sb-TU process, a TiO2 layer was spray-coated onto the glass before depositing the Sb2S3 layer because non-optimal adhesion prevents direct coating of glass with Sb-TU solution. The deposition

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

• silica. Hence, diatomite offers a high specific surface area, a mesoporous structure and superior physicochemical stabilities. Due to the above advantages, together with the abundant reserves, low price and eco-friendly nature, diatomite is a promising support material for catalyst nanoparticles in

• distributions of the samples. All three samples show a type-IV isotherm with type-H3 hysteresis loops (at about 0.50–0.99), which demonstrates a mesoporous structure of diatomite and as-prepared composites [35]. The detailed BET values calculated by the Barret–Joyner–Halenda (BJH) method are listed in Table 1

• /Fe3O4/diatomite with high surface area and sufficient mesoporous structure will provide adequate active sites in the consecutive adsorption and heterogeneous Fenton-like reaction for dye removal. Catalytic activity To demonstrate the catalytic activity of the as-synthesized catalysts toward PMS

SO₂ gas adsorption on carbon nanomaterials: a comparative study

• Deepu J. Babu,
• Divya Puthusseri,
• Frank G. Kühl,
• Sherif Okeil,
• Michael Bruns,
• Manfred Hampe and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1782–1792, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.169

• , e.g., for flue gas scrubbing applications. These include, but are not limited to, various zeolites [3][4], metal-organic frameworks [5][6][7][8], mesoporous silica [9][10][11] and carbon nanomaterials [12][13][14][15]. Due to its higher stability against moisture and corrosive gases (typical flue gas

Uniform cobalt nanoparticles embedded in hexagonal mesoporous nanoplates as a magnetically separable, recyclable adsorbent

• Can Zhao,
• Yuexiao Song,
• Tianyu Xiang,
• Wenxiu Qu,
• Shuo Lou,
• Xiaohong Yin and
• Feng Xin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1770–1781, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.168

• University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China 10.3762/bjnano.9.168 Abstract Novel hexagonal nanoplates (NPLs) comprised of mesoporous carbon containing imbedded magnetic Co nanoparticles (CoAl2O4 phase) are prepared through direct carbonization of polydopamine (PDA)-coated CoAl layered double hydroxide

• morphology and specific surface area of the as-prepared NPLs can be tailored by adjusting the initial dopamine concentration and carbonization temperature. The mesoporous NPLs exhibit excellent sorption of rhodamine B (RhB) dye and fast magnetic separation in aqueous solution. Over 95% of RhB can be adsorbed

• number of researches have demonstrated that carbon-based nanocomposites can serve as effective adsorbents for wastewater purification [6][7][8][9]. The introduction of transition metal nanoparticles into a mesoporous carbon matrix to form transition-metal-loaded mesoporous carbon nanocomposites (TM-MCNs

Cryochemical synthesis of ultrasmall, highly crystalline, nanostructured metal oxides and salts

• Elena A. Trusova and
• Nikolai S. Trutnev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1755–1763, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.166

• NiO nanocrystals (4.1–4.7 nm) incorporated into the pore space of mesoporous titanium silicate [13]. We developed a method for the preparation of ultradispersed NiO based on the combination of the microemulsion method and cryochemical technology. NiO crystallites were obtained by cryotreatment of the

• indicated in the formation of a 2D interface layer which included Ni–O–Si bonds on the surface of the mesoporous silicate. It was found that the composite system prepared by cryotreatment of the emulsion showed a higher hydro-desulfurization catalytic activity by several orders of magnitude as compared to

Controllable one-pot synthesis of uniform colloidal TiO₂ particles in a mixed solvent solution for photocatalysis

• Jong Tae Moon,
• Seung Ki Lee and
• Ji Bong Joo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1715–1727, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.163

• -developed mesoporous structure, and a mixed crystalline phase of anatase and rutile. The final uniform TiO2 particles displayed significantly improved photocatalytic activity. By controlling the calcination conditions, the crystalline phase and crystallinity of the uniform TiO2 particles can be fine-tuned

