Development of highly faceted reduced graphene oxide-coated copper oxide and copper nanoparticles on a copper foil surface

• Rebeca Ortega-Amaya,
• Yasuhiro Matsumoto,
• Andrés M. Espinoza-Rivas,
• Manuel A. Pérez-Guzmán and
• Mauricio Ortega-López

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1010–1017, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.93

• studies on the abovementioned Cu-based nanoparticles. Interestingly, they develop a highly faceted morphology and are actually coated with rGO sheets. The rGO-coated Cu-based nanoparticles developed at temperatures in the range of 200–1000 °C starting from bare Cu2O nanocrystals that formed at 80 °C

A terahertz-vibration to terahertz-radiation converter based on gold nanoobjects: a feasibility study

• Kamil Moldosanov and
• Andrei Postnikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 983–989, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.90

• text for details. Vibrational density of states of gold as extracted from (a) inelastic neutron scattering on thick foils [2], (b) plasmon resonance Raman scattering on nanocrystals [3] (green dots) and reconstructed from force constants fitted to inelastic neutron scattering data from massive single

Assembling semiconducting molecules by covalent attachment to a lamellar crystalline polymer substrate

• Rainhard Machatschek,
• Patrick Ortmann,
• Renate Reiter,
• Stefan Mecking and
• Günter Reiter

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 784–798, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.70

• nanocrystals and large single crystals. By assembling nanocrystals on a Langmuir trough, large areas could be covered by monolayers consisting of randomly arranged nanocrystals. Alternatively, we used a method based on local supersaturation to grow large area single crystals of the precisely side-branched

• changed from patchy to compact. Keywords: monolayer; nanocrystals; precision polyethylene; semiconducting molecules; single crystals; Introduction Organic chemistry constantly provides new, high-performance semiconducting molecules for organic electronic applications [1]. However, efforts to develop

• problem, we pursued an enhanced variant of the aforementioned approach: We attempted to create ordered monolayers of nanocrystals made of a precisely side-branched polymer. Those ordered monolayers of nanocrystals should have surfaces similar to the surface of single crystals, but can be prepared on much

Hemolysin coregulated protein 1 as a molecular gluing unit for the assembly of nanoparticle hybrid structures

• Tuan Anh Pham,
• Andreas Schreiber,
• Elena V. Sturm (née Rosseeva),
• Stefan Schiller and
• Helmut Cölfen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 351–363, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.32

• Hcp1_cys3 fiber-like structure after lyophilization. C) and D) TEM images show a network of magnetite NPs, which are arranged in linear chains. A) Overview HRTEM image of magnetite NPs in the Fe3O4 Hcp1_cys3 fiber. B) HRTEM image from (A) overlaid with the orientation map of magnetite nanocrystals derived

Surface coating affects behavior of metallic nanoparticles in a biological environment

• Darija Domazet Jurašin,
• Marija Ćurlin,
• Ivona Capjak,
• Tea Crnković,
• Marija Lovrić,
• Michal Babič,
• Daniel Horák,
• Ivana Vinković Vrček and
• Srećko Gajović

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 246–262, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.23

• ; protein interaction; silver; surface coating; Introduction Functional nanomaterials, including nanoparticles, nanocrystals, and nanoclusters, are promising tools for new medicinal applications, particularly for clinical use in disease diagnosis and treatment [1][2]. However, only a few nanomaterials are

• nanodiscs, triangular nanoplates or nanospheres. In recent years, solution-phase methods developed rapidly toward a reproducible preparation of metallic NPs with controlled shape [66]. A typical synthesis of nanocrystals can be divided into three levels: nucleation, evolution of nuclei into seed, and growth

• of seed into nanocrystals. The mechanism behind such a synthesis is extremely complicated, but the type of coating agent proved to be crucial for the final shape of a nanocrystal [66]. The micrographs presented in Figure 8 suggest that our initially small AgNPs appeared as seeds in WhBl or BlPl

Linear and nonlinear optical properties of hybrid metallic–dielectric plasmonic nanoantennas

