Synthesis and applications of carbon nanomaterials for energy generation and storage

• Marco Notarianni,
• Jinzhang Liu,
• Kristy Vernon and
• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 149–196, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.17

• their unique hybridization properties and sensitivity to perturbation during synthesis, allowing for fine manipulation of the material properties. In particular, carbon can be found in several different hybridization states, each having unique properties (Figure 3). In fact, the chemical, mechanical

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

• Fermi-level position on SiC samples is strongly affected by surface preparation and material properties [44]. Figure 6 shows a KPFM measurement of a SiC calibration sample consisting of a 2 μm thick nitrogen-doped n-type (NN = 2 × 1018 cm−3) followed by a 4 μm thick aluminium doped p-type (NAl = 1

• of NN,eff = 1.3 × 1016 cm−3. SiC JBS device structure Finally, we applied the technique to analyse the electronic structure of a complex SiC power semiconductor device. SiC material properties enable devices compatible with higher voltages and operating temperatures compared to traditional Si-based

Nanoscale rippling on polymer surfaces induced by AFM manipulation

• Mario D’Acunto,
• Franco Dinelli and
• Pasqualantonio Pingue

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2278–2289, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.234

• ][24]. The ripple formation has been found to depend on a variety of material properties such as the preparation method, the mean molar mass of the polymer, the degree of crystallinity, as well as on the scanning conditions, namely the applied force, the tip shape and size, and the relative velocity. A

• thus demonstrated that the ripples move after consecutive frames in a manner that can be considered similar to a wave packet travels in space. Additionally, they have managed to calculate the corresponding group velocity. Dependence on material properties Molecular weight (Mw): For amorphous polymers

• clearly pointed out and described. Many theoretical works and models have been also proposed up to now. Some of them can reasonably describe and predict the nanoripple formation for several experimental conditions and for some specific material properties. This represents an important improvement for the

A simple and efficient quasi 3-dimensional viscoelastic model and software for simulation of tapping-mode atomic force microscopy

• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2233–2241, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.229

• rate-dependent dissipative processes. Viscoelasticity, in particular, is a very difficult phenomenon to deal with accurately within AFM spectroscopy, whereby one tries to extract material properties following a set of measurements in which generally one parameter is varied while keeping all other

• extract properties such as the Young’s modulus, which describes the bulk stress–strain relation of the material, or the Hamaker constant, which describes the dispersion forces between the tip and the sample. In the case of a viscoelastic surface the extraction of material ‘properties’ is difficult for a

Conformational switching of ethano-bridged Cu,H₂-bis-porphyrin induced by aromatic amines

• Simona Bettini,
• Emanuela Maglie,
• Rosanna Pagano,
• Victor Borovkov,
• Yoshihisa Inoue,
• Ludovico Valli and
• Gabriele Giancane

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2154–2160, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.221

• resonance; Introduction Various porphyrin derivatives, both free-base and metal complexes, have been widely employed as active molecules for detecting analytes in vapor as well as in liquid phase [1][2][3]. Porphyrins are endowed with good host material properties and the ability to form films [4

Development of a novel nanoindentation technique by utilizing a dual-probe AFM system

• Eyup Cinar,
• Ferat Sahin and
• Dalia Yablon

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2015–2027, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.205

• . An indenter probe fabricated with a known tip geometry is used to penetrate into the sample. By utilizing the force and small amount of depth information measured during indentation, material properties such as elastic (Young’s) modulus of the sample can be estimated. For example, a growing

• (motion in X and Y). The convolution of X and Y motion into the measurement cause overestimation errors in the interpretation of material properties using FD curves. Instrumented nanoindentation (INI) tools can be used for a large dynamic force range. However, the displacement and force sensitivity are

• data and yield a more accurate estimation of material properties by nanoindentation. Evan et al. report the development of a tool specifically designed for nanoindentation on compliant materials considering the surface detection problems of commercially available nanoindentation devices [11

A simple method for the determination of qPlus sensor spring constants

• John Melcher,
• Julian Stirling and
• Gordon A. Shaw

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1733–1742, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.177

