Efficiency improvement in the cantilever photothermal excitation method using a photothermal conversion layer

• Natsumi Inada,
• Hitoshi Asakawa,
• Taiki Kobayashi and
• Takeshi Fukuma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 409–417, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.36

• cantilever geometry. As an alternative approach, the improvement of excitation efficiency using a short wavelength laser beam has been reported [27]. The high efficiency when using a short wavelength laser beam compared to a long wavelength laser beam is explained by the optical absorption characteristics of

Chemiresistive/SERS dual sensor based on densely packed gold nanoparticles

• Sanda Boca,
• Cosmin Leordean,
• Simion Astilean and
• Cosmin Farcau

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2498–2503, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.259

• biological molecules. Optical absorption spectra of the colloidal suspension recorded before and after incubation with folic acid confirmed the capping of AuNPs (redshift of the dipolar plasmon band) (Figure S1, Supporting Information File 1). DLS measurements correlate with the optical absorption results

Influence of wide band gap oxide substrates on the photoelectrochemical properties and structural disorder of CdS nanoparticles grown by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method

• Mikalai V. Malashchonak,
• Alexander V. Mazanik,
• Olga V. Korolik,
• Еugene А. Streltsov and
• Anatoly I. Kulak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2252–2262, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.231

• optical absorption and photocarrier recombination. The maximal IPCE values for the In2O3/CdS and ZnO/CdS heterostructures are attained at N ≈ 20, whereas for TiO2/CdS, the appropriate N value is an order of magnitude higher. The photocurrent and Raman spectroscopy studies of CdS nanoparticles revealed the

• , is non-monotonic and influenced by the competition of two processes: the increase in the optical absorption with N (i.e., with the amount of CdS) and the simultaneous enhancement of the recombination role due to the increased distance the photogenerated charge carriers must overcome. The number of N

• substrate, ensuring improved electron transfer from the NPs to the oxide matrix. For all types of WBGO substrates the dependence of IPCE (Y) on the number of SILAR cycles passes through a maximum (Figure 2d). The increase in IPCE in the range of small N is naturally related to the increase in optical

Nonlinear optical properties of near-infrared region Ag₂S quantum dots pumped by nanosecond laser pulses

• Li-wei Liu,
• Si-yi Hu,
• Yin-ping Dou,
• Tian-hang Liu,
• Jing-quan Lin and
• Yue Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1781–1787, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.182

• ionic currents contribute to the absorption of the Ag2S QDs, which is affected by the pulse width waveforms. It could also be explained by an effect of nonlinear optical absorption that depends othe pump energy. This may reflect the dynamic behavior of gain or feedback mechanisms in the nonlinear

Current–voltage characteristics of manganite–titanite perovskite junctions

• Benedikt Ifland,
• Patrick Peretzki,
• Birte Kressdorf,
• Philipp Saring,
• Andreas Kelling,
• Michael Seibt and
• Christian Jooss

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1467–1484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.152

• , mixed halides. The constituents for manganite oxide are: A = rare earth, alkali metal, mixed composition, B = Mn, and X = O. The organic/inorganic halide perovskites exhibit good optical absorption and favorable electrical properties, thus offering the possibility for use in high efficiency solar cells

Electronic interaction in composites of a conjugated polymer and carbon nanotubes: first-principles calculation and photophysical approaches

• Florian Massuyeau,
• Jany Wéry,
• Jean-Luc Duvail,
• Serge Lefrant,
• Abu Yaya,
• Chris Ewels and
• Eric Faulques

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1138–1144, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.115

• transfer between the polymer and the nanotubes is supported by examining steady-state PL energies of a series of composites films containing both metallic and SC nanotubes with x increasing from 0% to 64% compared to the optical absorption of SWNTs (Figure 5). We have substracted the absorption background

• of SWNTs which is due to the π plasmons. In this way, only the contribution of SC and metallic tubes is clearly displayed. These experiments show that there is substantial spectral overlap of PL and optical absorption of SWNTs which could, in principle, favor the occurrence of Förster energy transfer

Experimental determination of the light-trapping-induced absorption enhancement factor in DSSC photoanodes

• Serena Gagliardi and
• Mauro Falconieri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 886–892, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.91

• , which therefore enhances the optical absorption. This approach describes a useful, functional characterization for the study of new morphologies of DSSC photoanodes. In fact, it can be applied both to simple structures and layered structures because it considers the photoanode as an effective layer and

Transformation of hydrogen titanate nanoribbons to TiO₂ nanoribbons and the influence of the transformation strategies on the photocatalytic performance

• Melita Rutar,
• Nejc Rozman,
• Matej Pregelj,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Romana Cerc Korošec,
• Andrijana Sever Škapin,
• Aleš Mrzel,
• Srečo D. Škapin and
• Polona Umek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 831–844, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.86

• light [23], compared with the undoped TiO2. The optical absorption spectrum of TN-580 (Figure S7, see Supporting Information File 1) shows that the sample absorbs light up to 500 nm, whereas TO-580 and CH-W do not. A comparison of the diffuse reflectance spectra of the N-doped TiO2 (not shown) reveals

