Liquid crystal tunable claddings for polymer integrated optical waveguides

• José M. Otón,
• Manuel Caño-García,
• Fernando Gordo,
• Eva Otón,
• Morten A. Geday and
• Xabier Quintana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2163–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.209

• of LC-cladding MMIs The pattern seen in Figure 4 repeats itself giving a number of specific effective device lengths for which a cross section would lead to several well-defined output channels at different distances LN. A graph of the characteristic lengths for four different output configurations

Nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond for nanoscale magnetic resonance imaging applications

• Alberto Boretti,
• Lorenzo Rosa,
• Jonathan Blackledge and
• Stefania Castelletto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2128–2151, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.207

The importance of design in nanoarchitectonics: multifractality in MACE silicon nanowires

• Stefania Carapezzi and
• Anna Cavallini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2094–2102, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.204

• could induce a self-assembly [16][17] (see Figure 1). The process of the assembly of NWs induced by elastocapillary forces is complex. There are many factors that influence the assembly such as periodicity, height, cross section, and tensile strength of the NWs as well as evaporation rate and the

Nanostructured and oriented metal–organic framework films enabling extreme surface wetting properties

• Andre Mähringer,
• Julian M. Rotter and
• Dana D. Medina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1994–2003, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.196

• array of pillar-like structures with a cross-section of 20–30 nm and evident gaps between the pillars of about 150 nm for both samples (see Figure 2B,C). Cross-section SEM micrographs clearly visualize an array of vertically aligned MOF needles on the surface plane. In addition, a uniform film thickness

• of about 800 nm is observed throughout the cross-section of both Ni- and Co-CAT-1 samples, indicating a self-terminating growth under the employed conditions (Figure 3B and Figure S5.4, Supporting Information File 1). To confirm that the defined nanostructured film is indeed crystalline and the

• the solid/water interface on the identical pelletized sample. A) A scheme of the vapor-assisted conversion (VAC) set up and the resulting nanostructured films. B) SEM top view, 30° tilted cross-section and the related GIWAXS pattern of the Co-CAT-1 film. C) SEM top view, 30° tilted cross-section

Subsurface imaging of flexible circuits via contact resonance atomic force microscopy

• Wenting Wang,
• Chengfu Ma,
• Yuhang Chen,
• Lei Zheng,
• Huarong Liu and
• Jiaru Chu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1636–1647, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.159

• layer thicknesses. Cross-section profiles of Figure 7a at a middle layer thickness of 300 nm and a bottom layer thickness of 3500 nm are presented in Figure 7b and Figure 7c, respectively. It is obvious that a thicker bottom layer induces a better imaging contrast and the contrast plateaus at a higher

• different middle layer and bottom layer thicknesses. The theoretical calculations were made on the PMMA–Au–PMMA structures with a top layer thickness of 50 nm under a normal force of 100 nN. (b,c) Cross-section profiles at the middle layer thickness of 300 nm and the bottom layer thickness of 3500 nm

Effects of surface charge and boundary slip on time-periodic pressure-driven flow and electrokinetic energy conversion in a nanotube

• Mandula Buren,
• Yongjun Jian,
• Yingchun Zhao,
• Long Chang and
• Quansheng Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1628–1635, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.158

• nanotube, the net electric current over the cross section of the nanotube is zero, i.e., where σ = 2z2e2Dn0/(kBT) is the electric conductivity and D is the diffusivity of ions in the electrolyte. From the equation Is + Ic=0, the streaming electric field Es can be obtained in the form: Dimensionless

Flexible freestanding MoS₂-based composite paper for energy conversion and storage

• Florian Zoller,
• Jan Luxa,
• Thomas Bein,
• Dina Fattakhova-Rohlfing,
• Daniel Bouša and
• Zdeněk Sofer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1488–1496, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.147

• in Figure 2. The morphology images of the top side of the composite paper (Figure 2a and 2b) show a homogeneous distribution of SWCNTs among the MoS2 sheets. SEM micrographs of the cross-section (Figure 2c and 2d) also illustrate that the SWCNTs significantly contribute to the flexibility and

• MoS2-based composite paper showing its size and flexibility. SEM micrographs of (a,b) plane and (c,d) cross-section images of the composite paper at different magnifications. Core-level X-ray photoelectron spectra of a) Mo 3d region, b) S 2p region, and c) C 1s region. Charging–discharging curves of

Growth of lithium hydride thin films from solutions: Towards solution atomic layer deposition of lithiated films

• Ivan Kundrata,
• Karol Fröhlich,
• Lubomír Vančo,
• Matej Mičušík and
• Julien Bachmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1443–1451, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.142

• cross-section sample. The differences in thickness are correct. Chemical composition of the sample surface as determined by XPS. Acknowledgements The author I.K. wishes to acknowledge the great help from, and the good spirit of the Bachmann group at FAU Erlangen. Also, we wish to acknowledge the

