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

• utilized the diatom as the C3N4 formation templet, enlarging the specific surface area for enhanced light trapping and scattering and eventually high photocatalytic efficiency [27]. This research is mostly based on the slurry method. Optofluidics-based coenzyme regeneration appeared only in recent years

The role of ligands in coinage-metal nanoparticles for electronics

• Ioannis Kanelidis and
• Tobias Kraus

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2625–2639, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.263

• species that create charge-trapping centers in the sintered films [127][128]. Capping gold nanoparticles with chalcogenides such as Na4SnS4, (NH4)4SnS6, or Na3AsS3 was facilitated by the nucleophilic nature of these ligands and the electrophilicity of insufficiently coordinated metal atoms at the crystal

Refractive index sensing and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy using silver–gold layered bimetallic plasmonic crystals

• Somi Kang,
• Sean E. Lehman,
• Matthew V. Schulmerich,
• An-Phong Le,
• Tae-woo Lee,
• Stephen K. Gray,
• Rohit Bhargava and
• Ralph G. Nuzzo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2492–2503, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.249

• which they can be exploited. These applications include, but are not limited to: laser emission, light trapping, optical modulation, and label-free means of chemical or biological sensing [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Surface plasmons are collective oscillations of conduction electrons near metal surfaces that

Advances and challenges in the field of plasma polymer nanoparticles

• Andrei Choukourov,
• Pavel Pleskunov,
• Daniil Nikitin,
• Valerii Titov,
• Artem Shelemin,
• Mykhailo Vaidulych,
• Anna Kuzminova,
• Pavel Solař,
• Jan Hanuš,
• Jaroslav Kousal,
• Ondřej Kylián,
• Danka Slavínská and
• Hynek Biederman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2002–2014, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.200

• chosen to overcome trapping of NPs by electromagnetic fields and to extrude beams of NPs into the separate deposition chamber. Haberland [65] was one of the first to realize that NPs (metallic in his case) ionized in the magnetron plasma can be advantageous in terms of size separation in accord with

• track on the PTFE target. An increase of the intensity of the magnetic field leads to a decrease of the magnetron self-bias from 620 V to 350 V due to more effective trapping of electrons within the magnetic channel. This in turn results in the formation of particles which are an order of magnitude

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

• deposition (LPCVD) can act as good TCOs for thin film silicon solar cells [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. This is mainly due to its high transparency over the visible and near-infrared (NIR) wavelength range, lower electrical resistivity (down to 1 × 10−3 Ω·cm), and the light-trapping capability due to its

• regarding the subject of granular ZnO thin films grown on crystalline silicon substrates. It is known that due to the formation of nanometer ZnO grains, granular ZnO could increase the light-scattering capability (i.e., the haze) of the film and thus function as a light-trapping structure by enhancing the

• optical path and the photon absorption probability of the incident light, thus increasing the photocurrent of the solar cells [3]. As a result, for thin film solar cells, ZnO not only serve as a TCO, but also a light-trapping structure. In addition, the exposed planes in the crystal growth process depend

Parylene C as a versatile dielectric material for organic field-effect transistors

• Tomasz Marszalek,
• Maciej Gazicki-Lipman and
• Jacek Ulanski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1532–1545, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.155

• [17]. Measured variations of the charge-carrier mobility [18] were assigned either to mechanical changes in the semiconductor film or to charge trapping at the dielectric/semiconductor and semiconductor/electrode interfaces. It should be pointed out that the primary element affecting the transistor

• . Secondly, it makes the semiconductor thin film remain in its initial position during the bending process, which prevents a charge trapping effect induced by the mechanical cracking [19]. For this reason, there is substantial interest in polymer materials that can be successfully applied in flexible organic

• , namely charge trapping caused by mechanical bending [33]. In another work, ultra-thin Parylene C insulating layers were fabricated on Au gate electrodes by reducing the parylene film thickness to 18 nm with the help of oxygen plasma etching [33]. This procedure enabled the manufacturing of OFET devices

Spin-chemistry concepts for spintronics scientists

• Konstantin L. Ivanov,
• Alexander Wagenpfahl,
• Carsten Deibel and
• Jörg Matysik

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1427–1445, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.143

Adsorption and electronic properties of pentacene on thin dielectric decoupling layers

