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

• Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada 10.3762/bjnano.9.244 Abstract Titanium oxide nanotubes (TNTs) were anodically grown in ethylene glycol electrolyte. The influence of the anodization time on their physicochemical and photoelectrochemical properties was evaluated. Concomitant with the anodization time, the NT

• photooxidation of methylene blue. Keywords: fluorine doping; nanotubes; photocatalytic activity; photoelectrochemistry; titanium(IV) oxide (TiO2); Introduction TiO2 started to attract great interest after Fujishima and Honda reported [1] on its photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties in 1972. Numerous features

Friction reduction through biologically inspired scale-like laser surface textures

• Johannes Schneider,
• Vergil Djamiykov and
• Christian Greiner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2561–2572, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.238

• demonstrated, for example, that sandfish skin exhibits low friction and little wear [25][26]. The development of manufactured surface textures that are inspired by animals with scale-like surface morphology has resulted in fascinating insights. For texturing a titanium alloy, a lithography-based method was

• sliding by a further optimization of the scale size and packing strategy. Perhaps even more importantly, friction also decreased upon texturing for lubricated contacts – at least for a wide range of sliding speeds. When testing the dry sliding performance of titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) pins textured via mask

Non-agglomerated silicon–organic nanoparticles and their nanocomplexes with oligonucleotides: synthesis and properties

• Asya S. Levina,
• Marina N. Repkova,
• Nadezhda V. Shikina,
• Zinfer R. Ismagilov,
• Svetlana A. Yashnik,
• Dmitrii V. Semenov,
• Yulia I. Savinovskaya,
• Natalia A. Mazurkova,
• Inna A. Pyshnaya and
• Valentina F. Zarytova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2516–2525, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.234

• practical medicine. Despite many efforts in this field, this problem cannot be considered as completely solved. А promising approach is the use of various nanoparticles as delivery vehicles. We have previously developed methods for immobilizing DNA fragments onto titanium dioxide nanoparticles with the

Nanocellulose: Recent advances and its prospects in environmental remediation

• Katrina Pui Yee Shak,
• Yean Ling Pang and
• Shee Keat Mah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2479–2498, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.232

• fibrillated cellulose as a support/carrier for catalyst nanoparticles has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. For example, a study led by An et al. [125] discusses the application of CNFs as a support for titanium dioxide nanoparticles to prepare nano-fibrillated cellulose–TiO2 nanoparticle

• -absorbing materials in order to protect cellulosic fibres from UV bleaching [128]. An et al. [129] claimed that the prepared nano-fibrillated cellulose/magnetite/titanium dioxide nanocomposites had a higher photocatalytic hydrogen generation rate as compared to the nano-fibrillated cellulose/titanium

Droplet-based synthesis of homogeneous magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

• Christian D. Ahrberg,
• Ji Wook Choi and
• Bong Geun Chung

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2413–2420, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.226

• have been synthesized in pinched flow microfluidic geometries, such as fluorescent silica particles [13], or titanium dioxide particles [27]. For these applications, the microfluidic devices were made from poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) following a soft-lithography fabrication method [28][29], or made

High-throughput micro-nanostructuring by microdroplet inkjet printing

• Hendrikje R. Neumann and
• Christine Selhuber-Unkel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2372–2380, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.222

• in a high-throughput process. Inkjet printing was used to generate droplets of the micelle solution on surfaces, resulting in printed circles that contain patterns of gold nanoparticles with an interparticle spacing between 25 and 42 nm. We tested this method on different silicon and nickel–titanium

• generated on different types of silicon and nickel–titanium (NiTi) materials, thus providing a novel method to micro-nanostructure and functionalize materials, which are relevant in biomaterial and biosensor applications. Results and Discussion Inkjet printing for generating micelle solution droplets The

• nm thickness (prepared by Fraunhofer ISIT, Itzehoe), 200 nm thick nickel–titanium thin film sputtered on a 4 µm thick copper layer and glass substrate (prepared by Acquandas, Kiel) and free-standing nickel–titanium foil of 50 µm thickness (prepared by Acquandas, Kiel). Scanning electron microscopy

Block copolymers for designing nanostructured porous coatings

• Roberto Nisticò

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

• within the solid SDA. In soft-templating, an endotemplating approach is used where the precursor starts to solidify around the porogens (which remain in the liquid state). Regarding the hard-templating route, the preparation of titanium structures on block copolymer films has been recently reported