• Mario Hentschel,
• Bernd Metzger,
• Bastian Knabe,
• Karsten Buse and
• Harald Giessen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 111–120, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.13

• , in first-order approximation it will not exhibit a second harmonic response for a normal incident electric field. The LiNbO3 nanocrystals, however, intrinsically break the inversion symmetry due to their crystal structure. The key idea in combining these two systems is thus to boost only the second

• harmonic response from the nanocrystals while the antenna array itself remains “dark” (meaning it does not cause any second harmonic light). Figure 2a illustrates the basic steps in producing these samples. Gold nanoantennas as well as gold alignment marks are fabricated via standard electron beam

• resist that expose the gap regions of the antennas. After development and oxygen plasma cleaning, the samples are immersed in the LiNbO3 solution, which consists of the nanocrystals diluted in water. The sample is repeatedly dipped into the solution and afterwards blown dry using nitrogen. The crystals

Dependence of lattice strain relaxation, absorbance, and sheet resistance on thickness in textured ZnO@B transparent conductive oxide for thin-film solar cell applications

• Kuang-Yang Kou,
• Yu-En Huang,
• Chien-Hsun Chen and
• Shih-Wei Feng

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 75–80, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.9

• microcrystallites has a strong green emission due to defect states in the core [11]. A blue-shifted absorption edge and photoluminescence caused by quantum confinement as well as a higher photovoltaic and sensor performance due to a larger surface area have been demonstrated in ZnO nanocrystals [14][15][16]. In

Two step formation of metal aggregates by surface X-ray radiolysis under Langmuir monolayers: 2D followed by 3D growth

• Smita Mukherjee,
• Marie-Claude Fauré,
• Michel Goldmann and
• Philippe Fontaine

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2406–2411, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.247

• , results in a second growth regime of silver nanocrystals. Here the formation of the oriented thin layer is followed by the appearance of a 3D powder of silver clusters. Keywords: GIXD; Langmuir monolayers; silver clusters; TXRF; X-ray radiolysis; Introduction Formation of metal nanoclusters and

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering by colloidal CdSe nanocrystal submonolayers fabricated by the Langmuir–Blodgett technique

• Alexander G. Milekhin,
• Larisa L. Sveshnikova,
• Tatyana A. Duda,
• Ekaterina E. Rodyakina,
• Volodymyr M. Dzhagan,
• Ovidiu D. Gordan,
• Sergey L. Veber,
• Cameliu Himcinschi,
• Alexander V. Latyshev and
• Dietrich R. T. Zahn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2388–2395, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.245

• 10.3762/bjnano.6.245 Abstract We present the results of an investigation of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) by optical phonons in colloidal CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) homogeneously deposited on both arrays of Au nanoclusters and Au dimers using the Langmuir–Blodgett technique. The coverage of the

• deposited NCs was less than one monolayer, as determined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. SERS by optical phonons in CdSe nanocrystals showed a significant enhancement that depends resonantly on the Au nanocluster and dimer size, and thus on the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR

• ) energy. The deposition of CdSe nanocrystals on the Au dimer nanocluster arrays enabled us to study the polarization dependence of SERS. The maximal SERS signal was observed for light polarization parallel to the dimer axis. The polarization ratio of the SERS signal parallel and perpendicular to the dimer

Green and energy-efficient methods for the production of metallic nanoparticles

• Mitra Naghdi,
• Mehrdad Taheran,
• Satinder K. Brar,
• M. Verma,
• R. Y. Surampalli and
• J. R. Valero

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2354–2376, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.243

• , surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) detection and catalysis of chemical reactions. Furthermore, biocompatible and functionalized NPs have applications in diagnosis and treatment of cancer. For these two purposes, fluorescent and magnetic nanocrystals for detection of tumors and also nanosystems for

Surfactant-controlled composition and crystal structure of manganese(II) sulfide nanocrystals prepared by solvothermal synthesis

• Elena Capetti,
• Anna M. Ferretti,
• Vladimiro Dal Santo and
• Alessandro Ponti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2319–2329, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.238