• Sebastian Koslowski,
• Daniel Rosenblatt,
• Alexander Kabakchiev,
• Klaus Kuhnke,
• Klaus Kern and
• Uta Schlickum

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1388–1395, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.140

• for the system of pentacene on h-BN/Rh(111) the effective decoupling properties of h-BN. The h-BN layer offers a desirable capacity to immobilize molecules inside the valleys on the surface, even at room temperature. The trapping capacity stems from an interaction with in-plane electric fields present

• can be observed in the relation between orbital energies and work function, which reveals the physical properties of the molecule and the substrates that are relevant to adsorption. In addition, a deviation from this trend for hBN/Rh(111) helps rationalize its enhanced trapping capacity and its

Synthesis of [Fe(L_eq)(L_ax)]_n coordination polymer nanoparticles using blockcopolymer micelles

• Christoph Göbel,
• Ottokar Klimm,
• Florian Puchtler,
• Sabine Rosenfeldt,
• Stephan Förster and
• Birgit Weber

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1318–1327, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.133

• trapping effect, often observed in this temperature region when the thermal spin transition temperature (T1/2) and the transition temperature for the thermally trapped exited spin state (TTIESST) are in close proximity [44][52][53][54]. In such a case the completeness of the spin crossover, in this case

AgCl-doped CdSe quantum dots with near-IR photoluminescence

• Pavel A. Kotin,
• Sergey S. Bubenov,
• Natalia E. Mordvinova and
• Sergey G. Dorofeev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1156–1166, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.117

• particularly relevant [12]. The most common way to obtain IR-PL in CdSe QDs is to add some optically active defects that reduce the energy of electron–hole recombination by trapping [13][14]. Charge carriers could be trapped by both surface defects [15][16] and volume defects [17][18][19][20][21]. It is known

Stable Au–C bonds to the substrate for fullerene-based nanostructures

• Taras Chutora,
• Jesús Redondo,
• Bruno de la Torre,
• Martin Švec,
• Pavel Jelínek and
• Héctor Vázquez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1073–1079, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.109

• spread of electronic coupling and conductance values [9][10][11][12]. For an archetypal electrode material in single molecule transport studies such as Au, however, their high mobility at room temperature can lead to a large spread in conductance or to problems in trapping the molecule at the interface

Study of the surface properties of ZnO nanocolumns used for thin-film solar cells

• Neda Neykova,
• Jiri Stuchlik,
• Karel Hruska,
• Ales Poruba,
• Zdenek Remes and
• Ognen Pop-Georgievski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 446–451, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.48

• layer arrangement, the light scattering and the consequent light trapping, caused by the interfaces with nano-scale roughness (front TCO–active layer and active layer–back reflector), increase the optical path inside in the thin silicon layer. These effects are observed in the weakly absorbing spectral

• developed solar cells based on a three dimensional (3-D) design, in which periodically ordered zinc oxide nanocolumns (ZnO NCs) are used as a front electrode, have been of great interest, because they would exceed in the ultimate light trapping and provide excellent charge separation [5][6][7]. Due to the

Fabrication of black-gold coatings by glancing angle deposition with sputtering

• Alan Vitrey,
• Rafael Alvarez,
• Alberto Palmero,
• María Ujué González and
• José Miguel García-Martín

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 434–439, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.46

• properties of gold nanostructures are dominated by the existence of localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs), and that these LSPRs induce enhanced scattering, it is reasonable to assume that such low reflectance is due to the combined effect of the LSPRs and the light trapping associated with multiple

• scattering that arises when those nanostructures are closely packed forming a non-periodic, non-uniformly sized array [15][16]. In particular, the high number of nanostructures and their broad height distribution favors multiple scattering processes, improving light trapping and increasing absorption

• efficient light trapping (Figure 4b). It can be seen that the reflectance values shown by these samples are not as low as those obtained in the samples prepared with 87° and 85° tilt angle. Finally, the only common feature for all the nanostructured samples and the continuous film is a decrease in the

Photocatalysis applications of some hybrid polymeric composites incorporating TiO₂ nanoparticles and their combinations with SiO₂/Fe₂O₃

• Andreea Laura Chibac,
• Tinca Buruiana,
• Violeta Melinte and
• Emil C. Buruiana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 272–286, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.30