Multicomponent bionanocomposites based on clay nanoarchitectures for electrochemical devices

• Giulia Lo Dico,
• Bernd Wicklein,
• Lorenzo Lisuzzo,
• Giuseppe Lazzara,
• Pilar Aranda and
• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1303–1315, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.129

• Figure 3A, while SEM images (Figure 3D,F) reveal that the components are uniformly distributed throughout the film and are organized as a compact particle assembly within the chitosan matrix. Furthermore, the film cross section (Figure 3F) displays the typical layered structure of films solvent-cast from

• bionanocomposites: A) cross section of processed materials: HNTs and SEP are represented as tubes and fibres, while chitosan, GNPs and MWCNTs are depicted in the black matrix. Photographs of B) Film-1 and C) Foam-1. SEM micrographs of the film: D) upper surface, F) and H) cross section; SEM micrographs of the foam

Fabrication of phase masks from amorphous carbon thin films for electron-beam shaping

• Lukas Grünewald,
• Dagmar Gerthsen and
• Simon Hettler

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1290–1302, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.128

• were generally smoother compared to the FIB-prepared thin films, higher quality PM gratings could be fabricated. For the highest spatial frequency of kρ = 10 µm−1 only the floated aC thin films showed good results (cf. Figure 4a,b). To study the depth profile of the PMs, cross-section TEM lamellas were

• is visible as a dark ring around the patterned structure in Figure 5a,b. Slight bulging of the aC film is also visible at the aperture edges. Cross-section samples were again prepared by FIB milling and investigated by bright-field TEM (Figure 5c,d). This time, the PMs were embedded between two

• ) floated aC thin films reveal a smoother surface for the latter. (c) The cross-section SEM image at the aperture edges reveals sagging of a floated thin film (10 nm) after additional deposition of 70 nm aC. (d) Floating of a comparably thick 80 nm aC film results in more stability at the aperture edge. (e

CuInSe₂ quantum dots grown by molecular beam epitaxy on amorphous SiO₂ surfaces

• Henrique Limborço,
• Pedro M.P. Salomé,
• Rodrigo Ribeiro-Andrade,
• Jennifer P. Teixeira,
• Nicoleta Nicoara,
• Kamal Abderrafi,
• Joaquim P. Leitão,
• Juan C. Gonzalez and
• Sascha Sadewasser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1103–1111, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.110

• the 530 °C sample. Figure 2a shows a high-resolution cross-section high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) image of a nanodot. Due to the large density of nanodots in the sample, a superposition of two other nanodots can be observed on the back (left and right sides of the image) of the nanodot under

• amorphous layer as evidenced by the STEM analysis. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mapping was carried out in the 530 °C sample in order to determine the chemical composition of the nanodots. Figure 3a–f, shows a low-resolution cross-section HAADF image of the sample, as well as the EDS chemical

• ) and Si substrate (red). Chemical analysis of the sample grown at 530 °C. (a) Low-resolution cross-section STEM HAADF image of a region of the 530 °C sample studied by EDS. (b–f) EDS mapping of Se, Cu, In, Si, and O. (g) EDS line profile across a nanodot (blue rectangle in (a)). (h) EDS line profile

Influence of dielectric layer thickness and roughness on topographic effects in magnetic force microscopy

• Alexander Krivcov,
• Jasmin Ehrler,
• Marc Fuhrmann,
• Tanja Junkers and
• Hildegard Möbius

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1056–1064, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.106

• . The position of the tip dipole is assumed to be at the half radius of the tip [17]. Cross section simulation of MFM phase The first scan of MFM measurements provides a topographic image displaying a convolution of the tip and the nanoparticle [24]. The topographic cross section is simulated by using a

• be calculated as a function of the horizontal position of the tip corresponding to a cross section of the MFM image. The vertical distance changes in the second scan (interleave scan with a certain lift height following the topography of the first scan) lead to a positive phase shift due to

• observed directly above the nanoparticles indicating a remaining weak capacitive coupling. Figure 10 shows a cross section of the topography image as well as of the phase image for a single SPION on a silicon substrate. For the single SPION lying directly on the silicon surface a strong repulsion indicated

Correlation of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with the surface density of gold nanoparticles: evaluation of the critical number of SERS tags for a detectable signal

• Vincenzo Amendola

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1016–1023, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.102

• scattering (SERS), the Raman scattering cross-section of molecules adsorbed on the surface of plasmonic nanostructures is enormously increased compared to the same isolated molecules [1][2][3][4][5]. In particular, the SERS enhancement factor can reach values as high as 1012, which can be attributed to two

• deviation of the counts per second from a single AuNT in the experimental conditions used (reported in Figure 3B), which is indicative of the average Raman scattering cross-section for a single label. The signal from all of the three label types exceeds the noise level for 1 s of acquisition, meaning that

