Exploring wear at the nanoscale with circular mode atomic force microscopy

• Olivier Noel,
• Aleksandar Vencl and
• Pierre-Emmanuel Mazeran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2662–2668, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.266

• humidity of 30%. The AFM tips were either a unique DLC coating tip with a rectangular cantilever (from NT-MDT) or a unique silicon nitride (Si3N4) probe with a triangular cantilever. Both nominal tip radius values were 100 nm and 70 nm for the DLC and Si3N4 probes, respectively, and the cantilever

Enhanced photoelectrochemical water splitting performance using morphology-controlled BiVO₄ with W doping

• Xin Zhao and
• Zhong Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2640–2647, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.264

• solution. Second, the cations are chelated and form a polymeric resin when dried. Finally, this resin decomposes at high temperatures and forms the targeted W-doped BiVO4 films [20]. Jaramillo et al. reported that the ambient humidity affects the rate of both hydrolysis and polycondensation reactions and

Strategy to discover full-length amyloid-beta peptide ligands using high-efficiency microarray technology

• Clelia Galati,
• Natalia Spinella,
• Lucio Renna,
• Danilo Milardi,
• Francesco Attanasio,
• Michele Francesco Maria Sciacca and
• Corrado Bongiorno

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2446–2453, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.243

• aggregates in the incubation solution, the aggregation state was assessed by TEM. For that purpose, a 1 μM Cy3-Aβ40 solution was placed onto TEM carbon grids and stored in a suitable humidity chamber for different times. Immediately after storage, the grids were then inserted in the TEM vacuum chamber. The

• high vacuum in the TEM chamber dried them completely and all of the solute species precipitated on the grid carbon layer. After storage in the humidity chamber for one hour, the standard time used for the amyloid incubation in our microarray experiments, no fibrillar structures were observed, in

• accordance with literature data [21]. The appearance of fibrillar structures was only observed for the longer-aged samples. Figure 1 shows the morphology of fibrils observed after two days of storage in the humidity chamber. The fibrillar structures appear with a diameter of about 5 nm and are

Involvement of two uptake mechanisms of gold and iron oxide nanoparticles in a co-exposure scenario using mouse macrophages

• Dimitri Vanhecke,
• Dagmar A. Kuhn,
• Dorleta Jimenez de Aberasturi,
• Sandor Balog,
• Ana Milosevic,
• Dominic Urban,
• Diana Peckys,
• Niels de Jonge,
• Wolfgang J. Parak,
• Alke Petri-Fink and
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2396–2409, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.239

• stage temperature was kept at 3 °C, and the pressure was set to a value between 700 and 740 Pa, in most cases 720 Pa. These pressure and temperature settings created 100% relative humidity in the ESEM chamber as needed to ensure the constant coverage of the cells with a thin film of water. For every

Vapor-based polymers: from films to nanostructures

• Meike Koenig and
• Joerg Lahann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2219–2220, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.221

• desired nanostructures. This combination of a conductive polymer with a hydrogel in a single nanostructure shows potential for the use in humidity sensors. Without the need for additives or solvents, a high purity of the resulting film is ensured, which is of paramount importance in the area of electronic

High-stress study of bioinspired multifunctional PEDOT:PSS/nanoclay nanocomposites using AFM, SEM and numerical simulation

• Alfredo J. Diaz,
• Hanaul Noh,
• Tobias Meier and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2069–2082, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.207

• sensing humidity [21] and for temperature-dependent switching of electrochemical behavior using nanoclay substitutes [22]. Recently, nacre-mimetic electrically conductive nanocomposites have been reported, one of which exhibited good electrical conductivity and excellent mechanical properties [23] and the

• worth noting that the environmental humidity had a significant impact on the strain measurements. In fact, for samples that were stored and measured in very dry environments, no measurable deformation in the coating was obtained. Assuming that the nanocomposite has a linear-elastic behavior, the strain