• Ricerche, via C. Golgi 19, 20133 Milano, Italy 10.3762/bjnano.6.238 Abstract We investigated how the outcome of the solvothermal synthesis of manganese(II) sulfide (MnS) nanocrystals (NCs) is affected by the type and amount of long chain surfactant present in the reaction mixture. Prompted by a previous

• the NC polymorphism. We found that MnS polymorphism can be controlled by appropriate selection of the surfactant. γ-MnS nanocrystals formed when a 1:2 mixture of long chain carboxylic acid and amine was used, irrespective of the presence of carboxylic acid as a free surfactant or ligand in the metal

• precursor. When we used a single surfactant (carboxylic acid, alcohol, thiol, amine), α-MnS nanocrystals were obtained. The peculiar role of the amine seems to be related to its basicity. The nanocrystals were characterized by TEM and electron diffraction; ATR-FTIR spectroscopy provided information about

Silica-coated upconversion lanthanide nanoparticles: The effect of crystal design on morphology, structure and optical properties

• Uliana Kostiv,
• Miroslav Šlouf,
• Hana Macková,
• Alexander Zhigunov,
• Hana Engstová,
• Katarína Smolková,
• Petr Ježek and
• Daniel Horák

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2290–2299, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.235

• diffraction (XRD) to determine morphology, size, polydispersity, crystal structure and elemental composition of the nanocrystals. TEM microscopy revealed that the morphology of the nanoparticles could be fine-tuned by modifying of the synthetic conditions. A cubic-to-hexagonal phase transition of the NaYF4

• energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) were used to determine the morphology, crystal structure and elemental composition of the nanocrystals, respectively. All TEM micrographs, diffractograms and spectra were taken at an accelerating voltage of 120 kV. Particle size distribution was analyzed with the

• number-average diameter (TEM) and the hydrodynamic diameter (DLS) is due to the fact that hydrophobic particles tend to aggregate and cannot be resolved as individual particles by DLS. Morphology and crystalline structure of the dry OM–NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ nanocrystals were determined by TEM/BF, TEM/ED and

A single-source precursor route to anisotropic halogen-doped zinc oxide particles as a promising candidate for new transparent conducting oxide materials

• Daniela Lehr,
• Markus R. Wagner,
• Johanna Flock,
• Julian S. Reparaz,
• Clivia M. Sotomayor Torres,
• Alexander Klaiber,
• Thomas Dekorsy and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2161–2172, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.222

• have an anisotropic, elongated shape. In contrast, the particles of the pure ZnO material are not elongated (see Figure S5, Supporting Information File 1). High-resolution (HR) TEM measurements show the high crystallinity of the single Cl@ZnO nanocrystals (see also Figure S4, Supporting Information

Mapping bound plasmon propagation on a nanoscale stripe waveguide using quantum dots: influence of spacer layer thickness

• Chamanei S. Perera,
• Alison M. Funston,
• Han-Hao Cheng and
• Kristy C. Vernon

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2046–2051, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.208

• an emission wavelength of 655 nm were obtained from invitrogen (Cat. No: Q21321MP). These carboxyl QDs are made from CdSe nanocrystals shelled with a ZnS layer. The core–shell material is further coated with a polymer layer to allow for better dispersion of the QDs in aqueous solution. These QDs have

Paramagnetism of cobalt-doped ZnO nanoparticles obtained by microwave solvothermal synthesis

• Jacek Wojnarowicz,
• Sylwia Kusnieruk,
• Tadeusz Chudoba,
• Stanislaw Gierlotka,
• Witold Lojkowski,
• Wojciech Knoff,
• Malgorzata I. Lukasiewicz,
• Bartlomiej S. Witkowski,
• Anna Wolska,
• Marcin T. Klepka,
• Tomasz Story and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1957–1969, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.200

• , interesting perspectives in many application areas [1][2][3]. The most challenging issue nowadays is how to produce such advanced nanocrystals with well-defined and reproducible electronic, optoelectronic and magnetic properties at low cost. In the present work we investigate zinc oxide (ZnO), which is an

Correction: Formation of pure Cu nanocrystals upon post-growth annealing of Cu–C material obtained from focused electron beam induced deposition: comparison of different methods