• recombination of electrons and holes by capturing photogenerated carriers. Also, the Fe3+ cation can separate the photo-excited electrons and holes and can extend their lifetime by acting as a temporary trapping site for photo-induced electrons and as a shallow capturing site for photo-induced holes [27][38

Impact of contact resistance on the electrical properties of MoS₂ transistors at practical operating temperatures

• Filippo Giannazzo,
• Gabriele Fisichella,
• Aurora Piazza,
• Salvatore Di Franco,
• Giuseppe Greco,
• Simonpietro Agnello and
• Fabrizio Roccaforte

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 254–263, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.28

• 373 K, which was explained in terms of electron trapping at MoS2/SiO2 interface states. Keywords: contact resistance; mobility; MoS2; temperature dependence; threshold voltage; Introduction Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) are compound materials formed by the Van der Waals stacking of MX2

• interface traps exhibit a donor like behavior, i.e., they are positively charged above the Fermi level (when they are empty) and neutral below the Fermi level (when they are filled by electrons) [13]. Hence, electron trapping results in a neutralization of the interface states, resulting in a positive shift

• at 298, 323, and 348 K, respectively, whereas a detrapped electron density Nit = 1.3 × 1011 cm−2 is obtained at 373 K (see Figure 5c). Electron trapping and detrapping at MoS2/SiO2 interface have been shown to be thermally activated processes [13]. Hence, for a given interface trap distribution Dit

Flexible photonic crystal membranes with nanoparticle high refractive index layers

• Torben Karrock,
• Moritz Paulsen and
• Martina Gerken

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 203–209, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.22

• molecule trapping [6], and surface emitting lasers [7]. Recently, flexible photonic crystal structures with elastomers as substrates have been investigated as strain sensors [8], for enhanced light out-coupling in flexible organic light emitting diodes [9][10], for photonic paper [11], and for pressure

Laser irradiation in water for the novel, scalable synthesis of black TiO_x photocatalyst for environmental remediation

• Massimo Zimbone,
• Giuseppe Cacciato,
• Mohamed Boutinguiza,
• Vittorio Privitera and
• Maria Grazia Grimaldi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 196–202, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.21

• of the TiOx/Ti substrate, producing a monolithic electrochemical cell [22]. The device consists of a stacked, layered structure: TiOx/Ti/PtNps. The photo-activity of the material is related to the trapping and scavenging of holes due to the amorphous black layer and to the scavenging of electrons

• (realised during the synthesis of the material). These defects on the surface favour the trapping of holes in specific superficial sites and facilitate the interaction with adhered molecules. Conclusion In conclusion, we have proposed a new, simple, scalable and environmentally friendly methodology for

Optical and photocatalytic properties of TiO₂ nanoplumes

• Viviana Scuderi,
• Massimo Zimbone,
• Maria Miritello,
• Giuseppe Nicotra,
• Giuliana Impellizzeri and
• Vittorio Privitera

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 190–195, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.20

• for the photocatalytic reaction is different for each type of sample. Moreover the dynamic mechanisms of liquid circulation around [22] and inside nanostructures are not obvious [23]. However, the possible enhancement in the light trapping efficiency could provide additional photogenerated carriers

Effect of Anderson localization on light emission from gold nanoparticle aggregates

• Mohamed H. Abdellatif,
• Marco Salerno,
• Gaser N. Abdelrasoul,
• Ioannis Liakos,
• Alice Scarpellini,
• Sergio Marras and
• Alberto Diaspro

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2013–2022, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.192

• for surface plasmon polaritons at the interface between metallic and dielectric films [2][3]. Light trapping in amorphous aggregates of metal nanoparticles known as Anderson localization [3][4] can lead to pronounced optoelectronic effects. The photon interaction with a dense collection of states can

Dynamic of cold-atom tips in anharmonic potentials

• Tobias Menold,
• Peter Federsel,
• Carola Rogulj,
• Hendrik Hölscher,
• József Fortágh and
• Andreas Günther

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1543–1555, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.148

• as that used for the first cold-atom scanning probe microscope [29][52]. It uses standard cooling and trapping techniques to generate cold-atom tips of 87Rb atoms in an ultrahigh vacuum environment [53]. The trapping and manipulation of the cold-atom tip is achieved via a magnetic microchip, holding

