Fundamental properties of high-quality carbon nanofoam: from low to high density

• Natalie Frese,
• Shelby Taylor Mitchell,
• Christof Neumann,
• Amanda Bowers,
• Armin Gölzhäuser and
• Klaus Sattler

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2065–2073, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.197

• spectroscopy is a valuable method for the characterization of carbon nanofoam [24]. In these studies, Raman spectra were recorded using a micro Raman spectrometer (LabRAM ARAMIS) which was operated in the backscattering mode. As light source we used a diode laser at 473 nm, which was focused onto the sample

Organoclay hybrid materials as precursors of porous ZnO/silica-clay heterostructures for photocatalytic applications

• Marwa Akkari,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Abdessalem Ben Haj Amara and
• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1971–1982, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.188

• , using custom-made equipment. A 300 W UV lamp (Osram Ultra Vitalux E27, 240 V, 300 W, UVA/UVB) with the strongest emission at 354 nm was used as light source and placed above a glass reactor at a distance of 10 cm. Water was circulated through the reactor jacket to ensure a constant temperature of 17

Cubic chemically ordered FeRh and FeCo nanomagnets prepared by mass-selected low-energy cluster-beam deposition: a comparative study

• Veronique Dupuis,
• Anthony Robert,
• Arnaud Hillion,
• Ghassan Khadra,
• Nils Blanc,
• Damien Le Roy,
• Florent Tournus,
• Clement Albin,
• Olivier Boisron and
• Alexandre Tamion

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1850–1860, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.177

• spectroscopy experiments at each specific Fe and Rh M edge (respectively the Co L edge), at the “X-Treme” beamline at the Swiss Light Source for the FeRh sample and at the “DEIMOS” beamline at the SOLEIL synchrotron for FeCo for various nanocluster sizes (Figure 9); before and after annealing of the same

• scattering spectrum on annealed FeCo nanoparticles with 5 nm in diameter [11]. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to S. Rusponi and H. Brune from EPFL for stimulating discussions, J. Dreiser, C. Piamonteze and F. Nolting from the Swiss Light Source on the X-Treme beamline and E. Otero and P. Ohresser

Surface-enhanced infrared absorption studies towards a new optical biosensor

• Lothar Leidner,
• Julia Stäb,
• Jennifer T. Adam and
• Günter Gauglitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1736–1742, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.166

• chemical and a biological sensor by measuring the optical thickness change of a sensitive layer. The idea behind this concept is monitoring thin film growth by evaluation of the corresponding interference spectrum of a white light source. When the film is illuminated by a white light source, assuming

• -established sensor system working with a white light source in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Selectivity is gained by bio-functionalization of the sensitive interference layer on top of the layer system. This work investigated whether is it advantageous to migrate the spectrum to the mid

Sb₂S₃ grown by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and its application in a hybrid solar cell

• Erki Kärber,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Ilona Oja Acik,
• Arvo Mere,
• Valdek Mikli and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1662–1673, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.158

• calibrated silicon reference detector. The Xe lamp is a light source that simulates the conventional AM1.5 spectrum for testing solar cells. The dispersed light from the Xe lamp (incident on the solar cell as monochromatic light) was optically chopped at 30 Hz. The EQE is defined as the number of collected

Nanostructured germanium deposited on heated substrates with enhanced photoelectric properties

• Ionel Stavarache,
• Valentin Adrian Maraloiu,
• Petronela Prepelita and
• Gheorghe Iordache

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1492–1500, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.142

• stronger light source in the NIR range. Reflectance spectra were obtained using a double beam UV–vis–NIR spectrophotometer (250–3000 nm, Perkin Elmer 950) with specular reflectance accessory (B0086703) at a fixed incidence angle (6°). The response speed of the photodetector test structure was measured by

Microwave synthesis of high-quality and uniform 4 nm ZnFe₂O₄ nanocrystals for application in energy storage and nanomagnetics

