Distribution of Pd clusters on ultrathin, epitaxial TiO_x films on Pt₃Ti(111)

• Christian Breinlich,
• Maria Buchholz,
• Marco Moors,
• Tobias Pertram,
• Conrad Becker and
• Klaus Wandelt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2007–2014, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.204

• -type superstructure with fewer and shallower defects, making the template effect less discernible. Keywords: cluster growth; palladium; platinum–titanium alloy; scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM); template; titanium oxide; Introduction Catalysts often consist of metal nanoparticles dispersed on an

• the Moiré superstructure of ultrathin aluminium oxide films grown on the chemically ordered, Ni3Al(111) surface [11][12][13][14]. The advantages of growing an oxide film from a component of an ordered alloy surface with a higher enthalpy of oxide formation are the somewhat better structural quality of

• images. Former LEED measurements have shown a commensurate rectangular unit cell with a (6 × 3√3) superstructure with respect to the (1 × 1) spots of the alloy surface and a unit cell size of (16.6 ± 0.2) × (14.4 ± 0.2) Å, while high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) and X-ray

Metal hydrides: an innovative and challenging conversion reaction anode for lithium-ion batteries

• Luc Aymard,
• Yassine Oumellal and
• Jean-Pierre Bonnet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1821–1839, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.186

• [35][36]. Note that the C-free bonds created during the fracture of the graphene layer serve as oxygen scavengers, and their agglomeration and coating of the alloy particles enable a better chemical/physical protection against oxidation [34]. Based on the milling behavior of carbonaceous material [34

• Si-based electrode. Beattie et al. [54] estimated the CMC binder and carbon quantity needed to fill the holes created during lithium extraction from the Si alloy electrode to be around 66%. It was experimentally confirmed that large capacities and long cycle lives of the electrodes are obtained for a

Lower nanometer-scale size limit for the deformation of a metallic glass by shear transformations revealed by quantitative AFM indentation

• Arnaud Caron and
• Roland Bennewitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1721–1732, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.176

• atomically flat terraces. A Pt57.5Cu14.7Ni5.3P22.5 metallic glass master alloy was prepared according to [14] and subsequently melt-spun on a Cu wheel to produce 20 µm thick amorphous metallic ribbons. The amorphous structure of the Pt-based metallic glass was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) with Cu Kα

The eNanoMapper database for nanomaterial safety information

• Nina Jeliazkova,
• Charalampos Chomenidis,
• Philip Doganis,
• Bengt Fadeel,
• Roland Grafström,
• Barry Hardy,
• Janna Hastings,
• Markus Hegi,
• Vedrin Jeliazkov,
• Nikolay Kochev,
• Pekka Kohonen,
• Cristian R. Munteanu,
• Haralambos Sarimveis,
• Bart Smeets,
• Pantelis Sopasakis,
• Georgia Tsiliki,
• David Vorgrimmler and
• Egon Willighagen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1609–1634, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.165

• platform, running on a virtual machine using the VirtualBox software. The wiki contains physicochemical properties and toxicological data for more than three hundred nanomaterials: more than two hundred metal oxides, 80 carbon nanotubes, and a few metal and alloy particles. All nanomaterials originate from

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

• surfaces by eutectic alloy formation which occurs upon heating above the eutectic temperature. Similarly liquid phase sintering (LPS) is used in the field of high-temperature ceramics and metals. The innovative salt synthesis approach described in this section utilizes the liquid phase formation at the

Formation of substrate-based gold nanocage chains through dealloying with nitric acid

• Ziren Yan,
• Ying Wu and
• Junwei Di

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1362–1368, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.140

• dealloying reagent to selectively remove Ag atoms from Ag–Au alloy nanoboxes [4][22]. Here, we carried out galvanic replacement reactions on solid-supported Ag nanoparticle templates to form Ag–Au nanocages. Then, the residual Ag in the nanocages was selectively dissolved by chemical etchants. Interestingly