• Aleksandra Szkudlarek,
• Alfredo Rodrigues Vaz,
• Yucheng Zhang,
• Andrzej Rudkowski,
• Czesław Kapusta,
• Rolf Erni,
• Stanislav Moshkalev and
• Ivo Utke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1935–1936, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.196

• nanocrystals; focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID); post-growth annealing of Cu–C material; In Figure 8 of the original article, the scale of the ordinate was wrong. The correct figure looks as follows: Figure 8 in the original article: Calculated resistivity from the resistance measurement of a

Nonlinear optical properties of near-infrared region Ag₂S quantum dots pumped by nanosecond laser pulses

• Li-wei Liu,
• Si-yi Hu,
• Yin-ping Dou,
• Tian-hang Liu,
• Jing-quan Lin and
• Yue Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1781–1787, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.182

• superior optical limiting. We discuss the physical mechanisms responsible for the nonlinear optical response of the QDs. The average size of the nanocrystals was 5.5 nm. Our results suggest the possibility of using these Ag2S QDs for photoelectric, biosensor, optical ranging, and self-adaptive technologies

• properties of semiconductor nanocrystals [20][21][22]. Ag2S QDs have a wide range of applications in optical and other research fields. The development of their synthesis method may facilitate their application in optoelectronic devices for light absorption, photoconductor cells, IR detectors and so on [21

• this study and explained on the basis of the nonlinear optics theory of nanoparticles. Results and Discussion Figure 1 shows the analysis of a sample of Ag2S nanocrystals dispersed in chloroform (CHCl3). The QDs were synthesized using the typical procedure published previously [20]. The sizes of the

A facile method for the preparation of bifunctional Mn:ZnS/ZnS/Fe₃O₄ magnetic and fluorescent nanocrystals

• Houcine Labiadh,
• Tahar Ben Chaabane,
• Romain Sibille,
• Lavinia Balan and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1743–1751, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.178

• , 54001 Nancy Cedex, France 10.3762/bjnano.6.178 Abstract Bifunctional magnetic and fluorescent core/shell/shell Mn:ZnS/ZnS/Fe3O4 nanocrystals were synthesized in a basic aqueous solution using 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) as a capping ligand. The structural and optical properties of the

• properties of the composites. Nevertheless, a good compromise was achieved in order to maintain the dual modality of the nanocrystals, which may be promising candidates for various biological applications. Keywords: aqueous synthesis; bifunctional nanocrystals; magnetite; Mn-doped ZnS; quantum dots

• ; Introduction Semiconductor nanocrystals with a diameter of approximately 1–10 nm, also referred to as quantum dots (QDs), have attracted great attention due to their unique optical and electronic properties, which are not observed in bulk semiconductor materials [1][2][3]. Compared to conventional organic dyes

Atomic scale interface design and characterisation

• Carla Bittencourt,
• Chris Ewels and
• Arkady V. Krasheninnikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1708–1711, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.174

• expanding range of applications for related nanomaterials such as boron nitride nanotubes [22] and silicon and germanium nanocrystals [23]. Recent developments in X-rays collimation optics triggered the interest in synchrotron radiation-based techniques for the study of nanostructures. In this context, X

Formation of pure Cu nanocrystals upon post-growth annealing of Cu–C material obtained from focused electron beam induced deposition: comparison of different methods

• Aleksandra Szkudlarek,
• Alfredo Rodrigues Vaz,
• Yucheng Zhang,
• Andrzej Rudkowski,
• Czesław Kapusta,
• Rolf Erni,
• Stanislav Moshkalev and
• Ivo Utke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1508–1517, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.156

• ) and (hfac)Cu(I)(DMB). Transmission electron microscopy revealed the deposition of amorphous material from Cu(II)(hfac)2. In contrast, as-deposited material from (hfac)Cu(I)(VTMS) and (hfac)Cu(I)(DMB) was nano-composite with Cu nanocrystals dispersed in a carbonaceous matrix. After annealing at around

