Mobility of charge carriers in self-assembled monolayers

• Zhihua Fu,
• Tatjana Ladnorg,
• Hartmut Gliemann,
• Alexander Welle,
• Asif Bashir,
• Michael Rohwerder,
• Qiang Zhang,
• Björn Schüpbach,
• Andreas Terfort and
• Christof Wöll

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2449–2458, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.235

• study charge transport within 2D layers of organic semi-conductors (OSCs) using atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based lithography applied to self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), fabricated from appropriate organothiols. The extent of lateral charge transport was investigated by insulating pre-defined patches

• the determination of mobilities in macroscopic samples. Keywords: conducting atomic force microscopy; lateral charge transport; nanografting; organic semiconductor; self-assembled monolayer; Introduction Charge transport in organic semiconductors plays a central role in the field of molecular

Self-assembly of a terbium(III) 1D coordination polymer on mica

• Quentin Evrard,
• Giuseppe Cucinotta,
• Felix Houard,
• Guillaume Calvez,
• Yan Suffren,
• Carole Daiguebonne,
• Olivier Guillou,
• Andrea Caneschi,
• Matteo Mannini and
• Kevin Bernot

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2440–2448, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.234

• candidate for the creation of surface-based magnetic and luminescent devices. In the present work, we report the epitaxial growth of needle-like objects composed of [Tb(hfac)3·2H2O]n (where hfac = hexafluoroacetylacetonate) polymeric units on muscovite mica, which is observed by atomic force microscopy. The

• (375 µs) and the CHCl3 solution (13 µs) further reinforces the idea of water-induced growth. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); luminescence; nanostructuration; polymer; self-assembly; surface; terbium complexes; Introduction The study of materials for the realization of novel magnetic [1][2][3

• suitable for atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging [24] as well as for its hydrophilic nature promoting the interaction with the deposited molecules. Indeed, muscovite mica has already been used for the deposition of magnetic materials such as FeCoN magnetic films [25] or tungsten oxide nanowires [21]. The

Integration of sharp silicon nitride tips into high-speed SU8 cantilevers in a batch fabrication process

• Nahid Hosseini,
• Matthias Neuenschwander,
• Oliver Peric,
• Santiago H. Andany,
• Jonathan D. Adams and
• Georg E. Fantner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2357–2363, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.226

• Abstract Employing polymer cantilevers has shown to outperform using their silicon or silicon nitride analogues concerning the imaging speed of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in tapping mode (intermittent contact mode with amplitude modulation) by up to one order of magnitude. However, tips of the

• any photo-processable polymer cantilever. Keywords: Atomic force microscopy (AFM); durability; imaging speed; polymer cantilever; silicon nitride tip; Introduction Atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilevers have been developed for numerous applications since the invention of scanning probe microscopy

A novel method to remove impulse noise from atomic force microscopy images based on Bayesian compressed sensing

• Yingxu Zhang,
• Yingzi Li,
• Zihang Song,
• Zhenyu Wang,
• Jianqiang Qian and
• Junen Yao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2346–2356, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.225

• , China School of Physics, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China 10.3762/bjnano.10.225 Abstract A novel method based on Bayesian compressed sensing is proposed to remove impulse noise from atomic force microscopy (AFM) images. The image denoising problem is transformed into a compressed sensing

• proposed method is robust and its performance is not influenced by the noise density in a certain range. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); Bayesian compressed sensing; denoising; image processing; impulse noise; Introduction Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful tool in the fields of

Atomic force acoustic microscopy reveals the influence of substrate stiffness and topography on cell behavior

• Yan Liu,
• Li Li,
• Xing Chen,
• Ying Wang,
• Meng-Nan Liu,
• Jin Yan,
• Liang Cao,
• Lu Wang and
• Zuo-Bin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2329–2337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.223

• ], confocal microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) [12] and atomic force microscopy (AFM) [16][17] have been employed to investigate cell–substrate interactions. Fluorescence and confocal microscopy are traditional techniques to investigate the intra- and intercellular processes in biological studies

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

• current approaches based on the magneto-optic Kerr effect in X-ray and electron microscopy [11]. Nano-MRI techniques studied in current research endeavors include several quantum mechanical and nanotechnological approaches, such as optically detected MR (ODMR) using NV centers and MR force microscopy

• coronas of proteins) are fundamental to making nanoprobes biocompatible. However, this promising field still needs to overcome challenges to deliver its full potential. Solid chemical shifts have been measured in 2D with 1 µm accuracy by MR force microscopy [17], a technique that is readily extendable to

Microbubbles decorated with dendronized magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical imaging: effective stabilization via fluorous interactions

• Da Shi,
• Justine Wallyn,
• Dinh-Vu Nguyen,
• Francis Perton,
• Delphine Felder-Flesch,
• Sylvie Bégin-Colin,
• Mounir Maaloum and
• Marie Pierre Krafft

