One-step nonhydrolytic sol–gel synthesis of mesoporous TiO₂ phosphonate hybrid materials

• Yanhui Wang,
• P. Hubert Mutin and
• Johan G. Alauzun

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 356–362, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.35

• with the P/Ti ratio, leading to an increase of the specific surface area and a decrease of the pore size of the hybrid samples. For a P/Ti ratio of 0.2, the volume fraction of organic octyl groups exceeds 50%. The hybrid material becomes nonporous and can be described as amorphous TiO2 clusters

Nitrous oxide as an effective AFM tip functionalization: a comparative study

• Taras Chutora,
• Bruno de la Torre,
• Pingo Mutombo,
• Jack Hellerstedt,
• Jaromír Kopeček,
• Pavel Jelínek and
• Martin Švec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 315–321, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.30

• (111) system, revealing the formation of small 2D clusters, preferentially located at the kinks of the characteristic herringbone structure. Their variable size is typically a few nanometers in diameter. The estimated average apparent height of the cluster formations was 70 pm. After the N2O cluster

• formation, the metallic tip (pre-treated by a gentle indentation into the substrate) was functionalized by an impurity CO molecule, which significantly improved the resolution in both STM and AFM. We performed high-resolution AFM/STM measurements on various clusters (comparable to the inset of Figure 1a

• , due to their slightly different polarization. The calculations reveal that the preferred orientation of the N2O molecules in the clusters is with the O atoms outward (Figure 1b), being 17 meV more stable than the opposite arrangement. Using the optimized geometry of the cluster obtained from DFT

Heating ability of magnetic nanoparticles with cubic and combined anisotropy

• Nikolai A. Usov,
• Mikhail S. Nesmeyanov,
• Elizaveta M. Gubanova and
• Natalia B. Epshtein

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 305–314, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.29

• taking into account both thermal fluctuations of the particle magnetic moments and strong magneto–dipole interaction in assemblies of fractal-like clusters of nanoparticles. Similar calculations are also performed for assemblies of slightly elongated magnetite nanoparticles having combined magnetic

• anisotropy. A substantial dependence of the SAR on the nanoparticle diameter is obtained for all cases investigated. Due to the influence of the magneto–dipole interaction, the SAR of fractal clusters of nanoparticles decreases considerably in comparison with that for weakly interacting nanoparticles

• . However, the ability of magnetic nanoparticle assemblies to generate heat can be improved if the nanoparticles are covered by nonmagnetic shells of appreciable thickness. Keywords: fractal clusters; magnetite nanoparticles; magneto–dipole interaction; numerical simulation; specific absorption rate

A Ni(OH)₂ nanopetals network for high-performance supercapacitors synthesized by immersing Ni nanofoam in water

• Donghui Zheng,
• Man Li,
• Yongyan Li,
• Chunling Qin,
• Yichao Wang and
• Zhifeng Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 281–293, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.27

• nanopetals exhibit a network shape. With increasing immersion time, clusters of nanopetals accumulate into a flower morphology upon the Ni(OH)2 network layer, resulting in a thickness increase of the Ni(OH)2 layer and a decline in conductivity. A higher conductivity of the electrode leads to a better rate

Thermal control of the defunctionalization of supported Au₂₅(glutathione)₁₈ catalysts for benzyl alcohol oxidation

• Zahraa Shahin,
• Hyewon Ji,
• Rodica Chiriac,
• Nadine Essayem,
• Franck Rataboul and
• Aude Demessence

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 228–237, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.21

• des Multimatériaux et Interfaces (LMI), Villeurbanne, France 10.3762/bjnano.10.21 Abstract Au25(SG)18 (SG – glutathione) clusters deposited on ZrO2 nanoparticles have been used as a catalyst for benzyl alcohol oxidation. Calcination was performed at different temperatures to study the ligand and

• chemical sensing, bioimaging, biotherapy and catalysis. As a catalyst, GNCs, and mostly Au25(SR)18 gold thiolate clusters, have shown high activity for different reactions such as liquid or gas phase oxidation, hydrogenation, C–C coupling and electro/photocatalysis [13]. Based on different studies, it is

• has been shown that the presence or absence of the thiolate ligand affects the catalytic activity and selectivity of gold thiolate clusters [17][18]. For example, high activity in the aerobic epoxidation of trans-stilbene was observed using non-calcined Au25(SPhNH2)17@SBA-15, whereas upon calcination

Uniform Sb₂S₃ optical coatings by chemical spray method

• Jako S. Eensalu,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Erki Kärber,
• Ilona Oja Acik,
• Arvo Mere and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 198–210, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.18