Structural, optical, opto-thermal and thermal properties of ZnS–PVA nanofluids synthesized through a radiolytic approach

• Alireza Kharazmi,
• Nastaran Faraji,
• Roslina Mat Hussin,
• Elias Saion,
• W. Mahmood Mat Yunus and
• Kasra Behzad

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 529–536, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.55

• confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction in the 2θ range of 4 to 60° by using Philips X-ray diffractometer (7602 EA Almelo) with Cu Kα radiation (λ = 0.1542 nm). Optical absorption spectra were recorded by using a UV–vis spectrometer (Shimadzu-UV1650PC) in the wavelength range of 250 to 400 nm. The thermal

Palladium nanoparticles anchored to anatase TiO₂ for enhanced surface plasmon resonance-stimulated, visible-light-driven photocatalytic activity

• Kah Hon Leong,
• Hong Ye Chu,
• Shaliza Ibrahim and
• Pichiah Saravanan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 428–437, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.43

• NPs can be distinguished by two peaks centered at binding energies of 334.3 eV and 340.0 eV, which are assigned to Pd 3d5/2, and Pd 3d3/2, respectively (Figure 6b) [48] and confirm the predominantly metallic form of the deposited noble metal. Optical absorption and photoluminescence The optical

Nanoporous Ge thin film production combining Ge sputtering and dopant implantation

• Jacques Perrin Toinin,
• Alain Portavoce,
• Khalid Hoummada,
• Michaël Texier,
• Maxime Bertoglio,
• Sandrine Bernardini,
• Marco Abbarchi and
• Lee Chow

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 336–342, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.32

• wavelengths (red–green). Si and Ge are indirect gap materials, requiring phonon scattering for optical absorption/emission to take place. However, Q-size effects present in porous semiconductors can promote optical transitions without the need of phonons by breaking the momentum conservation rules and/or by

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

• depth. However, longer wavelengths penetrate deeper into the absorber (or are transmitted) and hence can fully utilize the presence the Au-NPs on the rear side of the absorber. In addition, Au is also an excellent reflector for wavelengths greater than 600 nm. Furthermore, an increase in the optical

• absorption can be expected in the red/infrared region for the sprayed CIS/Au-NP composite layers, as previously shown [9][17]. The increase in the EQE is attributed to the increased CuInS2 coverage with Au-NPs when using a larger volume of the Au precursor solution [9]. The mean diameter of the individual

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

• to the optical transitions in amorphous TiO2 leading to enhanced optical absorption and, thus, generation of electron–hole pairs for photocatalysis (Figure 6a,b) [50]. Furthermore, plasmonic dye-sensitized solar cells based on Au@TiO2 nanostructures show remarkably enhanced power conversion

Hybrid spin-crossover nanostructures

• Carlos M. Quintero,
• Gautier Félix,
• Iurii Suleimanov,
• José Sánchez Costa,
• Gábor Molnár,
• Lionel Salmon,
• William Nicolazzi and
• Azzedine Bousseksou

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2230–2239, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.232

• field around the metallic nanostructures can be successfully coupled to the molecular spin state changes brought on by the Fe centers of the SCO film. The LSPR technique was sensitive enough to detect the thermal spin transitions in thin films of up to 60 nm with a conventional optical absorption setup

Silicon and germanium nanocrystals: properties and characterization

• Ivana Capan,
• Alexandra Carvalho and
• José Coutinho

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1787–1794, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.189

• surface groups was found to increase the electron binding energy of P, As and Sb, and to decrease the hole binding energy of B, Al, Ga and In [67]. Chlorine-covered Si NCs were found to have higher electron affinity, higher ionization energy and a lower optical absorption energy threshold than hydrogen

Growth evolution and phase transition from chalcocite to digenite in nanocrystalline copper sulfide: Morphological, optical and electrical properties

• Priscilla Vasthi Quintana-Ramirez,
• Ma. Concepción Arenas-Arrocena,
• José Santos-Cruz,
• Marina Vega-González,
• Omar Martínez-Alvarez,
• Víctor Manuel Castaño-Meneses,
• Laura Susana Acosta-Torres and
• Javier de la Fuente-Hernández

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1542–1552, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.166

• is clear, that the deficiencies of copper generate a displacement or shift of the optical absorption, which is consistent to the transition of the phases. The energy band gaps of the samples were computed by the Tauc plot for direct transition (Figure 5). The indirect plot (inset) did not present a

• thin films from an aqueous solution [25][37]. On the other hand, the direct Eg values of the CuxS samples prepared in the organic solvent are in the range of 1.57–1.87 eV. These values are adequate for an optical absorption in the visible region, which makes the samples very promising materials for

DFT study of binding and electron transfer from colorless aromatic pollutants to a TiO₂ nanocluster: Application to photocatalytic degradation under visible light irradiation

• Corneliu I. Oprea,
• Petre Panait and
• Mihai A. Gîrţu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1016–1030, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.115