Identifying the nature of surface chemical modification for directed self-assembly of block copolymers

• Laura Evangelio,
• Federico Gramazio,
• Matteo Lorenzoni,
• Michaela Gorgoi,
• Francisco Miguel Espinosa,
• Ricardo García,
• Francesc Pérez-Murano and
• Jordi Fraxedas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1972–1981, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.198

• the brush surface while applying a voltage under high humidity conditions. Details on the preparation methods can be found in the Experimental section. Results and Discussion Two-step electron beam and oxygen plasma modification Figure 2 shows SEM images of directed self-assembled films of PS-b-PMMA

• affinity of the PS–OH brush layer (see middle of Figure 1) [12]. The third method (PON) [18], shown in the bottom of Figure 1, is performed by contacting a conductive mold with the PS–OH surface while applying a voltage under conditions of high humidity. The stamp consists of a 1 cm2 piece of a DVD replica

• ranging between 40 and 180 s was applied while the stamp was gently (50 kPa) pressed upon the substrate. Relative humidity was kept above 70%. These parameters are similar to the parameters used to perform an oxidation scanning probe lithography (SPL) experiment [29]. The authors have already demonstrated

Imidazolium-based ionic liquids used as additives in the nanolubrication of silicon surfaces

• Patrícia M. Amorim,
• Ana M. Ferraria,
• Rogério Colaço,
• Luís C. Branco and
• Benilde Saramago

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1961–1971, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.197

• , it mainly hydrated the substrate surface. However, in both cases, ambient humidity was found to disturb the ion-pair coordination, which resulted in an increase in friction [31]. Tests carried out at macroscale showed the same effect when using hydrophobic imidazolium-based ILs to lubricate silica

• ]. Recently, the same group reported somewhat different results when studying the tribological behavior of silica/silicon pairs lubricated with [EMIM][EtSO4] with a pin-on-disk tribometer at high load (4.5 N) [32]. They studied the effect of ambient humidity and found a decrease in friction and wear of both

Uptake and intracellular accumulation of diamond nanoparticles – a metabolic and cytotoxic study

• Antonín Brož,
• Lucie Bačáková,
• Pavla Štenclová,
• Alexander Kromka and
• Štěpán Potocký

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1649–1657, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.165

• , Japan) with phase contrast installed. The microscope was equipped with a cell incubation chamber (Solent Scientific, UK) with humidity regulation (95%), controlled temperature (37 °C) and CO2 concentration (5%). The cells were photographed for 72 h at 2 min intervals for the first 6 h and thereafter at

Light-induced magnetoresistance in solution-processed planar hybrid devices measured under ambient conditions

• Sreetama Banerjee,
• Daniel Bülz,
• Danny Reuter,
• Karla Hiller,
• Dietrich R. T. Zahn and
• Georgeta Salvan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1502–1507, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.150

• diode (LED), with an emission ranging from 400 to 700 nm for the measurements of the photocurrent and of the magnetoresistance. The measurements were performed at room temperature (ca. 25 °C) and the ambient humidity was maintained at (20 ± 5)%. The electrical measurements were conducted using a

Miniemulsion copolymerization of (meth)acrylates in the presence of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes for reinforced coating applications

• Bertha T. Pérez-Martínez,
• Lorena Farías-Cepeda,
• Víctor M. Ovando-Medina,
• José M. Asua,
• Lucero Rosales-Marines and
• Radmila Tomovska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1328–1337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.134

• hybrid latexes MMA/BA/HEMA/MWCNT and from the blends were cast on Teflon molds and dried in a constant climate chamber (Espec Bench SH-641) at 25 °C and 80% of relative humidity for 3 days. Table 1 presents the nomenclature and characteristics of all the samples investigated throughout this study

• between the clamps of 2 mm. The mechanical properties of the films were determined by tensile test measurement. The films with an average thickness of 450 µm were prepared by drying in Teflon molds at 25 °C and 80% humidity for 3 days. The measurements were performed in an MTS Insight 10 instrument at a