• Information File 1, Figure S2A,B, Figure S3A,B; 6-200-As-dep., Figure 3A,B; 6-210-As-dep., Figure 3C,D) cover the substrate almost entirely. Grain boundaries and larger clusters of grains have formed in layers deposited from Sb/S 1:6 solutions for 40 minutes at 210 °C (6-210-As-dep., Figure 3C,D, Figure S5C,D

• met. Indeed, metastibnite, the naturally occurring mineral form of amorphous Sb2S3, has the botryoidal characteristic, preferentially forming globular clusters [55]. We have also observed 3D growth of extremely thin TiO2 layers by spray pyrolysis [56]. Therefore, 3D island growth may partially be

Sputtering of silicon nanopowders by an argon cluster ion beam

• Xiaomei Zeng,
• Vasiliy Pelenovich,
• Zhenguo Wang,
• Wenbin Zuo,
• Sergey Belykh,
• Alexander Tolstogouzov,
• Dejun Fu and
• Xiangheng Xiao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 135–143, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.13

• clusters is generally recognized an effective technique to sputter solid materials [1]. Sputtering using gas cluster ions differs drastically from sputtering using monomer ions; this difference arises from the peculiar features of the cluster beam. Due to the large quantity of monomers which constitute

• sputtering yield has already been discussed by Belykh et al. [27]. In the present work, we use massive argon clusters, as projectiles, and pressed Si nanopowder consisting of nanoparticles with a mean particle diameter of 60 nm, as the sputtered material. The sputtering yield dependence versus average target

• shown. The electron energy influences the mass spectra rather profoundly. The mean cluster specific sizes are 2900 and 840 atoms at Ee = 17 and 150 eV, respectively. It is known that the effect of the cluster fragmentation under electron impact is negligible for massive clusters (N > 100) [29

Zn/F-doped tin oxide nanoparticles synthesized by laser pyrolysis: structural and optical properties

• Florian Dumitrache,
• Iuliana P. Morjan,
• Elena Dutu,
• Ion Morjan,
• Claudiu Teodor Fleaca,
• Monica Scarisoreanu,
• Alina Ilie,
• Marius Dumitru,
• Cristian Mihailescu,
• Adriana Smarandache and
• Gabriel Prodan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 9–21, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.2

• the freshly formed tin-based clusters. Using the same SF6 flow rate (0.5 sccm), the highest F content was found in the ZTOst sample where none of the central Ar streams pass through ZnEt2. The most probable explanation comes from the reactive flame temperature when the presence of ZnEt2 vapors

• reaches the temperature where the precursors start to decompose, forming Zn/F-doped Sn-based (and sometimes even SnF2) clusters. At the same time, due to the presence of an oxidative environment, the freshly formed clusters oxidize to SnO or SnO2 nanodomains. Also, a reference sample doped only with

Colloidal chemistry with patchy silica nanoparticles

• Pierre-Etienne Rouet,
• Cyril Chomette,
• Laurent Adumeau,
• Etienne Duguet and
• Serge Ravaine

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2989–2998, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.278

• report a new route to synthesize clusters, or so-called colloidal molecules (CMs), which mimic the symmetry of molecular structures made of one central atom. We couple site-specifically functionalized patchy nanoparticles, i.e., valence-endowed colloidal atoms (CAs), with complementary nanospheres

• of the inherent directionality of colloidal clusters and by growing a matrix material onto the clusters [13][14]. By adjusting the matrix growth, it is possible to leave some zones of the clusters exposed to the outer medium, which further serve as patches with controlled size. The group of van

• ethanol followed by two cycles of centrifugation (12,000g; 10 min)/redispersion in anhydrous DMF. Synthesis of the dimpled silica particles with aminated PS chains Synthesis of the multipod-like PS/silica clusters We prepared batches of bipods and tetrapods, consisting of a central silica core surrounded

Site-controlled formation of single Si nanocrystals in a buried SiO₂ matrix using ion beam mixing

• Xiaomo Xu,
• Thomas Prüfer,
• Daniel Wolf,
• Hans-Jürgen Engelmann,
• Lothar Bischoff,
• René Hübner,
• Karl-Heinz Heinig,
• Wolfhard Möller,
• Stefan Facsko,
• Johannes von Borany and
• Gregor Hlawacek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2883–2892, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.267

• of Monte Carlo steps, ultimately leading to the formation of a 1D Si NC chain (see Figure 5c). During this process, small clusters decay faster than larger clusters which form at the location of the highest Si excess close to the center of the irradiation line. Finally, the NCs start to decay and all

Controlling surface morphology and sensitivity of granular and porous silver films for surface-enhanced Raman scattering, SERS

• Sherif Okeil and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2813–2831, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.263

• are observed due island formation during sputtering (Figure 1c,d) [77]. The granular morphology could be advantageous for the formation of hot spots resulting in an efficient SERS activity of the silver film. For the 200 nm thick silver film the coalescence of the adjacent silver clusters formed in