• properties (such as pore size and surface area) of the final TiO2 particles. When a relatively large amount of HPC was used during the synthesis, the final TiO2 sample showed a large surface area. The samples TiO2(HPC-1666.67)-500 and TiO2(HPC-416.67)-500 showed the most well-developed mesoporous structure

Free-radical gases on two-dimensional transition-metal disulfides (XS₂, X = Mo/W): robust half-metallicity for efficient nitrogen oxide sensors

• Chunmei Zhang,
• Yalong Jiao,
• Fengxian Ma,
• Sri Kasi Matta,
• Steven Bottle and
• Aijun Du

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1641–1646, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.156

• and can cause serious health issues [1]. For a large-scale monitoring of NOx, it is highly essential to develop the techniques of toxic gas detection. Up to now, a number of three dimensional (3D) materials, such as nickel phthalocyanine (NiPc) [2], tungsten trioxide (WO3) [3], mesoporous silicate [4

Sulfur-, nitrogen- and platinum-doped titania thin films with high catalytic efficiency under visible-light illumination

• Boštjan Žener,
• Lev Matoh,
• Giorgio Carraro,
• Bojan Miljević and
• Romana Cerc Korošec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1629–1640, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.155

• ways to increase the porosity of the material is the addition of an organic polymer. After polymer decomposition via thermal treatment, mesoporous materials with high surface area and pore volume are obtained [13][14][15]. The increase in surface area depends on the type of polymer added, the type of

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

• homogeneous TiO2 dispersion, presence of Cu nanoparticles for facilitating charge separation processes, synergetic effect of the TiO2/Cu2O heterojunction and the small size of the photocatalyst [168]. Velegraki et al. fabricated 3D mesoporous networks of assembled CoO nanoparticles (CoO MNAs) to study its

Semi-automatic spray pyrolysis deposition of thin, transparent, titania films as blocking layers for dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells

• Hana Krýsová,
• Josef Krýsa and
• Ladislav Kavan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1135–1145, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.105

• impaired by calcination at 500 °C (which is mandatory for the subsequent fabrication of mesoporous TiO2 thick films). Even though SPD is a popular technique for the fabrication of BLs and the resulting TiO2 films are less sensitive to calcination, the blocking properties are inferior to those with films

Facile chemical routes to mesoporous silver substrates for SERS analysis

• Elina A. Tastekova,
• Alexander Y. Polyakov,
• Anastasia E. Goldt,
• Alexander V. Sidorov,
• Alexandra A. Oshmyanskaya,
• Irina V. Sukhorukova,
• Dmitry V. Shtansky,
• Wolgang Grünert and
• Anastasia V. Grigorieva

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 880–889, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.82

• , Ruhr-University at Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Bochum, 44801, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.9.82 Abstract Mesoporous silver nanoparticles were easily synthesized through the bulk reduction of crystalline silver(I) oxide and used for the preparation of highly porous surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS

• )-active substrates. An analogous procedure was successfully performed for the production of mesoporous silver films by chemical reduction of oxidized silver films. The sponge-like silver blocks with high surface area and the in-situ-prepared mesoporous silver films are efficient as both analyte adsorbents

• (meldonium; enhancement factor of ≈102) that is known for its ability to increase the endurance performance of athletes. Keywords: meldonium; mesoporous silver substrates; silver oxide; surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy; Introduction Nowadays one of the largest sectors of the global chemical industry is

Facile synthesis of a ZnO–BiOI p–n nano-heterojunction with excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Mengyuan Zhang,
• Jiaqian Qin,
• Pengfei Yu,
• Bing Zhang,
• Mingzhen Ma,
• Xinyu Zhang and
• Riping Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 789–800, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.72

• condensation step, undoubtedly corresponds to a type IV isotherm according to the Brunauer–Deming–Derning–Teller (BDDT) classification, indicating the mesoporous nature of sample B-4 [40]. The isotherm has a loop with the shape of H3, which demonstrates that the pores in the sample are mainly made up of slit