• phenomena, the local electric field enhancement due to the surface plasmon resonance of the metal nanostructure (electromagnetic enhancement) and the charge transfer between the molecule and the metal substrate (chemical enhancement) [6][7][8]. In addition, given the generally low Raman scattering cross

Direct growth of few-layer graphene on AlN-based resonators for high-sensitivity gravimetric biosensors

• Jimena Olivares,
• Teona Mirea,
• Lorena Gordillo-Dagallier,
• Bruno Marco,
• José Miguel Escolano,
• Marta Clement and
• Enrique Iborra

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 975–984, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.98

• antibody detection process. The arrows indicate the moments at what the liquids are changed. Resonant frequency evolution of a resonator during the non-covalent functionalization with anti-IgG antibody. The arrows indicate the moments at what the liquids are changed. a) Schematic cross section of a typical

Nanoscale optical and structural characterisation of silk

• Meguya Ryu,
• Reo Honda,
• Adrian Cernescu,
• Arturas Vailionis,
• Armandas Balčytis,
• Jitraporn Vongsvivut,
• Jing-Liang Li,
• Denver P. Linklater,
• Elena P. Ivanova,
• Vygantas Mizeikis,
• Mark J. Tobin,
• Junko Morikawa and
• Saulius Juodkazis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 922–929, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.93

• features [10]. Whilst the first two modalities probe micrometer-sized volumes of silk, the AFM-based nano-IR technique acquires structural information at the nanoscale (i.e., the area under the AFM tip from a volume with a lateral cross section of ca. 20 nm). Differences in absorbance and spectral line

• ]. The most pronounced peak corresponds to the separation between the equatorial (200) planes d(200) = 4.69 nm and crystal cross section of L ≈ 2.15 nm, while for the meridional (002) planes d(002) = 3.46 nm and crystal size of L ≈ 10.76 nm [18]. These are the dimensions of the β-sheets, which are

Trapping polysulfide on two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide for Li–S batteries through phase selection with optimized binding

• Sha Dong,
• Xiaoli Sun and
• Zhiguo Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 774–780, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.77

• × 1 k-grid for the geometry optimization. All atomic positions and cell parameters were relaxed until the force on each atom is less than 0.02 eV/Å. Cross-section and side views of (a) 2H-MoS2 and (b) 1T'-MoS2 monolayers. Orbital-decomposed band structures along high-symmetry points of (c) 2H-MoS2 and

Renewable energy conversion using nano- and microstructured materials

• Harry Mönig and
• Martina Schmid

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 771–773, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.76

• together with the related scientific discussions. In this sense, the present thematic issue provides a platform for a contemporary cross-section of topics in this broad field of research. The Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology is a unique medium for scientific exchange across the traditional disciplines

Features and advantages of flexible silicon nanowires for SERS applications

• Hrvoje Gebavi,
• Vlatko Gašparić,
• Dubravko Risović,
• Nikola Baran,
• Paweł Henryk Albrycht and
• Mile Ivanda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 725–734, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.72

• , preferably with clusters of metal nanoparticles, sharp edges and tips, are the key to strong electromagnetic enhancement ranging from 1010 to 1014 [3]. If the values of Raman cross section of the analyte and of SERS enhancement are appropriate, even single-molecule detection is possible. For example, under

• resonant laser excitation of analyte molecules with differential cross section of ca. 10−27 cm2/sr, a SERS enhancement factor (EF) of 108 would be adequate for single-molecule detection. Under non-resonant conditions and/or for lower cross sections (ca. 10−30 cm2/sr ) EF values above 1011 are required [4

• -sensitive and has a relatively large Raman cross section (ca. 10−29 cm2/sr [28]). The boronic acid group binds to certain analytes, for example, peptidoglycans in bacterial cell walls [29]. Recently, the difficult detection of saccharides (glucose, fructose) due to a low Raman scattering cross-section and a

Biomimetic synthesis of Ag-coated glasswing butterfly arrays as ultra-sensitive SERS substrates for efficient trace detection of pesticides

• Guochao Shi,
• Mingli Wang,
• Yanying Zhu,
• Yuhong Wang,
• Xiaoya Yan,
• Xin Sun,
• Haijun Xu and
• Wanli Ma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 578–588, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.59

• a dynamic electron transfer between probe molecules and nanostructures. In contact with the nanostructures, the adsorbed molecules exhibit a larger scattering cross section, thus enhancing the Raman signal intensity efficiently [5]. However, CE only contributes to the enhancement factor (EF) up to

Choosing a substrate for the ion irradiation of two-dimensional materials

• Egor A. Kolesov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 531–539, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.54

• contribution of this mechanism to the total stopping cross section. At large incident ion energies, more than 99% of the ion energy loss can be attributed to the electronic stopping. As its role increases with the ion energy, massive atom ionization occurs, leading to the generation of hot electrons in the