Comparative biological effects of spherical noble metal nanoparticles (Rh, Pd, Ag, Pt, Au) with 4–8 nm diameter

• Alexander Rostek,
• Marina Breisch,
• Kevin Pappert,
• Kateryna Loza,
• Marc Heggen,
• Manfred Köller,
• Christina Sengstock and
• Matthias Epple

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2763–2774, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.258

• human cells [24][26][27], whereas in other studies, these effects were not observed [28][29][30]. With ultrasmall gold nanoparticles and gold clusters, different biological events are triggered that can lead to a higher cytotoxicity of very small particles (<3 nm) [31]. Very little is known about the

Size-selected Fe₃O₄–Au hybrid nanoparticles for improved magnetism-based theranostics

• Maria V. Efremova,
• Yulia A. Nalench,
• Eirini Myrovali,
• Anastasiia S. Garanina,
• Ivan S. Grebennikov,
• Polina K. Gifer,
• Maxim A. Abakumov,
• Marina Spasova,
• Makis Angelakeris,
• Alexander G. Savchenko,
• Michael Farle,
• Natalia L. Klyachko,
• Alexander G. Majouga and
• Ulf Wiedwald

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2684–2699, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.251

• with the size of Fe3O4 NPs and clusters of NPs has been thoroughly discussed in the literature. See for example [57][58][59][60]. These aggregates can be considered as magnetic volumes in which the dipole–dipole interaction between NPs produces a strong magnetic field gradient leading to the

• predominant T2-effect. The r2-relaxivity is affected by NP aggregation, and three different regimes can be distinguished. First, for small clusters, r2 is given by the theory of the outer sphere. NPs are homogeneously dispersed, and water protons diffuse between the magnetic cores before becoming completely

• are in the MAR where the diffusion processes are the predominant factor for the r2-relaxivity. This limit correlates well with the model predictions for the r2 value described in [66] considering clusters of 4–5 NPs in the case of sample MNP-6 (modeled r2 = 154 mM−1·s−1) and single NPs of MNP-15

Enhancement of X-ray emission from nanocolloidal gold suspensions under double-pulse excitation

• Wei-Hung Hsu,
• Frances Camille P. Masim,
• Armandas Balčytis,
• Hsin-Hui Huang,
• Tetsu Yonezawa,
• Aleksandr A. Kuchmizhak,
• Saulius Juodkazis and
• Koji Hatanaka

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2609–2617, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.242

• assume that under our experimental conditions the fragmentation threshold will be easily reached resulting in breaking up of the gold nanoparticles into smaller clusters. Fragmentation can proceed via explosive ablation at the characteristic time scales from few tens to few hundred of picoseconds [12][42

• -laser pulses for terahertz-wave emission from water flow were reported [51], while terahertz emission from various solutions under broad focusing was already known [52]. Simultaneous emission of X-ray and terahertz waves from gas clusters in vacuum [53][54], Al-coated glass substrates in vacuum [54], or

Au–Si plasmonic platforms: synthesis, structure and FDTD simulations

• Anna Gapska,
• Marcin Łapiński,
• Paweł Syty,
• Wojciech Sadowski,
• Józef E. Sienkiewicz and
• Barbara Kościelska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2599–2608, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.241

• 4f7/2 and 4f5/2 excitations differs from the statistical ratio of 4:3 and the linewidths (FWHM) are not equal. The size of the clusters can also affect the symmetry of the Au 4f7/2 peak on the side of higher binding energies, and the asymmetry increases with decreasing cluster size. In our

High-temperature magnetism and microstructure of a semiconducting ferromagnetic (GaSb)_1−x(MnSb)_x alloy

• Leonid N. Oveshnikov,
• Elena I. Nekhaeva,
• Alexey V. Kochura,
• Alexander B. Davydov,
• Mikhail A. Shakhov,
• Sergey F. Marenkin,
• Oleg A. Novodvorskii,
• Alexander P. Kuzmenko,
• Alexander L. Vasiliev,
• Boris A. Aronzon and
• Erkki Lahderanta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2457–2465, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.230

• was suggested [9] that the ferromagnetic ordering in this case is induced by the interaction of MnSb magnetic clusters with carriers inside the matrix. It should induce carrier spin-polarization and lead to the formation of a long-range ferromagnetic percolation cluster, which includes both MnSb

• magnetic clusters and spin-polarized carriers. However, to verify this assumption and to reveal the origin of the high-temperature ferromagnetism in GaSb–MnSb alloys, one needs a detailed knowledge of the sample structure. Thus, in this paper we investigate magnetic and transport properties of the GaSb

Performance analysis of rigorous coupled-wave analysis and its integration in a coupled modeling approach for optical simulation of complete heterojunction silicon solar cells