Nano-engineered skin mesenchymal stem cells: potential vehicles for tumour-targeted quantum-dot delivery

• Liga Saulite,
• Dominyka Dapkute,
• Karlis Pleiko,
• Ineta Popena,
• Simona Steponkiene,
• Ricardas Rotomskis and
• Una Riekstina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1218–1230, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.123

• 100%. After incubation, 10 µL of CCK-8 reagent was added to each well and incubated for 2 h at 37 °C in 5% CO2 at 90% humidity. The change in the medium colour corresponds to the amount of dye produced in the sample and is directly proportional to the number of viable cells. The optical density was

• samples were propagated in complete medium for 21 days. For the chondrogenic differentiation assay, 5 µL of a cell suspension with a density of 1.6 × 107 cells/mL in complete medium was seeded onto 96-well plates and incubated for 2 h under high-humidity conditions at 37 °C and 5% CO2. Chondrogenic

• × 104 cells per well were seeded on 8-well chamber slides (Nunc, Sigma-Aldrich, USA) in complete medium and left to adhere overnight at 37 °C, 5% CO2 and more than 90% humidity. 16 nM QDs diluted in complete medium were added, and samples were incubated from 15 min to 24 h. Control wells contained

Metal oxide nanostructures: preparation, characterization and functional applications as chemical sensors

• Dario Zappa,
• Angela Bertuna,
• Elisabetta Comini,
• Navpreet Kaur,
• Nicola Poli,
• Veronica Sberveglieri and
• Giorgio Sberveglieri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1205–1217, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.122

• dry air [15]: The role of water vapour also needs to be taken into account [16][17][18], but its effect on the sensing mechanism strongly depends on the used material. For example, it has been demonstrated that for SnO2, humidity competes with reducing gases for the same reactive oxygen species, and

• it has a site blocking effect when interacting with the surface [16][17]. For this reason, in presence of humidity the concentration of adsorbed oxygen is lower, and the response of the SnO2 sensor to CO is lower than under dry conditions. On the contrary, the lattice of WO3 is oxidized by humidity

• compounds (SIAD, Italy) were injected inside the chamber for 30 min, followed by 1 h of recovery using synthetic air. The relative humidity was kept constant at 50%. Small sensor system The device we used in this work is a “Small Sensor System” (S3). The sensor array is located in a thermally controlled

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of cell lysates mixed with silver nanoparticles for tumor classification

• Mohamed Hassoun,
• Iwan W.Schie,
• Tatiana Tolstik,
• Sarmiza E. Stanca,
• Christoph Krafft and
• Juergen Popp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1183–1190, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.120

• % humidity and 5% carbon dioxide in air. 75 cm2 cell culture flasks (658170; Greiner Bio-One GmbH, Germany) were used for cultivation of the cell lines. Every two or three days the medium was changed until approximately 100% confluence was reached. Cells were detached from the substrate by a 0.05% of trypsin

Growth, structure and stability of sputter-deposited MoS₂ thin films

• Reinhard Kaindl,
• Bernhard C. Bayer,
• Roland Resel,
• Thomas Müller,
• Viera Skakalova,
• Gerlinde Habler,
• Rainer Abart,
• Alexey S. Cherevan,
• Dominik Eder,
• Maxime Blatter,
• Fabian Fischer,
• Jannik C. Meyer,
• Dmitry K. Polyushkin and
• Wolfgang Waldhauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1115–1126, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.113

• . The laser power was selected by neutral density filters and calibrated using a power-meter. The laser spot diameter is estimated to ≈2 µm. The in situ annealing Raman experiments were conducted in ambient atmosphere (23 °C, 30% humidity). X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and specular diffraction (XRD) X-ray