• agreement with theoretical predictions for the geometry and material properties of the sensor once a peaked ridge in the beam cross section is included. We further develop a correction necessary to adjust the spring constant for the size and placement of the tip. Keywords: atomic force microscopy

Atomic scale interface design and characterisation

• Carla Bittencourt,
• Chris Ewels and
• Arkady V. Krasheninnikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1708–1711, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.174

• -ray microscopy has shown to be a powerful tool for chemical analysis of radiation-sensitive nanomaterial [7]. Combining the chemical and magnetic information provided by XPEEM with the structural sensitivity of LEEM has created a complete characterization tool of material properties at the nanometer

How decision analysis can further nanoinformatics

• Matthew E. Bates,
• Sabrina Larkin,
• Jeffrey M. Keisler and
• Igor Linkov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1594–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.162

• and more efficient decisions. Due to the complex nature of nanomaterials, rapid changes in technology, and disunified testing and data publishing strategies, information regarding material properties is often illusive, uncertain, and/or of varying quality, which limits the ability of researchers and

Thermal energy storage – overview and specific insight into nitrate salts for sensible and latent heat storage

• Nicole Pfleger,
• Thomas Bauer,
• Claudia Martin,
• Markus Eck and
• Antje Wörner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1487–1497, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.154

• recent years, material investigations were performed to reduce costs of the one-tank thermocline concept further by using filler materials with very low costs or improved material properties such as a higher heat capacity. One optional filler material is a very inexpensive material called Cofalit

Optimization of phase contrast in bimodal amplitude modulation AFM

• Mehrnoosh Damircheli,
• Amir F. Payam and
• Ricardo Garcia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1072–1081, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.108

• Bimodal force microscopy has expanded the capabilities of atomic force microscopy (AFM) by providing high spatial resolution images, compositional contrast and quantitative mapping of material properties without compromising the data acquisition speed. In the first bimodal AFM configuration, an amplitude

• with atomic and nanoscale spatial resolutions [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. The evolution of AFM is being shaped by the need to provide images of heterogeneous surfaces with high spatial resolution combined with compositional contrast and/or material properties mapping [7][9]. Amplitude modulation force

• the conditions to optimize the compositional contrast and material properties sensitivity in bimodal AM. The compositional contrast is usually defined as the phase shift difference of the second mode between two regions of the surface of a heterogeneous material. We study the phase contrast as a

Multiscale modeling of lithium ion batteries: thermal aspects

• Arnulf Latz and
• Jochen Zausch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 987–1007, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.102

• .6.102 Abstract The thermal behavior of lithium ion batteries has a huge impact on their lifetime and the initiation of degradation processes. The development of hot spots or large local overpotentials leading, e.g., to lithium metal deposition depends on material properties as well as on the nano- und

• dependency on composition or atomistic structure is the starting point for a rational design of energy storage materials [3]. Density functional theory with all its approximations [4][5] if combined with statistical mechanics methods is in this context the most successful method to simulate material

• properties of electrochemically active materials [3][6]. The combination with statistical methods is important to bridge the gap between zero-temperature DFT simulations in vacuum and the properties of the studied materials at finite temperatures in contact with different phases. Standard DFT simulations

Simulation tool for assessing the release and environmental distribution of nanomaterials

• Haoyang Haven Liu,
• Muhammad Bilal,
• Anastasiya Lazareva,
• Arturo Keller and
• Yoram Cohen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 938–951, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.97

• meteorological parameters, as well as material properties. The compartmental modeling approach, which is generally suitable for regional assessments [26][27][28] of a minimum area of 1 km2 [12], lends itself to screening level analysis. Spatial resolution, however, may be increased by using nested or

• modules that include: (a) geography, (b) meteorology, (c) material properties, and (d) source release (Figure 6). Scenario design is initiated by selecting the environmental compartments (e.g., air, water, soil, sediment, vegetation canopy, biota) and ITPs (e.g., dry/wet deposition, resuspension

• distribution (lower subplot). It is noted that such information can be utilized to convert MendNano reported ENM mass concentrations to surface area concentration [35][36] given the knowledge of the primary particle size. Databases The parameter database contains material properties, geographical, and