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2103–2115, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.205

• result is already obtained with C2F5, for which MBs of ≈1.0 μm in radius reach a half-life of ≈6.0 h. An atomic force microscopy investigation of spin-coated mixed films of DPPC/IONP@C2X5OEG8Den combinations (molar ratio 28:1) shows that the IONPs grafted with the fluorinated dendrons are located within

• stability characteristics of F-hexane-stabilized DPPC-shelled MBs incorporating IONP@CnX2n+1OEG8Den. Fourth, we report an atomic force microscopy (AFM) study that reveals that the location of the dendronized nanoparticles in the phospholipid film strongly depends on the nature of the terminal group. Results

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

• conditions and the capacity dimension of the nanowires was obtained. Keywords: atomic force microscopy (AFM); capillary force; metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE); multifractal analysis; nanoarchitectonics; nanowires; self-assembly; Introduction In the last years, huge progress was made regarding the

• describe it by just one scaling law. In this latter case a shift to multifractal analysis is necessary. In the present work we show the results of multifractal analysis of nanoarchitectured surfaces of MACE Si NWs. The spontaneous arrangements of the NWs were investigated by using atomic force microscopy

Ion mobility and material transport on KBr in air as a function of the relative humidity

• Dominik J. Kirpal,
• Korbinian Pürckhauer,
• Alfred J. Weymouth and
• Franz J. Giessibl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 2084–2093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.203

• to the surface. We collected atomic force microscopy images of KBr surfaces in a humidity-controlled glove box at various relative humidities below 40%. By scratching and poking the surface with the AFM tip, we constructed energetically unfavorable holes or scratch sites and material accumulations

• force microscopy; material transport; relative humidity; Introduction Defining surface properties under ambient conditions is challenging as they are heavily influenced by the environment. In general, there are various contributing factors such as temperature, air pressure and air composition

• relationship between humidity, water coverage and movement speed, however, is complex. In this study we investigated the surface of KBr, a salt crystal, by using frequency-modulation atomic force microscopy (FM-AFM) using a qPlus sensor [9][10][11]. The aim of our experiments is a qualitative and quantitative

Synthesis and potent cytotoxic activity of a novel diosgenin derivative and its phytosomes against lung cancer cells

• Liang Xu,
• Dekang Xu,
• Ziying Li,
• Yu Gao and
• Haijun Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1933–1942, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.189

• below 100 nm and negative charges will be more suitable for lung cancer treatment. The morphology of the DiP and P2P was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM, Figure 3C,D). P2P and DiP demonstrated roughly homogeneous rod shapes in TEM but showed spherical

• Hydrodynamic diameter and zeta potential of the phytosomes were analyzed by DLS on a Malvern Instruments Zetasizer HS III (Malvern, UK) at room temperature. The morphology of the phytosomes was recorded by using atomic force microscopy (AFM, Multimode 8, Bruker, USA) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM

Oblique angle deposition of nickel thin films by high-power impulse magnetron sputtering

• Hamidreza Hajihoseini,
• Movaffaq Kateb,
• Snorri Þorgeir Ingvarsson and
• Jon Tomas Gudmundsson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1914–1921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.186

• previously observed and discussed [52]. However, the reported mass density values are corresponding to the “bulk” part of the film. The film thickness gradient (Δd) was characterized by non-contact mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis in an XE-100 multi-mode AFM system (PSIA Inc.) in air (ex situ

Nanoarchitectonics meets cell surface engineering: shape recognition of human cells by halloysite-doped silica cell imprints

• Elvira Rozhina,
• Ilnur Ishmukhametov,
• Svetlana Batasheva,
• Farida Akhatova and
• Rawil Fakhrullin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1818–1825, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.176

• cells and (G) HeLa cells coated with halloysite-doped silica shells. Atomic force microscopy (PeakForce Tapping mode) images of inorganic silica/halloysite imprints templated on HeLa cells: (A) topography image, (B) non-specific adhesion map; (C) scanning electron microscopy image of inorganic silica

Growth dynamics and light scattering of gold nanoparticles in situ synthesized at high concentration in thin polymer films

• Corentin Guyot,
• Philippe Vandestrick,
• Ingrid Marenne,
• Olivier Deparis and
• Michel Voué

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1768–1777, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.172

• the roughness of the films using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Results and Discussion Optical scattering measurements In preliminary experiments, Au-doped polymer films coated on glass were annealed in an oven at different temperatures (90–160 °C) over different periods of time (1–12 h). Different

• angle of incidence (AOI) of θi = −20° (note that incidence angles are conventionally negative in BRDF measurements). A 12 mW HeNe Laser was also used in preliminary experiments in order to qualitatively evidence scattering after the annealing of the samples. Atomic force microscopy The topography of the