• , where the titanium assembly is driven by the microphase separation of the PS-b-PEO layer underneath [99]. When the titanium coating procedure is performed by electron beam evaporation onto a previously self-assembled PS-b-PEO substrate, Ti preferentially deposits and diffuses inside the PS matrix, thus

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

• by co-electrospinning a poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) solution containing a titanium alkoxide (Ti(OiPr)4) and mineral oil. The mineral oil is removed at a later stage by calcination. In the same way, the interior of a hollow fiber is decorated by oil-dispersible nanoparticles using a silica capillary

• of electrospun metal oxide (MOx) semiconductors have been used for gas sensing applications. These semiconductors include titanium dioxide (TiO2) [93][94][95], tungsten trioxide (WO3) [27][96][97][98][99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110], copper oxide (CuO) [111], NiO [112

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

• under an inert N2-atmosphere. Solar cells: N-i-p stack of FTO/TiO2/Sb2S3/HTM/MoOx/Ag. FTO TEC7 substrates by Pilkington were structured by Kintec. A compact layer of TiO2 was obtained by spray-coating a 0.2 M solution of titanium diisopropoxide bis(acetylacetonate) 75 wt % in ethanol on a hot plate at

A scanning probe microscopy study of nanostructured TiO₂/poly(3-hexylthiophene) hybrid heterojunctions for photovoltaic applications

• Laurie Letertre,
• Roland Roche,
• Olivier Douhéret,
• Hailu G. Kassa,
• Denis Mariolle,
• Nicolas Chevalier,
• Łukasz Borowik,
• Philippe Dumas,
• Benjamin Grévin,
• Roberto Lazzaroni and
• Philippe Leclère

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2087–2096, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.197

• the electron acceptor materials commonly used for DSSC and HBHJ, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a well-known metal oxide semiconductor [6][7][8]. Depending on its nanostructure and its crystalline phase, its conductivity varies from 10−4 Ω−1·cm−1 to 10−11 Ω−1·cm−1 [9][10]. TiO2 is very valuable because it

Recent highlights in nanoscale and mesoscale friction

• Andrea Vanossi,
• Dirk Dietzel,
• Andre Schirmeisen,
• Ernst Meyer,
• Rémy Pawlak,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Marcin Kisiel,
• Shigeki Kawai and
• Nicola Manini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1995–2014, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.190

• assemble more complex nanodevices. Prospects in tuning friction with photo-assisted reactions The influence of light exposure on properties such as friction and adhesion is rarely explored. For instance, it is known that certain surfaces, such as titanium oxide, exhibit photocatalytic properties and might

Biomimetic and biodegradable cellulose acetate scaffolds loaded with dexamethasone for bone implants

• Aikaterini-Rafailia Tsiapla,
• Varvara Karagkiozaki,
• Veroniki Bakola,
• Foteini Pappa,
• Panagiota Gkertsiou,
• Eleni Pavlidou and
• Stergios Logothetidis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1986–1994, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.189

• anti-inflammatory drug onto the engineered implants and degradation study was conducted in order to assess the mass loss of polymers. This drug-delivery nanoplatform as coating on titanium implants may be a promising approach not only to alleviate but also to prevent implant-associated acute

Electromigrated electrical optical antennas for transducing electrons and photons at the nanoscale

• Arindam Dasgupta,
• Mickaël Buret,
• Nicolas Cazier,
• Marie-Maxime Mennemanteuil,
• Reinaldo Chacon,
• Kamal Hammani,
• Jean-Claude Weeber,
• Juan Arocas,
• Laurent Markey,
• Gérard Colas des Francs,
• Alexander Uskov,
• Igor Smetanin and
• Alexandre Bouhelier

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1964–1976, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.187

• processing. We realize the implementation of tunneling antennas on a TiO2 waveguide through a multi-step process. First, a 85 to 110 nm thick titanium dioxide layer is deposited by physical vapor deposition on a clean glass substrate. Then, the Au backbone that will subsequently define the electrically

A visible-light-controlled platform for prolonged drug release based on Ag-doped TiO₂ nanotubes with a hydrophobic layer

• Caihong Liang,
• Jiang Wen and
• Xiaoming Liao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1793–1801, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.170

• exhibit promising application as a localized, prolonged drug delivery platform. Keywords: Ag doping; drug delivery; hydrophobic layer; prolonged drug release; TiO2 nanotubes; visible-light-controlled release; Introduction Titanium dioxide nanotubes (TNTs) are often employed as drug carriers, owing to

