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

• ) 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

• stiffer cover layer and a softer bottom layer can enable much easier subsurface sensing of the flexible circuits via CR-AFM, and the middle layer material does not have much influence. Optimization of CR-AFM subsurface imaging Based on the systematic investigation of the main variables, a contrast

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

• method employing KPFM and local conductivity AFM for the characterization of the work function of transition metal oxides may help in understanding the impact of reduction and oxidation on electronic properties, which is of high importance in the development of effective sensing and catalytic devices

• splitting [1][44]. For industrial uses, the samples have to be exposed to ambient conditions, therefore it is necessary to investigate the impact of air exposure on electronic surface properties. Moreover, transition metal oxides are often regarded as promising materials for sensing applications, due to the

Materials nanoarchitectonics at two-dimensional liquid interfaces

• Katsuhiko Ariga,
• Michio Matsumoto,
• Taizo Mori and
• Lok Kumar Shrestha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1559–1587, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.153

• molecules for producing structurally well-regulated one-dimensional nanotubes [78]. Self-assembled and polymerized materials are often used in sensing devices utilizing molecular imprinting mechanisms [79]. Two-dimensional films made of assemblies of ion-recognizing macrocyclic host molecules, ion

• , research approaches with the nanoarchitectonics concept are now seen in many recent publications in various fields including materials production [97][98], structural fabrication [99][100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108], sensing [109][110][111][112], energy applications [113][114][115][116][117

• exhibit interesting properties [209][210][211][212][213][214][215]. Such materials can be also nano-engineered at liquid interfaces. Niederberger and co-workers successfully fabricated two-dimensionally aligned arrays of one-dimensional W18O49 nanowires and used them for H2-sensing at room temperature

High-temperature resistive gas sensors based on ZnO/SiC nanocomposites

• Vadim B. Platonov,
• Marina N. Rumyantseva,
• Alexander S. Frolov,
• Alexey D. Yapryntsev and
• Alexander M. Gaskov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1537–1547, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.151

• (XPS). The electrophysical and gas sensing properties of the materials were investigated by in situ conductivity measurements in the presence of the reducing gases CO and NH3 (20 ppm), in dry conditions (relative humidity at 25 °C RH25 = 0) and in humid air (RH25 = 30%) in the temperature range 400–550

• alumina micro-hotplates provided with vapor-deposited Pt contacts (0.3 × 0.2 mm2) separated by a 0.2 mm gap and with embedded Pt-meanders. The paste was dried at room temperature in ambient air and then calcined at 250 °C in purified air for 20 h to remove the binder. The thick sensing layer was about 1

Selective gas detection using Mn₃O₄/WO₃ composites as a sensing layer

• Yongjiao Sun,
• Zhichao Yu,
• Wenda Wang,
• Pengwei Li,
• Gang Li,
• Wendong Zhang,
• Lin Chen,
• Serge Zhuivkov and
• Jie Hu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1423–1433, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.140

• Abstract Pure WO3 sensors and Mn3O4/WO3 composite sensors with different Mn concentrations (1 atom %, 3 atom % and 5 atom %) were successfully prepared through a facile hydrothermal method. As gas sensing materials, their sensing performance at different temperatures was systematically investigated for gas

• detection. The devices displayed different sensing responses toward different gases at specific temperatures. The gas sensing performance of Mn3O4/WO3 composites (especially at 3 atom % Mn) were far improved compared to sensors based on pure WO3, where the improvement is related to the heterojunction formed

• door for potential applications in gas recognition and detection. Keywords: Mn3O4/WO3 composites; heterojunctions; working temperature; gas sensing; selectivity; Introduction Tungsten oxide (WO3) is a highly stable, classical transition metal oxide. When synthesized, WO3 usually presents a yellowish

Gas sensing properties of individual SnO₂ nanowires and SnO₂ sol–gel nanocomposites

• Alexey V. Shaposhnik,
• Dmitry A. Shaposhnik,
• Sergey Yu. Turishchev,
• Olga A. Chuvenkova,
• Stanislav V. Ryabtsev,
• Alexey A. Vasiliev,
• Xavier Vilanova,
• Francisco Hernandez-Ramirez and
• Joan R. Morante