• consistent with the previous report [4]. The chemical reaction involved in the dissolution of Ag at neutral conditions is the following: The deposition of byproducts, such as AgOH or Ag2O, on the particle surface might hinder the complete removal of Ag from the alloy and block up the hole of wall [30

• reported that the concentration of HNO3 is an important parameter because it alters the chemical potential difference across the nanoporous/alloy interface and affects the morphology of Ag–Au alloy during dealloying. Figure 6 exhibits the SEM images of Ag–Au NCs treated with various concentration of HNO3

The Kirkendall effect and nanoscience: hollow nanospheres and nanotubes

• Abdel-Aziz El Mel,
• Ryusuke Nakamura and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1348–1361, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.139

• atoms diffuse from metal A to metal B and vice versa (Figure 2a). Such an annealing process results in the formation of an A/B alloy layer located between the two sides of the interface where the final thickness is dependent on both the annealing temperature and time. According to the Kirkendall effect

• region within the faster diffusing metal. For example, if we consider that atom A diffuses in metal B much faster than atom B in metal A, the flux of atoms migrating from metal A to metal B (JA/B) will be much higher than atoms of B diffusing in the opposite direction (JB/A). In such case, the A/B alloy

• . Until today, only two studies were reported so far on this topic (i.e., oxidation of Ag/Au and Ni/Cr nanospheres) leaving a wide range of possible experiments which deserve to be conducted [73][74]. A very obvious study concerns the oxidation of binary and/or ternary metal alloy nanowires. This must

Heterometal nanoparticles from Ru-based molecular clusters covalently anchored onto functionalized carbon nanotubes and nanofibers

• Deborah Vidick,
• Xiaoxing Ke,
• Michel Devillers,
• Claude Poleunis,
• Arnaud Delcorte,
• Pietro Moggi,
• Gustaaf Van Tendeloo and
• Sophie Hermans

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1287–1297, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.133

• elemental analyses, and do not prove that both metals are mixed locally within each nanoparticle. In some other cases, powder XRD proved alloy formation [25], but this is only applicable for crystalline nanoparticles that are usually >3 nm [13][23][29]. In this paper, we explore the possibility of using

Growth and morphological analysis of segmented AuAg alloy nanowires created by pulsed electrodeposition in ion-track etched membranes

• Ina Schubert,
• Loic Burr,
• Christina Trautmann and
• Maria Eugenia Toimil-Molares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1272–1280, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.131

• . For a well-controlled synthesis process, detailed analysis of the deposition parameters and the size-distribution of the segmented wires is crucial. Results: The fabrication of electrodeposited AuAg alloy nanowires and segmented Au-rich/Ag-rich/Au-rich nanowires with controlled composition and segment

• . Additionally, we have dissolved the middle Ag-rich segments in order to create small nanogaps with controlled gap sizes. Annealing of the created structures allows us to influence their morphology. Conclusion: AuAg alloy nanowires, segmented wires and nanogaps with controlled composition and size can be

• synthesised by electrodeposition in membranes, and are ideal model systems for investigation of surface plasmons. Keywords: AuAg alloy; cyclic voltammetry; electrodeposition; ion-track technology; nanogaps; segmented nanowires; Introduction The synthesis of multicomponent heterostructure nanowires is

Addition of Zn during the phosphine-based synthesis of indium phospide quantum dots: doping and surface passivation

• Natalia E. Mordvinova,
• Alexander A. Vinokurov,
• Oleg I. Lebedev,
• Tatiana A. Kuznetsova and
• Sergey G. Dorofeev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1237–1246, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.127

• As a result of synthesis a number of different colored solutions were obtained: yellow, orange and red. It was expected that the addition of excess myristic acid may result in a better stabilization of the QDs if any In(Zn)P alloy could be formed [18], thus enhancing the optical properties of the QDs

Magnetic properties of iron cluster/chromium matrix nanocomposites

• Arne Fischer,
• Robert Kruk,
• Di Wang and
• Horst Hahn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1158–1163, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.117