• . Only the peaks of titanium can be observed for the sample before heat treatment in Figure 2a. On the contrary, it can be observed that the peaks of anatase phase appear for the samples shown in Figure 2b while the weak peak of rutile appears at around 28.7° (marked by blue stars). The loading of Zn2

• platform. Experimental Materials Commercially pure titanium sheets (10 × 10 × 1 mm3) were purchased from Luoke Titanium Industry (Chengdu, China). Acetone was purchased from Changlian Chemical (Analytic Reagent, AR, Chengdu, China). Ethanol, dodecanethiol (NDM), ammonium fluoride (NH4F), ethylene glycol

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

• metal-containing colloid and were incorporated in the titanium silicate (Ti0.03Si0.97O2) pores. It was found that chemical bonds are formed between the silicate surface and NiO crystallites, which leads to new physicochemical properties of the material. The high activity of NiO nanoparticles was

Preparation of micro/nanopatterned gelatins crosslinked with genipin for biocompatible dental implants

• Reika Makita,
• Tsukasa Akasaka,
• Seiichi Tamagawa,
• Yasuhiro Yoshida,
• Saori Miyata,
• Hirofumi Miyaji and
• Tsutomu Sugaya

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1735–1754, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.165

• differentiation [7], to functionalize implant surfaces [8][9], and to prevent the formation of bacterial biofilms [10]. In the dental field, we have used different micro/nanopatterns that employ an apatite paste [11], a flowable composite resin [12], a titanium coat [13], and curable dental materials [14]. The

• Saos-2 cells on titanium-coated micro/nanopatterns [13]. However, the distribution of vinculin on the gelatin pillar with a diameter of 500 nm and a height of 500 nm was not clear more than the regulated distribution of vinculin on the same-sized titanium-coated pillar [13]. Furthermore, the strength

• increased compared to planar apatite. Additionally, Saos-2 cell attachment to titanium surfaces containing 500 nm to 2 µm grooves or pillars showed a similar tendency [13]. Saos-2 cells may therefore prefer materials with an adequately rough surface and moderate wettability. With regard to the cell

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

• Abstract This study reports on the controllable synthesis of uniform colloidal titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles and their photocatalytic applications toward rhodamine B (RhB) degradation. The monodispersed TiO2 particles were synthesized under mixed solvent conditions by sol–gel chemistry in a one-pot

• well as the crystalline properties and performance enhancement of TiO2 photocatalysts calcined at different temperatures. Keywords: mixed solvent; one-pot synthesis; photocatalysts; rhodamine B degradation; sol–gel synthesis; spherical TiO2 particles; Introduction Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a widely

• robust sol–gel coating process in a mixed solvent of ethanol–acetonitrile (EtOH/ACN) for producing polymer@TiO2 core–shell nanostructures was reported [14]. Since the solubility of the TiO2 precursor, titanium butoxide (TBOT), is different in the two different solvents (ethanol and acetonitrile), the

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

• of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technology, Bulevar cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia 10.3762/bjnano.9.155 Abstract Titanium dioxide photocatalysts have received a lot of attention during the past decades due to their ability to degrade various organic pollutants to CO2 and H2O, which makes them

• suitable for use in environmental related fields such as air and water treatment and self-cleaning surfaces. In this work, titania thin films and powders were prepared by a particulate sol–gel route, using titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) as a precursor. Afterwards, the prepared sols were doped with nitrogen

• synthesis; thin films; titanium dioxide; visible-light illumination; Introduction In recent years, titanium dioxide (TiO2) has emerged as one of the most widely investigated semiconductors [1]. Due to its favorable properties (e.g., chemical and biological stability, nontoxicity and inexpensive price) it

Correlative electrochemical strain and scanning electron microscopy for local characterization of the solid state electrolyte Li_1.3Al_0.3Ti_1.7(PO₄)₃

• Nino Schön,
• Deniz Cihan Gunduz,
• Shicheng Yu,
• Hermann Tempel,
• Roland Schierholz and
• Florian Hausen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1564–1572, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.148

• , section JARA-Energy, 52425 Jülich, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.9.148 Abstract Correlative microscopy has been used to investigate the relationship between Li-ion conductivity and the microstructure of lithium aluminum titanium phosphate (Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3, LATP) with high spatial resolution. A key to

• energy density [1][8][9][10]. Lithium aluminum titanium phosphate Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 (LATP), a ceramic with NASICON-type structure, is especially considered as a beneficial solid state electrolyte due to its superior lithium-ion conductivity in the range of 2 mS cm−1 in the “bulk” and 2 µS cm−1 at