• a variety of micrometer-sized current conductors [54]. They produce magnetic trapping potentials that hold the cold-atom tip close to the chip surface. Tuning the microchip currents, not only the shape but also position and velocity of the cold-atom tip and the underlying potential can be precisely

• to Zeeman splitting in presence of the trapping field, the transition frequency between these states is detuned to the zero-field resonance at 6.8 GHz. Depending on the microwave frequency, the outcoupling position can thus be tuned across the cloud. Each value of the microwave frequency addresses

Photocurrent generation in carbon nanotube/cubic-phase HfO₂ nanoparticle hybrid nanocomposites

• Protima Rauwel,
• Augustinas Galeckas,
• Martin Salumaa,
• Frédérique Ducroquet and
• Erwan Rauwel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1075–1085, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.101

• , albeit with a notable discrepancy in the relative strength of the 3.1 eV emission component. In the case of free-standing cubic HfO2 nanoparticles, the nature of strong visible emission combines surface defects that act as charge trapping centers and oxygen vacancies due to the large presence of Hf3+ in

• surface defects act as radiative centers upon contacting HfO2 NPs with CNTs (Figure 3a) and also produce a continuous, quantifiable photocurrent during the on cycle. The abrupt decrease to zero photocurrent during light-off conditions confirms that the remaining trapping centers and nonradiative

Role of solvents in the electronic transport properties of single-molecule junctions

• Katharina Luka-Guth,
• Sebastian Hambsch,
• Andreas Bloch,
• Philipp Ehrenreich,
• Bernd Michael Briechle,
• Filip Kilibarda,
• Torsten Sendler,
• Dmytro Sysoiev,
• Thomas Huhn,
• Artur Erbe and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1055–1067, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.99

• breaking traces and histograms for Mes, EtOH, Tol and TCB, see Figure 7. A fast decrease is observed for EtOH and Mes. For Mes in the high-conductance range 10−2G0 < G occasionally a step-like behaviour occurs, see also Figure 2, indicating the trapping of molecules in the junctions. From the literature it

Dielectrophoresis of gold nanoparticles conjugated to DNA origami structures

• Anja Henning-Knechtel,
• Matthew Wiens,
• Mathias Lakatos,
• Andreas Heerwig,
• Frieder Ostermaier,
• Nora Haufe and
• Michael Mertig

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 948–956, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.87

• hybrid structures required a lower electrical field strength and frequency for a comparable trapping at the edges of the electrode structure. The nanoparticle conjugation additionally resulted in a remarkable alteration of the DNA structure arrangement. The growth of linear, chain-like structures in

• influences the field gradients between two electrodes. This results in an inhomogeneous field around each post that enables multiple trapping of 2D as well as 3D hollow DNA origami structures using frequencies around 1.5 kHz and an electrical field strength between 5·104 V/m and 2.1·105 V/m. Herein we show

• that DNA origami trapping can be considerably influenced by the attachment of nanometer-sized, polarizable particles that act as supported floating nanoelectrodes, and thus, as field concentrators. Results and Discussion For our studies, we focused on a 414 nm long, tubular DNA-origami structure, a so

Reorientation of single-wall carbon nanotubes in negative anisotropy liquid crystals by an electric field

• Amanda García-García,
• Ricardo Vergaz,
• José F. Algorri,
• Gianluigi Zito,
• Teresa Cacace,
• Antigone Marino,
• José M. Otón and
• Morten A. Geday

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 825–833, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.74

• important because high power may cause optical trapping [29]. The optical trapping power depends on several factors (e.g., SWCNT length-to-diameter ratio, dispersed material) [30]. Therefore, the incident beam power was checked several times to avoid the optical trapping effect in this specific study. The

High-resolution noncontact AFM and Kelvin probe force microscopy investigations of self-assembled photovoltaic donor–acceptor dyads

• Benjamin Grévin,
• Pierre-Olivier Schwartz,
• Laure Biniek,
• Martin Brinkmann,
• Nicolas Leclerc,
• Elena Zaborova and
• Stéphane Méry

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 799–808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.71

• mesoscopic scale (Figure 7), it can be clearly seen that the surface potential shifts downwards upon illumination, resulting in a negative surface photo-voltage. The potential shift is completely reversible (Figure S4 in Supporting Information File 1), revealing the absence of permanent charge trapping