Mapping of elasticity and damping in an α + β titanium alloy through atomic force acoustic microscopy

• M. Kalyan Phani,
• Anish Kumar,
• T. Jayakumar,
• Walter Arnold and
• Konrad Samwer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 767–776, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.79

• properties in living cells [15], proteins [16] and polymers [17][18]. They have been found to be useful in probing material properties with enhanced sensitivity, less surface damage and also at larger distances [18][19]. However, these techniques were developed for soft materials with moduli smaller than 10

Mandibular gnathobases of marine planktonic copepods – feeding tools with complex micro- and nanoscale composite architectures

• Jan Michels and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 674–685, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.68

• decades ago the application of simple preparation methods and microscopy techniques resulted in the assumption that such teeth are composed of silica [27]. However, it was not until many years later that the presence of gnathobase tooth structures with similar material properties was mentioned and

• gradient in the material properties) can make these systems more resistant to damage and wear because such an architecture minimises the probability of local stress concentrations and, in the case of an initial damage, prevents further crack propagation [47][48]. It is conceivable that the soft and elastic

Tm-doped TiO₂ and Tm₂Ti₂O₇ pyrochlore nanoparticles: enhancing the photocatalytic activity of rutile with a pyrochlore phase

• Desiré M. De los Santos,
• Javier Navas,
• Teresa Aguilar,
• Antonio Sánchez-Coronilla,
• Concha Fernández-Lorenzo,
• Rodrigo Alcántara,
• Jose Carlos Piñero,
• Ginesa Blanco and
• Joaquín Martín-Calleja

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 605–616, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.62

• as those reported for other ions (of up to 10 atom %) because the Tm3+ ion is substantially larger than the Ti4+ ion that it replaces in the crystalline lattice, as will be discussed below. The atomic percentage values are used in the discussion below to determine the dependence of the material

• properties on the doping concentration. X-ray diffraction Figure 1 shows the XRD patterns of the synthesized samples. In accordance with the references, JCPDS 21-1272 for anatase and JCPDS 21-1276 for rutile, the peaks of both phases of TiO2 are identified in Figure 1. The samples annealed at 773 K were

Biological responses to nanoscale particles

• Reinhard Zellner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 380–382, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.37

• characterization of nanoparticles using state-of-the-art technologies were paramount in order to assess their biological action. Moreover, the aim was to correlate detailed material properties with their biological effects in order to elucidate the biological response to the material challenge. The nanoparticles

Dynamic force microscopy simulator (dForce): A tool for planning and understanding tapping and bimodal AFM experiments

• Horacio V. Guzman,
• Pablo D. Garcia and
• Ricardo Garcia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 369–379, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.36

• material properties [25][26][27] in obtaining the maximum force. Simulations can generate maps that provide the estimation of the peak forces for a large variety of conditions [27][28]. The range of applicability of the force reconstruction methods has also been verified by numerical simulations [29]. The

• mode is the observable used in heterogeneous samples to separate regions of different material properties. Figure 7 shows the dependence of the phase shift as a function of the set-point amplitude and the material properties (changes in the Hamaker constant). The phase shift (attractive regime) has a

• years on a wide variety of different AFM conditions. The simulator will help to clarify and understand any arising complexity in the tip motion found in both amplitude modulation and bimodal AFM and, in the process, to establish the relationship between material properties, forces and observables for a

Kelvin probe force microscopy in liquid using electrochemical force microscopy

• Liam Collins,
• Stephen Jesse,
• Jason I. Kilpatrick,
• Alexander Tselev,
• M. Baris Okatan,
• Sergei V. Kalinin and
• Brian J. Rodriguez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 201–214, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.19

• necessitates the development of characterization techniques capable of operating in ionically-active liquids across multiple length scales from a single step edge or point defect up to the device level. While macroscopic electrochemical measurements are capable of probing material properties on the device

• technique of material-dependent electrostatic and electrochemical response is investigated. The resultant high dimensional dataset is visualized using a purely statistical approach that does not require a priori physical models, allowing for qualitative mapping of electrostatic and electrochemical material