Remarkable electronic and optical anisotropy of layered 1T’-WTe₂ 2D materials

• Qiankun Zhang,
• Rongjie Zhang,
• Jiancui Chen,
• Wanfu Shen,
• Chunhua An,
• Xiaodong Hu,
• Mingli Dong,
• Jing Liu and
• Lianqing Zhu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1745–1753, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.170

• following way: where R2 and R1 are the reflectance coefficients associated with the natural orthorhombic crystal. To characterize the optical anisotropy, a few layered 1T’-WTe2 flake was mechanically exfoliated and transferred onto a pre-cleaned Si/SiO2 wafer, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to

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

• , Anhui, China 10.3762/bjnano.10.159 Abstract Subsurface imaging of Au circuit structures embedded in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) thin films with a cover thickness ranging from 52 to 653 nm was carried out by using contact resonance atomic force microscopy (CR-AFM). The mechanical difference of the

• force microscopy (AFM); contact resonance atomic force microscopy (CR-AFM); contact stiffness; defect detection; flexible circuits; subsurface imaging; Introduction With the rapid shrinkage of microelectronic devices, flexible circuits are intensively used while being functionalized as supercapacitors

• ) has emerged as a promising way. Various SPM-based nanoscale subsurface imaging methods have been proposed that rely on different detection mechanisms including thermal, magnetic, electric, and mechanical sensing. Among them, contact resonance atomic force microscopy (CR-AFM) demonstrates the unique

Kelvin probe force microscopy work function characterization of transition metal oxide crystals under ongoing reduction and oxidation

• Dominik Wrana,
• Karol Cieślik,
• Wojciech Belza,
• Christian Rodenbücher,
• Krzysztof Szot and
• Franciszek Krok

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1596–1607, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.155

• future energy production and storage. As the majority of applications involve the use of heterostructures, the most suitable characterization technique is Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM), which provides excellent energetic and lateral resolution. In this paper, we demonstrate precise

• obtaining work function and conductivity maps on the same area by combining noncontact and contact modes of atomic force microscopy (AFM). As most of the real applications require ambient operating conditions, we have additionally checked the impact of air venting on the work function of the TiO/SrTiO3(100

• . Keywords: Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM); reduction and oxidation; SrTiO3; TiO nanowires; TiO/SrTiO3 heterostructure; transition metal oxides; work function; Introduction Transition metal oxides are viewed today as some of the most promising materials in various fields, ranging from (photo)catalysis

Development of a new hybrid approach combining AFM and SEM for the nanoparticle dimensional metrology

• Loïc Crouzier,
• Alexandra Delvallée,
• Sébastien Ducourtieux,
• Laurent Devoille,
• Guillaume Noircler,
• Christian Ulysse,
• Olivier Taché,
• Elodie Barruet,
• Christophe Tromas and
• Nicolas Feltin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1523–1536, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.150

• proposes a new approach of hybrid metrology taking advantage of the complementary nature of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques for measuring the main characteristic parameters of nanoparticle (NP) dimensions in 3D. The NP area equivalent, the minimal and the

• budget; Introduction AFM (atomic force microscopy) or SEM (scanning electron microscopy) are considered to be reference techniques for measuring the size of nanoparticles (NPs) because the measurements are based on a direct observation of the imaged NP population. This creates a direct link between the

Kelvin probe force microscopy of the nanoscale electrical surface potential barrier of metal/semiconductor interfaces in ambient atmosphere

• Petr Knotek,
• Tomáš Plecháček,
• Jan Smolík,
• Petr Kutálek,
• Filip Dvořák,
• Milan Vlček,
• Jiří Navrátil and
• Čestmír Drašar

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1401–1411, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.138

• nanosheets through the reaction with the Bi2Se3. The Schottky barrier formed by the 1D and 2D nanoinclusions was characterized by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM). We used Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) in ambient atmosphere at the nanoscale and compared the results to those of ultraviolet

• harm to other transport parameters. The characterization of NIs or NPs in TE materials is realized most frequently by the different modes of atomic force microscopy (AFM): i) by comparing the conductivity/resistivity (CAFM) or I–V curves measurement in the direct-contact of the conductive tip and the

• material [19][20][21]; ii) by mapping of the different surface contact potential values by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) in the semicontact mode [19][22][23][24][25], or iii) by measuring the differences in thermal conductivity by scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) [19][20][26]. Shape, size

Nanoscale spatial mapping of mechanical properties through dynamic atomic force microscopy

• Zahra Abooalizadeh,
• Leszek Josef Sudak and
• Philip Egberts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1332–1347, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.132

• Zahra Abooalizadeh Leszek Josef Sudak Philip Egberts Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Calgary, 40 Research Place NW, Calgary, Alberta T2L 1Y6, Canada 10.3762/bjnano.10.132 Abstract Dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM) was employed to spatially map the elastic