• Christian Suchomski,
• Ben Breitung,
• Ralf Witte,
• Michael Knapp,
• Sondes Bauer,
• Tilo Baumbach,
• Christian Reitz and
• Torsten Brezesinski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1350–1360, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.126

• electrodes. Acknowledgements We thank Dr. Leichtweiss, Dr. Schneider and Dr. Marschall for assistance with the XPS, TEM and UV–vis measurements, respectively. We acknowledge the Synchrotron Light Source ANKA for provision of instruments at their beamlines and we would like to thank Dr. Bauer for assistance

On the pathway of cellular uptake: new insight into the interaction between the cell membrane and very small nanoparticles

• Claudia Messerschmidt,
• Daniel Hofmann,
• Anja Kroeger,
• Katharina Landfester,
• Volker Mailänder and
• Ingo Lieberwirth

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1296–1311, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.121

• with 320 channels. A helium–neon laser JDS Uniphase with a single mode intensity of 25 mW operating at a laser wavelength of λ0 = 632.8 nm was used as light source. Details of the measurements and data evaluation procedure are described in the literature [47]. For light scattering experiments, sample

An ellipsometric approach towards the description of inhomogeneous polymer-based Langmuir layers

• Falko O. Rottke,
• Burkhard Schulz,
• Klaus Richau,
• Karl Kratz and
• Andreas Lendlein

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1156–1165, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.107

• barriers are reopened to the starting position. Spectroscopic ellipsometry We performed variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) using a spectroscopic imaging ellipsometer (nanofilm_ep3, Accurion, Göttingen, Germany) with a Xe arc lamp as a light source. Within one VASE measurement, the angle of

• and a CCD camera (768 × 572 pixel) were used to take all micrographs, with a resulting lateral resolution of ≈2 μm. Nulling-based thickness mapping The same ellipsometer as mentioned above was used for ellipsometric mapping. An AOI of 50° and a 658 nm laser as a light source were used. For the

The hydraulic mechanism in the hind wing veins of Cybister japonicus Sharp (order: Coleoptera)

• Jiyu Sun,
• Wei Wu,
• Mingze Ling,
• Bharat Bhushan and
• Jin Tong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 904–913, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.82

• 43210-1142, USA State Key Laboratory of Automotive Dynamic Simulation, Jilin University, Changchun 130022, China 10.3762/bjnano.7.82 Abstract The diving beetles (Dytiscidae, Coleoptera) are families of water beetles. When they see light, they fly to the light source directly from the water. Their hind

Understanding interferometry for micro-cantilever displacement detection

• Alexander von Schmidsfeld,
• Tobias Nörenberg,
• Matthias Temmen and
• Michael Reichling

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 841–851, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.76

• others, but a length of 125 μm, a width of 30 μm and a thickness of 4 μm. The optical setup shown in Figure 2 consist of a stabilized laser light source (type 48TA-1-42037, Schäfter + Kirchhoff GmbH, Hamburg, Germany) operated at a wavelength of λ = 782 nm with the output power being optimized for low

Direct formation of gold nanorods on surfaces using polymer-immobilised gold seeds

• Majid K. Abyaneh,
• Pietro Parisse and
• Loredana Casalis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 809–816, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.72

• Majid K. Abyaneh Pietro Parisse Loredana Casalis Diamond Light Source Ltd., Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, OX11 0DE Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK Elettra – Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., s.s. 14 km 163.5 in Area Science Park, Basovizza, 34149, Trieste, Italy 10.3762/bjnano.7.72 Abstract Herein

Selective photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to methanol in CuO-loaded NaTaO₃ nanocubes in isopropanol

• Tianyu Xiang,
• Feng Xin,
• Jingshuai Chen,
• Yuwen Wang,
• Xiaohong Yin and
• Xiao Shao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 776–783, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.69