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1380–1390, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.136

• , Universitetskaya, 1, Voronezh, 394018, Russia NRC Kurchatov Institute, Kurchatov Sq. 1, 123182, Moscow, Russia Rovira i Virgili University, Av. Paisos Catalans 17-19, 43007, Tarragona, Spain World Sensing, S.L., Viriat 47, 10th floor, 08014 Barcelona, Spain, Catalonia Institute for Energy Research, Sant Adrià de

• selectivity to target gases. The aim of this work is the comparison of gas sensing properties of tin dioxide in the form of individual nanowires and nanopowders obtained by sol–gel synthesis. This comparison is necessary because the traditional synthesis procedures of small particle, metal oxide materials

• considerably smaller amounts of hydroxy groups compared to the nanopowders. This leads to a decrease in the parasitic sensitivity of the sensing materials to humidity. In addition, we demonstrated that the nanowires are characterized by a nearly single-crystalline structure, ensuring higher stability of the

Highly ordered mesoporous silica film nanocomposites containing gold nanoparticles for the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

• Mohamad Azani Jalani,
• Leny Yuliati,
• Siew Ling Lee and
• Hendrik O. Lintang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1368–1379, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.135

• complex ([Au3Pz3]C10TEG) as a self-assembled template. Indeed, the resulting mesostructured silica nanocomposites not only exhibited perfect self-repairing properties, but also worked as a metal ion sensor [26] with excellent phosphorescent sensing and temperature imaging capabilities [27]. Hence, it is

Janus-micromotor-based on–off luminescence sensor for active TNT detection

• Ye Yuan,
• Changyong Gao,
• Daolin Wang,
• Chang Zhou,
• Baohua Zhu and
• Qiang He

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1324–1331, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.131

• movement in 5% H2O2 with 0.5 mg mL−1 of TNT, indicating that the green upconversion luminescence (543 nm) of the UCNPs was quenched by the presence of TNT. The TNT sensing capability of these Janus UCNPs capsule motors was further evaluated by measuring the luminescence intensity. Figure 3d illustrates the

On the relaxation time of interacting superparamagnetic nanoparticles and implications for magnetic fluid hyperthermia

• Andrei Kuncser,
• Nicusor Iacob and
• Victor E. Kuncser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1280–1289, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.127

• dealing with a very high number of MNPs, the inner ones (with a complete number of neighbors) are by far dominant over the outer ones. Therefore, the time-dependent analysis will be performed only for such inner nanoparticles with Stoner–Wohlfarth-like behavior, sensing the interparticle dipolar

Photoactive nanoarchitectures based on clays incorporating TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles

• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Marwa Akkari,
• Nithima Khaorapapong and
• Makoto Ogawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1140–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.114

• for the incorporation of additional active species, e.g, NPs or organic and biological species, for the production of multifunctional nanoplatforms as components of sensing devices and solar cells. Schematic representation of the crystal structures of the following clay minerals: kaolinite (A

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

• -Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials and Sensing Devices, Institute of Physics, Bijenička 46, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia, Laboratory for Precipitation Processes, Division of Materials Chemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička Cesta 54, 10000

• by the Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials and Sensing Devices (ERDF Grant No. KK.01.1.1.01.0001). E.R. thanks KIT and CMM for sustainable research funding. Support from KNMF (Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility) is gratefully acknowledge.

Experimental study of an evanescent-field biosensor based on 1D photonic bandgap structures

• Jad Sabek,
• Francisco Javier Díaz-Fernández,
• Luis Torrijos-Morán,
• Zeneida Díaz-Betancor,
• Ángel Maquieira,
• María-José Bañuls,
• Elena Pinilla-Cienfuegos and
• Jaime García-Rupérez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 967–974, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.97

• of proteins. As the sensing in this type of structures is governed by the interaction between the evanescent field going into the cladding and the target analytes, scanning near-field optical microscopy has been used to characterize the profile of that evanescent field. The study confirms the strong