• precipitate sizes and the width of their distributions, as well as the chemical compositions of the precipitates and the matrix are severely limited by the thermodynamics of the alloy systems. Therefore, in any case the potential of alloy design will remain limited as long as thermo-mechanical treatment is

• clusters of basically any element and many alloy systems and their transfer into an ultra-high vacuum system (UHV). The deposition of the charged clusters onto substrates can be performed with variable impact energies. Such a process opens a new way for the synthesis of cluster-based alloys, i.e

• ., multiphase alloys with extreme control of the fraction of clusters inside a matrix consisting of another element or alloy system. For the alloy system Fe/Ag it has been shown that full control over the overall composition of the two immiscible elements can be achieved [2]. One of the scopes of the

High sensitivity and high resolution element 3D analysis by a combined SIMS–SPM instrument

• Yves Fleming and
• Tom Wirtz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1091–1099, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.110

• spectrometry (SIMS) data was combined with topographical data from the scanning probe microscopy (SPM) module for five test structures in order to obtain accurate chemical 3D maps: a polystyrene/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PS/PVP) polymer blend, a nickel-based super-alloy, a titanium carbonitride-based cermet, a

• of the TiCN cermet. Keywords: alloy; atomic force microscopy (AFM); correlative microscopy; differential sputtering; in situ; multimodal imaging; nano-cluster; polymer blend; secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS); scanning probe microscopy (SPM); SIMS artefacts; sputter-induced effects; sputter

• intensity is slightly increased at the position where a dip is present on the PVP dome, which is most likely due to variations of the sputtering yield with the local angle of incidence. Nickel-based super-alloy Differential sputtering can also be observed when analysing nickel-based super-alloys, which are

Tunable magnetism on the lateral mesoscale by post-processing of Co/Pt heterostructures

• Oleksandr V. Dobrovolskiy,
• Maksym Kompaniiets,
• Roland Sachser,
• Fabrizio Porrati,
• Christian Gspan,
• Harald Plank and
• Michael Huth

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1082–1090, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.109

• , though acquired with a statistical error of 3%, the EDX data in Table 1 only serve as an indicator of the Co/Pt ratio being crucial for the different Co/Pt alloy phase formation — an issue to which we return in what follows. The temperature dependence of the electrical resistance of all samples is

• Figure 2. As will be shown below by TEM, it is this nanoporosity which allows Co to penetrate into the Pt layer during the Co deposition and to form a Co/Pt alloy phase. Considering the Co–Pt binary phase diagram [47], for a Co/Pt-ratio of 1:1, the CoPt L10 phase can form. This phase is a hard

Effects of swift heavy ion irradiation on structural, optical and photocatalytic properties of ZnO–CuO nanocomposites prepared by carbothermal evaporation method

• Sini Kuriakose,
• D. K. Avasthi and
• Satyabrata Mohapatra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 928–937, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.96

• irradiated at fluences of 3 × 1013 and 1 × 1014 ions/cm2 are estimated to be 14.2 nm, 14.6 nm and 15.7 nm, respectively. It can be clearly seen that the average crystallite size of ZnO increases with increase in ion fluence. In addition to ZnO and CuO, nanostructured Cu–Zn alloy, Cu5Zn8 [JCPDS no. 71-0397

• ] were also observed, as can be seen from Figure 2. The Cu–Zn alloy is more prominently seen in the case of pristine sample. In the swift heavy ion irradiated samples the peaks corresponding to Cu–Zn alloy nanoparticles get increasingly diminished in intensity with increase in fluence. The UV–visible

• evaporation of ZnO and Cu, combined with annealing. FESEM studies showed the presence of ZnO nanosheets and nanorods, which are formed by Cu–Zn alloy nanodroplets assisted oriented attachment of ZnO nanoparticles. The effects of swift heavy ion irradiation on the structural, optical, and photocatalytic

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

• . Physikalisches Institut, Georg-August-Universität, Friedrich Hund Platz 1, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.6.79 Abstract The distribution of elastic stiffness and damping of individual phases in an α + β titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) measured by using atomic force acoustic microscopy (AFAM) is reported