• quantitative nanomechanical property mapping have been observed. The insignificant amount of detected titanium is due to the resolution limit of the EDX measurements. The volume from which characteristic X-ray peaks can escape is largest for Ti at Kα at 4510 eV, and therefore, contributions from the

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

• of H2 is recognized as a green technology since it uses abundantly available water resources and inexhaustible solar energy. Therefore, substantial research in this field has been carried out since the pioneering work of Fujishima and Honda over titanium dioxide (TiO2) electrodes under irradiation of

• photocurrent. Dozzi et al. synthesized a series of titanium–tungsten mixed oxides through coupling of TiO2 with varying WO3 percentage by a base-catalyzed sol–gel method [175]. WO3 plays a vital role in inhibiting charge recombination for efficient charge transfer to enhance the Cr(VI) reduction. Bi2O3

Electrodeposition of reduced graphene oxide with chitosan based on the coordination deposition method

• Mingyang Liu,
• Yanjun Chen,
• Chaoran Qin,
• Zheng Zhang,
• Shuai Ma,
• Xiuru Cai,
• Xueqian Li and
• Yifeng Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1200–1210, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.111

• coatings on the substrates with special shapes, which provides potential applications in surface coatings and electronic devices. In another method, we fabricated the deposited HACC-rGO/CS films with desired shapes on titanium plates which were electroplated with copper in the desired region and shape

• . Figure 5c shows that the HACC-rGO/CS films with regular shapes can be achieved on the titanium plates. The HACC-rGO/CS films are only deposited on the titanium plates at the copper-plated regions, whereas they cannot deposit on the region without the electroplated copper. Consequently, the above results

• purchased from Nantong Green Biological Co., Ltd., China. The copper plates, silver plates, titanium plates, platinum foil, glassy carbon electrode and other chemicals were obtained from various commercial sources in China. All chemicals were of analytical grade and were not purified before use. Preparation

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

• electrons with the oxidized form of the redox mediator or with the hole-transporting medium can be avoided. In the present work, thin, transparent, blocking TiO2 films are prepared by semi-automatic spray pyrolysis of precursors consisting of titanium diisopropoxide bis(acetylacetonate) as the main

• properties that were not influenced by post-calcination. These results will surely find use in the fabrication of large-scale dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells. Keywords: blocking films; FTO; solar cells; spray pyrolysis deposition; titanium dioxide; Introduction Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs

• accompanied by the undesirable back reaction of photoinjected electrons with the hole-transporting medium or the oxidized mediator. This reaction occurs both at the TiO2 surface and at the exposed areas of the F-doped SnO2 (FTO) conducting glass that are not covered by the titanium dioxide nanoparticles. In

Room-temperature single-photon emitters in titanium dioxide optical defects

• Kelvin Chung,
• Yu H. Leung,
• Chap H. To,
• Aleksandra B. Djurišić and
• Snjezana Tomljenovic-Hanic

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1085–1094, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.100

• (NAMI), Science Park, Hong Kong 10.3762/bjnano.9.100 Abstract Fluorescence properties of crystallographic point defects within different morphologies of titanium dioxide were investigated. For the first time, room-temperature single-photon emission in titanium dioxide optical defects was discovered in

• -photon source within a wide bandgap semiconductor. Keywords: fluorescence; optical defects; room temperature; single-photon emitters; titanium dioxide; Introduction Single-photon sources offer non-classical states of light [1] and are a prerequisite for future quantum technologies [2]. There are many

• emission. ZnO is the only metal oxide reported to host single-photon emitting defects at room temperature and was recently shown to exhibit stable fluorescence when uptaken into skin cells, making it a viable biomarker [11]. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a well-studied wide-bandgap semiconductor, its

Review on nanoparticles and nanostructured materials: history, sources, toxicity and regulations

• Jaison Jeevanandam,
• Ahmed Barhoum,
• Yen S. Chan,
• Alain Dufresne and
• Michael K. Danquah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1050–1074, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.98

• have been extensively used in commercial products ranging from personal care products to paints [113]. Titanium oxide NPs larger than 100 nm are broadly utilized as a white pigment in cosmetic creams and sunscreens [114]. Similarly, Ag NPs have been used in diverse applications including air sanitizer

Bioinspired self-healing materials: lessons from nature

• Joseph C. Cremaldi and
• Bharat Bhushan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 907–935, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.85