The integration of graphene into microelectronic devices

• Guenther Ruhl,
• Sebastian Wittmann,
• Matthias Koenig and
• Daniel Neumaier

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1056–1064, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.107

• a diffusion barrier against humidity, chemicals and gases during further processing. In addition, it has to be deposited using a process with minimal influence on graphene, e.g., high-temperature or plasma-CVD processes are to avoided. Encapsulation with exfoliated single-crystalline h-BN layers

Study of the correlation between sensing performance and surface morphology of inkjet-printed aqueous graphene-based chemiresistors for NO₂ detection

• F. Villani,
• C. Schiattarella,
• T. Polichetti,
• R. Di Capua,
• F. Loffredo,
• B. Alfano,
• M. L. Miglietta,
• E. Massera,
• L. Verdoliva and
• G. Di Francia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1023–1031, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.103

• °C), the relative humidity (RH = 50%) and under controlled nitrogen environment at atmospheric pressure, by keeping the flow constant at 500 sccm. All devices, biased at 1 V, have been analyzed through a measurement protocol consisting of an exposure towards the analyte for 10 min, preceded and

CVD transfer-free graphene for sensing applications

• Chiara Schiattarella,
• Sten Vollebregt,
• Tiziana Polichetti,
• Brigida Alfano,
• Ettore Massera,
• Maria Lucia Miglietta,
• Girolamo Di Francia and
• Pasqualina Maria Sarro

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1015–1022, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.102

• , setting the flow rate at 500 sccm, the temperature at 25 °C and the relative humidity (RH) at 50%. An increase of the conductance response has been recorded upon exposure towards NO2, whereas a decrease of the signal has been detected towards NH3. The material appears totally insensitive towards CO

• testing chamber (V = 0.4 dm3), placed in a thermostatic box. Precise amounts of analyte were let into the chamber via a system of programmable mass flow controllers (MKS) and electro-pneumatic valves. Relative humidity can be adjusted as required through a water bubbler placed in a thermostatic bath. The

• gas flow (recovery). The measurements have been carried out in inert N2 environment, keeping the total flow at 500 sccm, at atmospheric pressure, relative humidity set at 50%, T = 25 °C. The devices have been kept at 1 V DC bias voltage. The sampling rate for the acquisition of the conductance values

BTEX detection with composites of ethylenevinyl acetate and nanostructured carbon

• Santa Stepina,
• Astrida Berzina,
• Gita Sakale and
• Maris Knite

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 982–988, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.100

• sensing measurement increases when the layer thickness of EVA–CB is decreased or the vinyl acetate (VA) content in the copolymer is increased. In addition, the environmental conditions can also influence the sensing effect. In particular, it was determined that relative humidity affects the sensing

• measurements [21]. In near 100% relative humidity proton conductivity dominates over the tunnelling current conduction mechanism typical for polymer–carbon nano-filler composites. This proves that sensing measurements do not increase with increased humidity, but the full mechanism is still unknown. The aim of

Functional dependence of resonant harmonics on nanomechanical parameters in dynamic mode atomic force microscopy

• Federico Gramazio,
• Matteo Lorenzoni,
• Francesc Pérez-Murano,
• Enrique Rull Trinidad,
• Urs Staufer and
• Jordi Fraxedas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 883–891, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.90

• performed with a Bruker DIMENSION ICON instrument hosted in a homemade controlled humidity environment with Nanoscope V control electronics. Commercial rectangular microfabricated silicon cantilevers with ultrasharp silicon tips (R < 10 nm) have been used with the following nominal values: OTESPA (Bruker

• about 100 nm/V, as determined from force curves. Humidity was kept below 20%. The z motion of the piezoscanner has been calibrated using virtual standards [30]. Due to the value of the fundamental resonance frequency of the employed cantilevers, we have focused in the resonance of the 2nd flexural mode

Synthesis of coaxial nanotubes of polyaniline and poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) by oxidative/initiated chemical vapor deposition