• Ziga Lokar,
• Benjamin Lipovsek,
• Marko Topic and
• Janez Krc

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2315–2329, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.216

• rear textures) would need a large number of sublayers and modes. Faster computers or clusters would enable simulation of structures larger than those presented, but still, it needs to be emphasized that doubling of both the total modes and sublayers requires a computer approximately ten times faster to

Surface energy of nanoparticles – influence of particle size and structure

• Dieter Vollath,
• Franz Dieter Fischer and
• David Holec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2265–2276, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.211

• magic number for clusters consisting of 55 atoms. More detailed insight is provided by a thorough ab initio study analyzing the Au55 cluster performed by Holec et al. [53] and Vollath et al. [14]. These studies established the fact that the most stable state of this cluster is glassy. The accompanying

• (shaded area) results of Castro et al., the result of Cluskey et al., obtained on Au55 clusters, is also located. Visualization of the setting for the estimation the number of next neighbors (coordination number) of an atom at the surface of a spherical particle with diameter d = 2R. The volume of the

Intrinsic ultrasmall nanoscale silicon turns n-/p-type with SiO₂/Si₃N₄-coating

• Dirk König,
• Daniel Hiller,
• Noël Wilck,
• Birger Berghoff,
• Merlin Müller,
• Sangeeta Thakur,
• Giovanni Di Santo,
• Luca Petaccia,
• Joachim Mayer,
• Sean Smith and
• Joachim Knoch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2255–2264, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.210

• approximant; one NC is embedded in SiO2 and one NC resides in Si3N4 (Figure 1). We found earlier that – regarding DFT – Si10-NCs are the smallest NCs above the atomic limit below which Si-clusters behave as small molecules in the gas phase [13]. The frontier-OMOs exist within the Si3N4-embedded Si-NC (Figure

The role of adatoms in chloride-activated colloidal silver nanoparticles for surface-enhanced Raman scattering enhancement

• Nicolae Leopold,
• Andrei Stefancu,
• Krisztian Herman,
• István Sz. Tódor,
• Stefania D. Iancu,
• Vlad Moisoiu and
• Loredana F. Leopold

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2236–2247, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.208

• sodium chloride in the reacting solution. During the photoreduction process, the surface of the AgCl particles becomes covered with clusters of Ag atoms, which was also reported by Wang et al. [27]. The silver atom clusters grow continuously during light exposure, leading to the formation of AgNPs on the

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

The structural and chemical basis of temporary adhesion in the sea star Asterina gibbosa

• Birgit Lengerer,
• Marie Bonneel,
• Mathilde Lefevre,
• Elise Hennebert,
• Philippe Leclère,
• Emmanuel Gosselin,
• Peter Ladurner and
• Patrick Flammang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2071–2086, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.196

• of A. gibbosa was slightly broader than the flexible stem and full of collagenous fibres (Figure 2B). The collagen fibres were arranged in thick bundles and alternated with clusters of secretory gland cells (Figure 2B and Figure 3A). In asteroids, three tube foot morphotypes have been described – i.e

Metal-free catalysis based on nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials: a photoelectron spectroscopy point of view

• Mattia Scardamaglia and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2015–2031, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.191

• . Indeed, the graphitic network can be easily modified by the introduction of heteroatoms, functional groups or defects, such as dislocations, vacancies or edges [25][34][35]. They act as active sites for electron localization or they are useful to anchor metal clusters or foreign molecules that will, in

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

• particles can be of importance. This was demonstrated by MD simulations for gold clusters on HOPG, where a significant reduction of static friction was found by simply increasing the cluster thickness. As a result, the nanostructure becomes elastically stiffer, which goes along with a reduced tendency to

• heterogeneous contacts formed between hexagonal boron nitride clusters and graphene, a recent study has pointed out how kinetic friction can drastically decrease when the slider enters a regime of soliton-supported smooth sliding beyond a certain contact area [79]. Confined systems and lubrication Several

Synthesis of carbon nanowalls from a single-source metal-organic precursor

• André Giese,
• Sebastian Schipporeit,
• Volker Buck and
• Nicolas Wöhrl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1895–1905, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.181

• found nanocrystalline Al3C4 clusters by TEM measurements in our CNWs that were measured to be of 30 nm in size [23]. In addition to the AES measurements, EDX measurements were carried out on the CNWs to identify additional trace elements in the carbon structures (Figure 11). Besides the already measured

• carbon, aluminium, chromium and iron from the stainless steel substrate, and oxygen can be identified. The oxygen is likely from the metal-organic precursor, which also contains oxygen. Thus, in addition to the Al3C4 clusters, also Al2O3 compounds in the films are possible, also H2O adsorption cannot be