• exponential decrease of the signal as it goes into the cladding. This means that biorecognition events must occur as close to the PBG structure surface as possible in order to obtain the maximum sensing response. Within this context, the PBG biosensor has been biofunctionalized with half-antibodies specific

• femtomolar range for oligonucleotides detection [6]. A particular type of photonic sensing devices are photonic bandgap (PBG) biosensors based on evanescent-wave detection [7]. PBG structures consist of a periodic dielectric configuration for which the propagation of a certain wavelength range is forbidden

Fabrication of silver nanoisland films by pulsed laser deposition for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• Bogusław Budner,
• Mariusz Kuźma,
• Barbara Nasiłowska,
• Bartosz Bartosewicz,
• Malwina Liszewska and
• Bartłomiej J. Jankiewicz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 882–893, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.89

• . Keywords: nanofabrication; pulsed laser deposition; SERS substrates; silver nanoisland films; surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; Introduction In recent years, SERS has been intensively investigated as a sensing tool in many applications [1][2][3]. Of particular interest

• ][8][9], photovoltaics [10] or optical sensing through localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) [11]. It is therefore not surprising that quite a number of studies have been initiated and performed in order to design and fabricate highly active SERS substrates based on metallic nanoparticles and

On the transformation of “zincone”-like into porous ZnO thin films from sub-saturated plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition

• Alberto Perrotta,
• Julian Pilz,
• Stefan Pachmajer,
• Antonella Milella and
• Anna Maria Coclite

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 746–759, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.74

• ., for photocatalytic [75] or sensing applications [76][77]. On the zincone-like layer deposited with 1 s plasma exposure time crystallite formation began at 400 °C, as mentioned before, highlighting the role of this temperature range in the possible clogging of porosity. The relative increase in D is of

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

• and Sensing Devices, Research Unit New Functional Materials, Bijenička cesta 54, Zagreb, Croatia Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kasprzaka 44/52, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland 10.3762/bjnano.10.72 Abstract The paper reports on the features and advantages of horizontally oriented

• ][5]. The possibility of detecting molecules at low concentrations leads to numerous applications in medicine [6], biology [7], gas [8] and chemical sensing [9], agriculture [10], food science [11][12]. Therefore, SERS is currently considered a hot topic in scientific research. Generally, SERS-active

• are predominantly the characteristic surface roughness and the chemical affinity. Generally, the hydrophilic substrate surface is desirable for hydrophilic molecules such as for example dextrose and albumin [41]. SERS sensing of 4-MPBA In order to determine the optimal Ag-sputtering time, we measured

Self-assembly and wetting properties of gold nanorod–CTAB molecules on HOPG

• Imtiaz Ahmad,
• Floor Derkink,
• Tim Boulogne,
• Pantelis Bampoulis,
• Harold J. W. Zandvliet,
• Hidayat Ullah Khan,
• Rahim Jan and
• E. Stefan Kooij

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 696–705, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.69

• , the process of self-assembly at the liquid–solid interface has proved to be an attractive self-assembly route [4][8][9]. The self-assembled structures can play an important role in magnetic [10][11][12][13], electronic [14][15][16], photovoltaic [17][18][19], biomedical [20][21][22], sensing [23][24

Commercial polycarbonate track-etched membranes as substrates for low-cost optical sensors

• Paula Martínez-Pérez and
• Jaime García-Rupérez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 677–683, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.67

• this purpose, we firstly characterized their optical response in the near-infrared range. This response is an interference fringe pattern, characteristic of a Fabry–Pérot interferometer, which is an optical device typically used for sensing purposes. Afterwards, several refractive index sensing

• interest in medical diagnosis, security, biodefense or industrial procedures, among other fields of application. For the design and fabrication of these sensing devices, huge efforts have been made in recent years to develop different transducers suitable for each application. According to the transducer

• ]. Additionally, by proper functionalization, label-free and specific detection can be achieved [2][3][4]. Optical sensors whose working principle is based on the detection of changes in the refractive index (RI) are the most widely used ones. Among them, those that base the sensing process on the interaction of

Ultrathin hydrophobic films based on the metal organic framework UiO-66-COOH(Zr)