• ). Light absorbance was measured with a Shimadzu UV-2550 spectrometer using BaSO4 as a reference in the wavelength region of 190–600 nm. Photocatalytic reaction The photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide was carried out in a transparent batch reactor with a slurry bed with cooling jacket. The light

• source was a 250 W high-pressure mercury lamp with an irradiation peak at about 365 nm. The reaction temperature was controlled by a thermostatic water bath at 25 ± 3 °C. The reactor, in which 12 mg of catalyst was dispersed in 12 mL of isopropanol, was tightly sealed during the reaction. A magnetic

Thermo-voltage measurements of atomic contacts at low temperature

• Ayelet Ofarim,
• Bastian Kopp,
• Thomas Möller,
• León Martin,
• Johannes Boneberg,
• Paul Leiderer and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 767–775, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.68

• the laser focus on the sample could be adjusted by tilting the mirror. A light source illuminated and a CCD camera monitored the sample. The resulting optical image is shown in the lower left, where the white lines indicate the contour of the Au structure and the laser spot (green point) shows the

Comparative kinematical analyses of Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) snap traps

• Simon Poppinga,
• Tim Kampowski,
• Amélie Metzger,
• Olga Speck and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 664–674, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.59

• -Planar T*2/100 mm ZF), a cold light source (techno light 270, Karl Storz GmbH & Co.KG, Tuttlingen) and by using the software Motion Studio x64 2.12.12.00 (IDT, USA). For filming the slow opening motions, the closed traps were recorded with a ColorView II camera (recording speed: 1 frame per 10 or per 15

Large area scanning probe microscope in ultra-high vacuum demonstrated for electrostatic force measurements on high-voltage devices

• Urs Gysin,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Thomas Schmölzer,
• Adolf Schöner,
• Sergey Reshanov,
• Holger Bartolf and
• Ernst Meyer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2485–2497, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.258

• implemented. Additionally, the samples can be optically exited by an external light source (UV–vis) which is introduced by a separate light fibre. An in situ piezo-electric alignment stage allows to focus and position the light exactly below the cantilever tip apex. Therefore, the setup allows for the

• appropriately align the system. Beam deflection detection of cantilever oscillations is an ideal technique to fulfill these demands [29]. The light source may be placed quite far away (typically some centimetres) from the cantilever allowing for a direct optical access and the beam of light can be focused onto

• the free oscillating end of the cantilever. The reflected light is detected with a position sensitive diode (PSD, Hamamatsu S5980). In our case the light source is a super luminescent diode (Superlum SLD-371-HP1) with a spectral centre at 838 nm and a bandwidth of 55 nm, which is placed outside the

Green and energy-efficient methods for the production of metallic nanoparticles

• Mitra Naghdi,
• Mehrdad Taheran,
• Satinder K. Brar,
• M. Verma,
• R. Y. Surampalli and
• J. R. Valero

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2354–2376, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.243

• and Au NPs through a green photochemical process using UV light source (365 nm wavelength) for 40 min. In this process, alginate can serve as both reducing and stabilizing agent. The particles had spherical morphology and their sizes were less than 10 nm for both Ag and Au. Their sorption experiment

Plasma fluorination of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes: functionalization and thermal stability

• Claudia Struzzi,
• Mattia Scardamaglia,
• Axel Hemberg,
• Luca Petaccia,
• Jean-François Colomer,
• Rony Snyders and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2263–2271, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.232

• surface during the measurements, a dual beam charge neutralization composed of an electron gun (≈1 eV) and an Ar ion gun (≤10 eV) was used. The valence band investigation was performed using an excitation photon energy of hν = 31 eV from a horizontally polarized (p-polarized) synchrotron light source at

Light-powered, artificial molecular pumps: a minimalistic approach

• Giulio Ragazzon,
• Massimo Baroncini,
• Serena Silvi,
• Margherita Venturi and
• Alberto Credi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2096–2104, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.214