Mechanical and thermodynamic properties of Aβ₄₂, Aβ₄₀, and α-synuclein fibrils: a coarse-grained method to complement experimental studies

• Adolfo B. Poma,
• Horacio V. Guzman,
• Mai Suan Li and
• Panagiotis E. Theodorakis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 500–513, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.51

• temperature. Results and Discussion Tensile deformation Our results for tensile deformation for all studied cases are illustrated in Figure 4. The initial length (L0) is measured after an equilibration of 100 τ. The cross-section area (A) for each system is monitored during the simulation and is shown as a

• function of the strain in the insets of Figure 4. The deviations are small compared to the mean value, especially in the case of β-amyloid fibrils. Hence, we calculated the stress using the average value of A. The values of the cross-section areas and the initial length for each fibril are listed in Table

• contrast, the interchain contacts, which keep together Aβ chains in the cross-section area, reduce their length. Moreover, in the case of α-syn there are no interchain contacts given that there is only one chain at the cross-section. In this case, only the intrachain contacts stretch during tensile

Biological and biomimetic surfaces: adhesion, friction and wetting phenomena

• Stanislav N. Gorb,
• Kerstin Koch and
• Lars Heepe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 481–482, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.48

• cross section of recent developments in this highly diverse and interdisciplinary field of research. The articles highlight recent achievements in the understanding of animal and plant surfaces in the broadest context of adhesion, friction, and wetting phenomena on one hand. On the other hand, they

Wearable, stable, highly sensitive hydrogel–graphene strain sensors

• Jian Lv,
• Chuncai Kong,
• Chao Yang,
• Lu Yin,
• Itthipon Jeerapan,
• Fangzhao Pu,
• Xiaojing Zhang,
• Sen Yang and
• Zhimao Yang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 475–480, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.47

• when the layer is stretched, which will enhance the resistance change of the hydrogel under strain. The SEM image of the cross section of the graphene/hydrogel composite is shown in Supporting Information File 1, Figure S2. A great contact between the graphene layer and the hydrogel layer can be seen

• showing the real life application of the strain sensor to sense the movement of the proximal interphalangeal joint (c) and the metacarpophalangeal joint (d). Supporting Information Yield strain stress curve of the hydrogels; Cross-section SEM image of the graphene/hydrogel composite; Hysteresis curve for

• the graphene/WG-hydrogel strain sensor; Optical cross-section images of the graphene/WG-hydrogel composite before and after stretching. Supporting Information File 54: Additional figures. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC No.51501140

Improving control of carbide-derived carbon microstructure by immobilization of a transition-metal catalyst within the shell of carbide/carbon core–shell structures

• Teguh Ariyanto,
• Jan Glaesel,
• Andreas Kern,
• Gui-Rong Zhang and
• Bastian J. M. Etzold

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 419–427, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.41

• 5 s per step. The XRD diffractograms were deconvoluted to evaluate the properties of graphitic reflexes (see exemplary deconvolution in Figure 7). The graphite dimension (La of the in-plane and Lc of the cross section size) was evaluated by the Scherrer equation shown in Equation 2 [34]. where λ is

• crystallite dimension for the in-plane (La) and cross section of multi-layer carbons (Lc) of final CDCs. (a) Temperature-programmed oxidation profile of final CDC; (b) the calculated fraction of Area II representing content of more graphitic carbon. TEM images of CDC-Ni0 (a) and CDC-Ni60 (b,c). (a) N2

Integration of LaMnO_3+δ films on platinized silicon substrates for resistive switching applications by PI-MOCVD

• Raquel Rodriguez-Lamas,
• Dolors Pla,
• Odette Chaix-Pluchery,
• Benjamin Meunier,
• Fabrice Wilhelm,
• Andrei Rogalev,
• Laetitia Rapenne,
• Xavier Mescot,
• Quentin Rafhay,
• Hervé Roussel,
• Michel Boudard,
• Carmen Jiménez and
• Mónica Burriel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 389–398, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.38

• ). Structural and electrical characterization Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed in a Quanta250 environmental SEM FEG from FEI, and SEM FEG ZEISS GeminiSEM 500 to study the surface morphology and determine the LMO thickness using the cross section of the films. The cationic film composition was

• nanostructure growth was further analyzed in cross section by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), a JEOL 2011 equipment operating at 200 kV with a 0.19 nm point-to-point resolution. X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) spectra at the Mn K-edge of LMO thin films were collected at the ESRF ID12

• substrate surface. The main issues were Pt dewetting, the formation of pinholes at the LMO film, and/or LMO film cracking due to Pt grain evolution. The surface and the cross section of the heterostructures showing cracking of the sample, holes and Pt percolating to the surface are presented in Figure S1