• cantilever with damped flexural modes. The cantilever dynamics model considering damping, which was proposed recently, has been used for mapping of indentation modulus and damping of different phases in a metallic structural material. The study indicated that in a Ti-6Al-4V alloy the metastable β phase has

• GPa. The type and amount of various phases formed during thermal/thermo-mechanical treatments influence both the mechanical as well as the elastic properties of α + β titanium alloys [1]. By varying the volume fractions of the two phases present in the alloy, various combinations of strength and

Influence of gold, silver and gold–silver alloy nanoparticles on germ cell function and embryo development

• Ulrike Taylor,
• Daniela Tiedemann,
• Christoph Rehbock,
• Wilfried A. Kues,
• Stephan Barcikowski and
• Detlef Rath

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 651–664, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.66

• fertility parameters deteriorated after co-incubation with ligand free gold nanoparticles. However, the effect could be alleviated by bio-coating the nanoparticles, which even applies to silver and silver-rich alloy nanoparticles. The most sensitive test system appeared to be in vitro oocyte maturation

• showing a dose-dependent response towards protein (BSA) coated gold–silver alloy and silver nanoparticles leading up to complete arrest of maturation. Recent biodistribution studies confirmed that nanoparticles gain access to the ovaries and also penetrate the blood–testis and placental barrier. Thus, the

• to nanoscale particles”. The aim was to study the impact of gold and silver nanoparticles, and to a degree gold–silver alloy nanoparticles, on spermatozoa, oocytes and embryos in vitro using murine as well as bovine and porcine models (Figure 1) [49][50][51]. The nanoparticles used in our studies

Influence of grain size and composition, topology and excess free volume on the deformation behavior of Cu–Zr nanoglasses

• Daniel Şopu and
• Karsten Albe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 537–545, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.56

• properties of Cu–Zr nanoglasses (NGs) is investigated by molecular dynamics simulations using two model glasses of different alloy composition, namely Cu64Zr36 (Cu-rich) and Cu36Zr64 (Zr-rich). When the grain size is increased, or the fraction of interfaces in these NGs is decreased, we find a transition

• investigate if the plastic behavior of NGs changes with glass composition. Finally, the impact of the thermal relaxation of the glass–glass interface is studied. For this, two model glasses of different alloy composition are used, namely Cu64Zr36 (Cu-rich) and Cu36Zr64 (Zr-rich). All simulations are carried

• -centered FI [0,0,12,0] because this polyhedron is known to be the key structural motif in amorphous Cu–Zr alloy, characterized by a high packing density [21] and high shear resistance [22]. For modeling the NG microstructure, a 2D array of columnar grains with a hexagonal cross section is used. The grains

Filling of carbon nanotubes and nanofibres

• Reece D. Gately and
• Marc in het Panhuis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 508–516, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.53

• within the core of a filled MWCNT. This was achieved by first filling a MWCNT with iron, cobalt, nickel, or an iron–cobalt alloy using capillary action. Following this step, the sample was placed inside a transmission electron microscope (with the sample stage temperature set at 600 °C) and subjected to

Electrical properties of single CdTe nanowires

• Elena Matei,
• Camelia Florica,
• Andreea Costas,
• María Eugenia Toimil-Molares and
• Ionut Enculescu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 444–450, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.45

• a well-established method of plating conductive substrates with a specific metal or alloy. During the last decades, semiconductor electrodeposition became more and more attractive, as it may represent a viable alternative to more expensive fabrication methods [14][15][16]. CdTe electroplating is an

Materials and characterization techniques for high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

• Roswitha Zeis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 68–83, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.8

• . To reduce the noble-metal loading of a fuel cell, platinum alloy catalysts such as PtNi and PtCo may be used. However, the stability of these Pt alloy catalysts is questionable partially because, under fuel cell operating conditions, transition metals such as nickel and cobalt are expected to form

• oxides or hydroxides that tend to dissolve from the electrode surface. Nevertheless, carbon-supported platinum/transition metal alloy catalysts are often used in conventional LT-PEMFCs as well as PAFCs. There is strong experimental evidence that platinum alloys outperform pure platinum catalysts [41][42