• 150–200 °C all deposits showed the formation of pure Cu nanocrystals at the outer surface of the initial deposit due to the migration of Cu atoms from the carbonaceous matrix containing the elements carbon, oxygen, and fluorine. Post-irradiation of deposits with 200 keV electrons in a transmission

• electron microscope favored the formation of Cu nanocrystals within the carbonaceous matrix of freestanding rods and suppressed the formation on their surface. Electrical four-point measurements on FEBID lines from Cu(hfac)2 showed five orders of magnitude improvement in conductivity when being annealed

Self-assembly of nanostructures and nanomaterials

• Isabelle Berbezier and
• Maurizio De Crescenzi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1397–1398, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.144

• , nanocrystals and Q-bits. Focusing on this dynamic new field, self-assembly “the science of things that put themselves together” explores the physics of nanostructures, new synthesis approaches, in addition to size-, shape- and composition-dependent properties. The major obstacles concern the reproducibility

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

• Co nanocrystals. They demonstrated that both the annealing temperature and the annealing time have a direct impact on the transformation kinetics of the nanoparticles from solid Co into hollow CoS. In this same study, the authors show that a similar effect occurs during oxidation or selenization of

• Co nanocrystals. Since this first report, the nanoscale Kirkendall effect has become very popular and been adopted by many research groups for the synthesis of hollow nanoparticles covering a wide range of materials including sulfides [8][26][27][28][29][30], oxides [9][10][11][30][31][32][33][34][35

• , they applied their novel approach to synthesize ZnAl2O4 nanotubes containing ZnO nanocrystals. First, rippled ZnO nanowires coated with a 12 nm thick Al2O3 layer were synthesized (Figure 13a) and then annealed at 700 °C for 5 h (Figure 13b). The annealing process results in the transformation of the

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

• luminescence quantum yield through the reduction of phosphorous dangling bonds. A scenario for the growth of the colloidal InP(Zn) QDs was proposed and discussed. Keywords: core–shell nanoparticles; doped semiconductor nanocrystals; InP(Zn) quantum dots; luminescence; zinc; Introduction Colloidal quantum

• excess myristic acid is lower. Moreover, the excess myristic acid contaminates the samples and rendering them too viscous and difficult to purify. Figure 2 shows the powder XRD patterns of the InP nanocrystals with different Zn amounts added during the synthesis. The XRD pattern show a clear zinc blende

• nanocrystals solution dispersed in hexane was mixed with THF and a certain amount of myristic acid was added. The mixture was loaded into a perfluoroethylene vessel and a certain amount of etching mixture (HF in THF 1:10) was added under stirring. Characterization The UV–vis absorption spectra were measured at

Nano-contact microscopy of supracrystals

• Adam Sweetman,
• Nicolas Goubet,
• Ioannis Lekkas,
• Marie Paule Pileni and
• Philip Moriarty

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1229–1236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.126

• , France CEA/IRAMIS, CEA Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, France 10.3762/bjnano.6.126 Abstract Background: Highly ordered three-dimensional colloidal crystals (supracrystals) comprised of 7.4 nm diameter Au nanocrystals (with a 5% size dispersion) have been imaged and analysed using a combination of

• tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy. Keywords: dynamic force microscopy; nanoparticle; non-contact atomic force microscopy; point contact imaging; scanning probe microscopy; supracrystal; Introduction Artificial solids comprising extended assemblies of nanocrystals with a narrow size distribution

• polyhedral supracrystals arising from precipitation in the colloidal suspension. There is a significant body of work that focuses on elucidating the electronic properties of nanocrystals and their associated 1D, 2D, and 3D assemblies. Building on the conceptual and theoretical framework put forward by

The convenient preparation of stable aryl-coated zerovalent iron nanoparticles

• Olga A. Guselnikova,
• Andrey I. Galanov,
• Anton K. Gutakovskii and
• Pavel S. Postnikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1192–1198, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.121

• ). In the darkfield image, the nanocrystals are indicated by bright areas. In the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image, the atomic planes of the iron crystal lattice are clearly visualized. The NPs are mostly uniform in size with an average core particle diameter of 21 nm with