• , Ph has strongest optical absorption but it is outperformed by SA likely due to a more efficient electron transfer. We have to state that our approach cannot quantify the four different criteria discussed. Although the comparison with the experimental data is only qualitative, the present approach can

Biomolecule-assisted synthesis of carbon nitride and sulfur-doped carbon nitride heterojunction nanosheets: An efficient heterojunction photocatalyst for photoelectrochemical applications

• Hua Bing Tao,
• Hong Bin Yang,
• Jiazang Chen,
• Jianwei Miao and
• Bin Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 770–777, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.89

• intersects of the Mott–Schottky plots, the flatband potential and thus the conduction band edge of CN and CNS are estimated to be about −1.22 and −1.01 eV vs Ag/AgCl, respectively. Together with the bandgap energy obtained from optical absorption measurements, the valence band position for CN and CNS are

• spectra of CN and CNS samples. (a) Optical absorption spectra of CN and CNS. Inset shows the Tauc plots for bandgap determination, (b) Mott–Schottky plots for CN and CNS. Schematic illustration of (a) electron–hole separation at the CN/CNS heterojunction interface, (b) the structure of CN/CNS

Resonance of graphene nanoribbons doped with nitrogen and boron: a molecular dynamics study

• Ye Wei,
• Haifei Zhan,
• Kang Xia,
• Wendong Zhang,
• Shengbo Sang and
• Yuantong Gu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 717–725, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.84

• been reported to have supreme stiffness (Young’s modulus ≈ 1 TPa), very high electron mobility, electrical and thermal conductivity, optical absorption as well as many other excellent properties [2][3]. These properties of graphene open up huge potential applications in the area of electronics

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

• electrons oscillation on certain metallic nanostructures (e.g., Cu, Ag and Au). This radiation generates strong localized electromagnetic fields around the metallic nanostructures and leads to greatly enhanced optical absorption and scattering occurring at specific wavelengths, which depends not only on the

A visible-light-driven composite photocatalyst of TiO₂ nanotube arrays and graphene quantum dots

• Donald K. L. Chan,
• Po Ling Cheung and
• Jimmy C. Yu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 689–695, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.81

• TNAs with GQDs not only extended the optical absorption spectrum of TNAs over the visible range, but also enhanced the photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical performances of TNAs under visible light. Results and Discussion Figure 1a shows a TEM image of GQDs with diameters of about 10 nm. The AFM

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of Ag–ZnO hybrid plasmonic nanostructures prepared by a facile wet chemical method

• Sini Kuriakose,
• Vandana Choudhary,
• Biswarup Satpati and
• Satyabrata Mohapatra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 639–650, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.75

• the background, with an energy slit of 8 eV for Zn, 30 eV for O and 2 eV for Ag. The observed EFTEM images confirmed the decoration of ZnO nanostructures with Ag nanoparticles. Optical absorption and photoluminescence The UV–visible absorption spectra of samples with varying Ag concentration are shown

Photoactivation of luminescence in CdS nanocrystals

• Valentyn Smyntyna,
• Bogdan Semenenko,
• Valentyna Skobeeva and
• Nikolay Malushin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 355–359, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.40

• nanocrystals used in these experiments were prepared by colloid chemistry of solutions of cadmium- and sulfursalts in an aqueous gelatin solution. Details of the sample preparation are described in [15]. The average radius of the cadmium sulfide nanocrystals was calculated from the optical absorption spectra

• measured by a differential copper–constantan thermocouple. Results and Discussion The optical absorption spectrum of the investigated NC is shown in Figure 1. The long-wavelength absorption edge that corresponds to the first optical transition in CdS NC is shifted relative to the energy band gap of the

Many-body effects in semiconducting single-wall silicon nanotubes

• Wei Wei and
• Timo Jacob

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 19–25, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.2

• SiNTs from 0.65, 0.28 and 0.05 eV at DFT level to 1.9, 1.22 and 0.79 eV at GW level. The Coulomb electron−hole (e−h) interactions significantly modify optical absorption properties obtained at noninteracting-particle level with the formation of bound excitons with considerable binding energies (of the

• anodes for lithium rechargeable batteries [10][11][12]. Although the ground-state geometric and electronic properties of SiNTs have been studied [14][15][16][17], properties of excited states, for example optical absorption of SiNTs, are still in need. It is of high importance to correctly understand the

• excitation and optical absorption properties. It is well-known that density functional theory (DFT) often fails in describing the properties of light absorption. This process requires a description of two-particle properties, which certainly goes beyond single-electron excitations that can be described at

Synthesis of indium oxi-sulfide films by atomic layer deposition: The essential role of plasma enhancement

• Cathy Bugot,
• Nathanaëlle Schneider,
• Daniel Lincot and
• Frédérique Donsanti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 750–757, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.85

• corresponds to the thickest film. In general it can be said that the thinner the films, the lower the FWHM. From these observations, it seems that we obtained In2S3 films only. Thin films optical absorption were determined from transmittance (T) and reflectance (R) measurements by using the following formula