• compared with no change in the elastic modulus for covered steps. The analysis of the experimental data taken under varying normal loads and with several different tips showed that the elastic modulus determination was unaffected by these parameters. Keywords: atomic force microscopy; contact resonance

• , and predictive models of failure. Dynamic atomic force microscopy (AFM) is one technique that is well suited for experimentally measuring the mechanical properties of materials with high spatial resolution [10][11][12]. More specifically, a focus on two dynamic AFM modes, force modulation microscopy

Imaging the surface potential at the steps on the rutile TiO₂(110) surface by Kelvin probe force microscopy

• Masato Miyazaki,
• Huan Fei Wen,
• Quanzhen Zhang,
• Yuuki Adachi,
• Jan Brndiar,
• Ivan Štich,
• Yan Jun Li and
• Yasuhiro Sugawara

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1228–1236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.122

• ) surface with O2 exposure using Kelvin probe force microscopy. A drop in contact potential difference was observed at the steps, indicating that the work function locally decreased. Moreover, for the first time, we found that the drop in contact potential difference at a <1−11> step was larger than that at

• steps in the catalytic reaction. Keywords: catalyst; Kelvin probe force microscopy; Smoluchowski effect; step; titanium dioxide; Introduction Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has attracted considerable interest for its promising applications as a photocatalyst and as catalyst support, as well as in gas sensors

• observed with a lateral resolution of several nanometers by Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) [29][30]. However, the dependence of surface potential on direction and structure of steps such as [001], and has not yet been clarified. In scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) [31] studies, three typical

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

• , Clayton VIC 3800, Australia Institute for Materials Research, Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium 10.3762/bjnano.10.106 Abstract Magnetic force microscopy (MFM) has become a widely used tool for the characterization of magnetic properties. However, the magnetic signal can be

• roughness of dielectric films with increasing film thickness. Keywords: capacitive coupling; electrostatic effects; magnetic force microscopy; nanoparticles; superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (SPION); Introduction MFM has become an important tool for studying magnetic properties of surface

• electrostatic interactions. Origin of these artifacts is the work-function difference between tip and sample material. Yu et al. [10] demonstrated that topographic features can be avoided by combining MFM with electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) compensating the contact potential difference by an appropriate

Tailoring the stability/aggregation of one-dimensional TiO₂(B)/titanate nanowires using surfactants

• Atiđa Selmani,
• Johannes Lützenkirchen,
• Kristina Kučanda,
• Dario Dabić,
• Engelbert Redel,
• Ida Delač Marion,
• Damir Kralj,
• Darija Domazet Jurašin and
• Maja Dutour Sikirić

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1024–1037, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.103

• ) micrographs revealed that the synthesized TNWs have a distinct, straight, wire-like morphology (Figure 1a). The analysis of the micrographs showed that the length of the TNWs is in the range from 900 to 2000 nm, while the measured diameter ranged from 25 to 250 nm. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed the

• TNW surface and 12-2-12 due to the two positively charged polar heads of 12-2-12. Micrographs of synthesized TNWs taken by a) high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and b) atomic force microscopy. Variation of zeta potential (ζ) with pH of TNWs in 10−3 mol dm−3 NaBr aqueous solution. γ(TNW) = 1

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

• surface of the Ni film suffered from restructuration during the CVD process that strongly depended on the heating rate. In order to assess the surface of the films after the growth of graphene, the samples were analysed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) using a Molecular Imaging Pico LE apparatus operated

In situ AFM visualization of Li–O₂ battery discharge products during redox cycling in an atmospherically controlled sample cell

• Kumar Virwani,
• Younes Ansari,
• Khanh Nguyen,
• Francisco José Alía Moreno-Ortiz,
• Jangwoo Kim,
• Maxwell J. Giammona,
• Ho-Cheol Kim and
• Young-Hye La

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 930–940, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.94

• /bjnano.10.94 Abstract The in situ observation of electrochemical reactions is challenging due to a constantly changing electrode surface under highly sensitive conditions. This study reports the development of an in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique for electrochemical systems, including the

• these redox materials at the micrometer and nanometer scales. Gewirth et al. [2] reviewed the use of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigations of phenomena such as reconstructions, restructuring and adsorption of ions. Phenomena such as under-potential

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

• different methods, i.e., (i) a table-top Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) transmission spectrometer, (ii) a synchrotron-based attenuated total reflection (ATR) FTIR spectrometer, and (iii) an atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip responding to the absorbed IR light (nano-IR [9]), produced comparable spectral

• diffractometer using a Cu Kα microfocus X-ray source with λ = 1.5418 Å (Figure 2a). IR spectral measurements The sub-diffraction scattering scanning near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM, neaspec GmbH) uses a metalized atomic force microscopy (AFM) tip. The tip maps the surface relief (topography) by its basic