• properties at the solid–liquid interface. Keywords: diffuse charge dynamics; double layer charging; electrochemical force microscopy; electrochemistry; Kelvin probe force microscopy; Introduction Many important physical, chemical and biological processes including wetting, adsorption, electronic transfer

Aquatic versus terrestrial attachment: Water makes a difference

• Petra Ditsche and
• Adam P. Summers

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2424–2439, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.252

• ignores the material properties of the surfaces and is limited to unrealistic shapes. Smooth, and rigid plates are not what we usually find in nature, and elastic and structured surfaces of different shape will show a different behaviour. Moreover, other effects can cause failure sooner than predicted by

• matters. The real contact area is defined by topography, material properties and normal load. Normal load is the sum of external load and adhesion [59]. There is a close relationship between friction and adhesion, and solids with a high frictional coefficient usually have stronger adhesive properties [38

Advances in NO₂ sensing with individual single-walled carbon nanotube transistors

• Kiran Chikkadi,
• Matthias Muoth,
• Cosmin Roman,
• Miroslav Haluska and
• Christofer Hierold

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2179–2191, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.227

• often generate entirely new possibilities, pushing the limits of the accepted boundaries of material properties within which engineers operate. The identification of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [1][2][3][4] and later, single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) [5][6] is one example of this phenomenon. One such

Modeling viscoelasticity through spring–dashpot models in intermittent-contact atomic force microscopy

• Enrique A. López-Guerra and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2149–2163, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.224

• utilization of that information to derive material properties is not trivial in tapping mode AFM. The nature of the technique with its intermittent contact, during which the probe interacts with nonlinear tip–sample forces ranging from attractive to repulsive, hinders the derivation of simple relationships

• evident, along with the presence of two force minima, as in the spring–dashpot models. Dissipation-based analysis Extracting material properties in a fast and accurate way is one of the ultimate goals in AFM. In order to accomplish this for viscoelastic surfaces, physically accurate models are a

• link the observables (phase and amplitude) to the energy dissipated [9][35], and these relationships have been widely used [10][11][36][37]. Although the amount of dissipation is an important hint to the nature of the material, it is not possible to derive unambiguous conclusions about the material

Dynamic calibration of higher eigenmode parameters of a cantilever in atomic force microscopy by using tip–surface interactions

• Stanislav S. Borysov,
• Daniel Forchheimer and
• David B. Haviland

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1899–1904, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.200

• by using a microcantilever with a sharp tip at the free end. Measuring cantilever deflections allows not only for the reconstruction of the surface topography but also provides insight into various material properties [2][3]. If deflection is measured near one of the cantilevers resonance frequencies

Cathode lens spectromicroscopy: methodology and applications

• T. O. Menteş,
• G. Zamborlini,
• A. Sala and
• A. Locatelli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1873–1886, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.198

• (SPELEEM). In SPELEEM, the structural sensitivity of LEEM perfectly complements the chemical and magnetic information provided by XPEEM, thus creating a complete characterization tool of material properties at the nanometer length scale. The following provides an overview on SPELEEM methods along with the

• growth of nanostructured FeOx offers a versatile means to tune the material properties. Recently, SPELEEM techniques were applied to characterize the reactive growth of FeOx on Ru(0001) [71]. Fe growth in an oxygen ambient (5 × 10−7 mbar) at 900 K resulted in the formation of perfectly triangular

Probing viscoelastic surfaces with bimodal tapping-mode atomic force microscopy: Underlying physics and observables for a standard linear solid model

• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1649–1663, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.176

• generally not possible to attribute with certainty the changes in the observables to the variation in surface material properties. Results This section comprises two main sub-sections. The first sub-section provides an analysis of the tip–sample interaction physics for ideal (prescribed) and numerically

• for a range of values of Kinf, K0 and Cdiss, respectively. As the results suggest, it is possible for the trends to be non-monotonic and non-smooth, such that simple mappings of these observables do not provide an accurate picture of the variation of material properties across the sample (see comment