• the interatomic Pt–Pt distance [43]. Other researchers have suggested that the alloy layer beneath the platinum skin increases the d-band vacancy of the platinum itself improving, therefore, the oxygen reduction reaction [20]. A great deal of research on this subject was carried out from 1970’s until

Bright photoluminescence from ordered arrays of SiGe nanowires grown on Si(111)

• D. J. Lockwood,
• N. L. Rowell,
• A. Benkouider,
• A. Ronda,
• L. Favre and
• I. Berbezier

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2498–2504, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.259

• having an Orsay Physics mass filtered ion column operated at 30 keV. A liquid metal alloy ion source (LMAIS) of Au4Si ([Si] = 19%, [Au] = 81%) heated at 450 °C was used for the milling step; a Au2+ or Si+ ion beam was selected independently by a Wien filter. The patterns in the Si/SiO2 substrate were

• transformation from the small Au nanoclusters located within the SiO2-cover-free nanopits to the Au0.18Si0.82 eutectic alloy is obtained by thermal annealing at 550 °C for 30 min. The annealing and growth experiments were performed in the MBE growth chamber of a Riber SIVA32 system with a base pressure of 10−11

• volume of 0.006 µm3) and thus the carriers have to be recombining efficiently within the wires to produce this light emission at the SiGe-alloy band gap energy. We know from earlier studies of SiGe etched wires [32] and dots [33] that just the spatial confinement of carriers is sufficient to produce the

Si/Ge intermixing during Ge Stranski–Krastanov growth

• Alain Portavoce,
• Khalid Hoummada,
• Antoine Ronda,
• Dominique Mangelinck and
• Isabelle Berbezier

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2374–2382, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.246

• minimization of the surface energy, the strain energy, the alloy mixing energy and the configurational entropy [22]. In the case of a pure Ge dome island (no intermixing with Si), the stress was shown to be compressive in the interior of the island, and tensile at the edges of the island [34]. Thus, in the

Biopolymer colloids for controlling and templating inorganic synthesis

• Laura C. Preiss,
• Katharina Landfester and
• Rafael Muñoz-Espí

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2129–2138, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.222

• ] demonstrated the synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles in a semi-interpenetrating polymer network of alginate and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide). Gold and AuNi alloy gelatin nanocomposites were developed by Brayner et al. [84]. A gelatin network incorporating metallic nanoparticles was obtained after reduction of

• supercritical CO2 and subsequent calcination. Scaffold templating can also be achieved with starch and even with peptides. Thakore et al. [13] synthesized Cu, Ag, and Cu–Ag alloy nanoparticles in a matrix of starch through a green route and studied the antibacterial activity. Hexagonal silica platelets were

Carbon nano-onions (multi-layer fullerenes): chemistry and applications

• Juergen Bartelmess and
• Silvia Giordani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1980–1998, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.207

• fluorescent-tagged CNOs (Scheme 8) were then used for in vitro fluorescence imaging, which will be discussed in the corresponding section of this review article. Recently, Echegoyen et al. reported for the first time the alkylation of CNOs [42], which was achieved by a reductive process utilizing a Na–K alloy

• . CNOs were added to a previously prepared, deep-blue solution of the Na–K alloy in 1,2-dimethoxyethane under inert atmosphere affording a brownish dispersion. Then an excess of 1-bromohexadecane was added as electrophile and the alkylated CNO material (CNO-C16) could be recovered. TGA analysis and IR as

The impact of the confinement of reactants on the metal distribution in bimetallic nanoparticles synthesized in reverse micelles

• Concha Tojo,
• Elena González and
• Nuria Vila-Romeu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1966–1979, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.206

• than the other, it will form the core. The metal which is reduced more slowly will be deposited onto this core, forming the outer layers, which results in a core–shell nanostructure. In contrast, a small difference between reduction rates of the two metals leads to an alloy. Third, this result was