Synthesis and characterization of two new TiO₂-containing benzothiazole-based imine composites for organic device applications

• Anna Różycka,
• Agnieszka Iwan,
• Krzysztof Artur Bogdanowicz,
• Michal Filapek,
• Natalia Górska,
• Damian Pociecha,
• Marek Malinowski,
• Patryk Fryń,
• Agnieszka Hreniak,
• Jakub Rysz,
• Paweł Dąbczyński and
• Monika Marzec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 721–739, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.67

• characteristic for mesoporous materials. As can be seen in Figure 1a, this isotherm possesses a characteristic feature of a hysteresis loop, which is the consequence of adsorbate condensation in TiO2 pores. The limiting adsorption at the high pressure close to 1.0 p/p0 results in a plateau of the isotherm

• the width range of 2–50 nm) and macropores (above 50 nm). Figure 1b shows the pore size distribution of TiO2. Based on the BJH method the average pore width of 6.2 nm and cumulative volume of pores of 0.117 m3/g were calculated. The obtained results indicate that the mesoporous structure of TiO2

Cyclodextrin-assisted synthesis of tailored mesoporous silica nanoparticles

• Fuat Topuz and
• Tamer Uyar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 693–703, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.64

• /bjnano.9.64 Abstract Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have sparked considerable interest in drug/gene delivery, catalysis, adsorption, separation, sensing, antireflection coatings and bioimaging because of their tunable structural properties. The shape, size and pore structure of MSNs are greatly

• additives in a simple, one-pot reaction system for a wide range of applications. Keywords: cyclodextrin; faceted particles; mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN); microporous; Introduction With the availability of several types of surfactants and the increased understanding of sol–gel chemistry, numerous

• mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) with tunable structural properties have been developed [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. Yet, there is still ongoing interest in the synthesis of tailored MSNs to optimize their performance in applications, such as catalysis, sensing, drug delivery and adsorption. So

Perovskite-structured CaTiO₃ coupled with g-C₃N₄ as a heterojunction photocatalyst for organic pollutant degradation

• Ashish Kumar,
• Christian Schuerings,
• Suneel Kumar,
• Ajay Kumar and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 671–685, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.62

• specific surface area [24]. In this regard, various attempts have been made by researchers to eliminate these issues in recent times. Several strategies such as synthesis of mesoporous g-C3N4 [25], synthesis of 2D nanosheets [26], coupling with conductive materials [23], heterostructure formation with

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

• samples are shown in Figure 6a. All the isotherms are characterized by the presence of capillary condensation hysteresis loops and belong to type IV according to IUPAC classification [39], which is typical for materials with mesoporous structure. Furthermore, the shape of the hysteresis loop for these

Sugarcane juice derived carbon dot–graphitic carbon nitride composites for bisphenol A degradation under sunlight irradiation

• Lan Ching Sim,
• Jing Lin Wong,
• Chen Hong Hak,
• Jun Yan Tai,
• Kah Hon Leong and
• Pichiah Saravanan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 353–363, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.35

• [26][27], and degradation of pollutants [28][29][30]. However, the photocatalytic performance of bulk g-C3N4 remains unsatisfactory because of the fast recombination rate of electron pairs and narrower light absorption range over the entire solar spectrum. Turning g-C3N4 into a mesoporous nanorod

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

• new cell configuration [2]. Overall, it is critical to enhance the utilization of sulfur and stabilize the polysulfide within the cathodic region to yield Li–S batteries with improved electrochemical performance. For the past two decades, various carbon materials (e.g., mesoporous carbon [3

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

• membrane-based reactors were reported as well, for instance, mesoporous CdS/TiO2/SBA-15@carbon paper composite membranes [77] and copper-decorated TiO2 nanorod thin films [78]. In addition to the PDMS/PMMA-based microchannel reactors, bacterium has been shown to be a good microreactor as well. Yang et al