• along a nonsymmetric molecular axle in a repetitive fashion using light as the sole energy source [22]. The system, which operates autonomously (that is, under continuous experimental conditions and without external intervention, as long as the light source is on) and does not generate byproducts, is

Effect of SiN_x diffusion barrier thickness on the structural properties and photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ films obtained by sol–gel dip coating and reactive magnetron sputtering

• Mohamed Nawfal Ghazzal,
• Eric Aubry,
• Nouari Chaoui and
• Didier Robert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2039–2045, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.207

• 2 h as a pollutant model. The details of the procedure and the photoreactor used were reported elsewhere in detail [7]. The photoreactor was placed in a solar box (Atlas, Suntest CPS+) equipped with a Xe lamp as a light source (300 nm < λ < 800 nm) to simulate natural UV–vis radiation. An incident

Superluminescence from an optically pumped molecular tunneling junction by injection of plasmon induced hot electrons

• Kai Braun,
• Xiao Wang,
• Andreas M. Kern,
• Hilmar Adler,
• Heiko Peisert,
• Thomas Chassé,
• Dai Zhang and
• Alfred J. Meixner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1100–1106, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.111

• superluminescent point light-source based on an optically pumped molecular junction (gold substrate/self-assembled molecular monolayer/gold tip) of a scanning tunneling microscope, operating at ambient conditions and providing almost three orders of magnitude higher electron-to-photon conversion efficiency than

• illumination is consistent with the hot electron population above the Fermi level requiring less bias voltage. The system reflects many essential features of a superluminescent light emitting diode and is an important step towards an efficient and fast optical point-light source. Conclusion In summary, our

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

• concentration began to rise. The system was kept at a temperature of 25 ± 3 °C and a relative humidity of 22 ± 3%. The light source was a 300 W Xe lamp (Newport Oriel Instrument, USA). The lamp imitates the solar spectrum and emits both ultraviolet (UV) and visible light (vis). The radiance intensity on the

Morphology control of zinc oxide films via polysaccharide-mediated, low temperature, chemical bath deposition

• Florian Waltz,
• Hans-Christoph Schwarz,
• Andreas M. Schneider,
• Stefanie Eiden and
• Peter Behrens

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 799–808, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.83

• [19]. At room temperature and without light illumination, ZnO provides only very few charge carriers in the conduction band leading to a moderate electrical conductivity [49]. The conductivity of ZnO dramatically increases when it is exposed to a light source. Improved conductivity can also be

Observation of a photoinduced, resonant tunneling effect in a carbon nanotube–silicon heterojunction

• Carla Aramo,
• Antonio Ambrosio,
• Michelangelo Ambrosio,
• Maurizio Boscardin,
• Paola Castrucci,
• Michele Crivellari,
• Marco Cilmo,
• Maurizio De Crescenzi,
• Francesco De Nicola,
• Emanuele Fiandrini,
• Valentina Grossi,
• Pasqualino Maddalena,
• Maurizio Passacantando,
• Sandro Santucci,
• Manuela Scarselli and
• Antonio Valentini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 704–710, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.71

• heterojunction. (a) Photocurrent induced by a 730 nm continuous wave, low power light source at various illumination intensities. (b) Photocurrent linearity at a drain voltage 15 V and wavelength of 730 nm. (c) Photocurrent induced at different wavelengths. (d) Comparison between the device external quantum

Simple approach for the fabrication of PEDOT-coated Si nanowires

• Mingxuan Zhu,
• Marielle Eyraud,
• Judikael Le Rouzo,
• Nadia Ait Ahmed,
• Florence Boulc’h,
• Claude Alfonso,
• Philippe Knauth and
• François Flory

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 640–650, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.65

• Illumination by a concentrated light source is necessary for PEDOT polymerization on SiNWs electrodes. Indeed, the comparison of the CV curves in Figure 7 for EDOT under ambient light (curve a) shows that the current density is almost zero, much lower than that after illumination (curve b). The reason is that