• Alper Balkan,
• Efe Armagan and
• Gozde Ozaydin Ince

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 872–882, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.89

• techniques allowed for fine-tuning of the thickness of the individual layers, keeping the functionalities of the polymers intact. The response of the single components and the coaxial nanotubes to changes in humidity was investigated for potential humidity sensor applications. For single-component conductive

• PANI nanotubes, the resistance changed parabolically with relative humidity because of competing effects of doping and swelling of the PANI polymer under humid conditions. Introducing a hydrogel inner layer increased the overall resistance, and enhanced swelling, which caused the resistance to

• continuously increase with relative humidity. Keywords: coaxial nanotubes; humidity sensors; initiated chemical vapor deposition; oxidative chemical vapor deposition; polyaniline; Introduction In recent years, with the advances in nanotechnology, the use of nanostructured materials has become widespread in

Measuring adhesion on rough surfaces using atomic force microscopy with a liquid probe

• Juan V. Escobar,
• Cristina Garza and
• Rolando Castillo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 813–825, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.84

• be able to compare the value with published data. In this case, we obtain Fadh = 48.5 ± 0.1 nN (kc = 0.346 N/m). The measured Fadh in air is close to the value measured in vacuum, revealing the low humidity of our ambient conditions because forces of capillary origin seem to be negligible. Leite et

• al. [33] measured Fadh = 26.6 ± 0.4 nN in air at a relative humidity of (46 ± 3)% (kc = 0.11 ± 0.02 N/m) with a tip curvature radius of 30 ± 5 nm. Eastman et al. [34] measured Fadh = 51 nN with commercial tips and Lomboy et al. [28] measured 50.7 ± 0.7 nN in air with a tip curvature radius of 35 nm

• . Because mica is a natural product the samples of which are not strictly the same, plus considering the contribution of humidity of other studies, we consider our results reasonably and close to those previously measured in air, under ambient conditions. Multi-scaled rough diamond surface–Si3N4 tip: Using

Phospholipid arrays on porous polymer coatings generated by micro-contact spotting

• Sylwia Sekula-Neuner,
• Monica de Freitas,
• Lea-Marie Tröster,
• Tobias Jochum,
• Pavel A. Levkin,
• Michael Hirtz and
• Harald Fuchs

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 715–722, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.75

• of ink fluidity under humidity controlled conditions [11][12]. Using quill-like pens (SPTs, short for surface patterning tool [13]) for lipid ink deposition permitted the reduction of the volume of phospholipids needed for array generation, as compared to other spotting techniques like ink jet

• ) support (HEMA). Spotting was performed at 55–65% relative humidity. All patterning procedures were carried out with the sample stage tilted by 8° with respect to the SPT tip to minimize the probability of a contact between the ink reservoir and the sample surface. For all patterns, except the ones used

Synthesis of graphene–transition metal oxide hybrid nanoparticles and their application in various fields

• Arpita Jana,
• Elke Scheer and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 688–714, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.74

• hybrids by a rapid, facile microwave-assisted hydrothermal method for LIB applications [218]. CuO–graphene nanostructures were used as nonenzymatic glucose sensors [219], humidity sensors [220], for CO2 mineralisation [221], as supercapacitors [222], and as pseudo-capacitor electrode materials [223]. Zinc

Graphene functionalised by laser-ablated V₂O₅ for a highly sensitive NH₃ sensor

• Margus Kodu,
• Artjom Berholts,
• Tauno Kahro,
• Mati Kook,
• Peeter Ritslaid,
• Helina Seemen,
• Tea Avarmaa,
• Harry Alles and
• Raivo Jaaniso

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 571–578, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.61

• concentration of N2 and O2 gases was held constant during measurements. The gas flow through the sample chamber was kept constant at 200 sccm while the concentration of the test gas was regulated by the ratio of the flow rates of individual gas components. The nominal relative humidity of the testing gas was 20