• Miguel A. Andrés,
• Clemence Sicard,
• Christian Serre,
• Olivier Roubeau and
• Ignacio Gascón

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 654–665, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.65

• applications [5], including gas storage [6], membranes for separation processes [7], heterogeneous catalysis [8], sensing [9] or drug delivery [10], among others. Many of these applications require the formation of MOF films onto different kinds of surfaces with precise control of film thickness and

• onto different kinds of substrates using the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) or Langmuir–Schaefer (LS) deposition methods. Furthermore, the use of these films for CO2 sensing [21][26] or organic solvent nanofiltration [27] has been investigated. Additionally, we have also explored the fabrication of mixed LB

A carrier velocity model for electrical detection of gas molecules

• Ali Hosseingholi Pourasl,
• Sharifah Hafizah Syed Ariffin,
• Mohammad Taghi Ahmadi,
• Razali Ismail and
• Niayesh Gharaei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 644–653, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.64

• sensing methods based on electronic detection techniques, are receiving increasing attention [16][17][18]. The experimental detection techniques have some constraints such as low detection range, high cost, and mechanism complexity [19][20]. Theoretical methods and analytical techniques present a proper

• versa. All these phenomena lead to the variation of the velocity of the electrons and change the current–voltage properties of the sensor. These effects are important factors that can be used as sensing parameters in the sensor modelling. In this paper, the fundamentals and working principles of gas

• surface was 3 Å, as illustrated in Figure 4. In addition, several configurations of the NO molecule on the AGNR surface were considered for NO sensing. After molecule adsorption, the whole structure was optimized and relaxed so that the NO molecule was laid on the AGNR plane with a C–N distance of 3.74 Å

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

• , showing its great potential application in biochemical sensing and food security. Keywords: Ag nanofilm; glasswing butterfly; pesticide; surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS); Introduction Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), an extension of conventional Raman spectroscopy, is a powerful

• deal of “hot spots” and binding sites for probe molecules within the laser illumination spot [27]. Cicada wings were used in their experiment because they comprise periodic and large-scale micro/nanostructures. They were applied in the label-free detection and sensing of animal viruses. Later, via a

• environmental sensing. Results and Discussion Morphology characterization The morphology of neat G.b. wings was characterized by FE-SEM as shown in Figure 2a. We can observed that the surface of G.b. wings consists of interlaced vertical nanoplates with an average width of 30 ± 5 nm and an average length of 300

Hydrophilicity and carbon chain length effects on the gas sensing properties of chemoresistive, self-assembled monolayer carbon nanotube sensors

• Juan Casanova-Cháfer,
• Carla Bittencourt and
• Eduard Llobet

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 565–577, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.58

• chain and its hydrophilicity on the gas sensing properties of SAMs formed on carbon nanotubes are studied, and additionally, the gas sensing mechanisms are discussed. Four thiols differing in the length of the carbon chain and in the hydrophobic or hydrophilic nature of the head functional group are

• response and selectivity. This would make the detection of polar and nonpolar gas species employing low-power gas sensors easier, even under fluctuating ambient moisture conditions. Keywords: carbon length chain; gas sensing mechanism; hydrophilicity; hydrophobicity; multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs

• , pristine carbon nanotubes (CNTs) present some limitations for gas sensing. For example, carbon nanotube gas sensors often suffer from slow recovery, especially when operated at room temperature, which eventually results in baseline and response drift. For that reason, it is usually necessary to heat up the

Quantification and coupling of the electromagnetic and chemical contributions in surface-enhanced Raman scattering

• Yarong Su,
• Yuanzhen Shi,
• Ping Wang,
• Jinglei Du,
• Markus B. Raschke and
• Lin Pang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 549–556, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.56

• provides for a novel design principle to optimize SERS substrates for sensing and photocatalysis in a new systematic manner for quantitative analysis and photochemistry. New theoretical work to investigate the underlying electronic and vibronic structure of the metal–molecule system under different

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

• human skin has impeded further integration as a wearable sensing component [7]. Hydrogels, with mechanical properties like biological tissues and consisting of three-dimensional polymer networks that can retain a large amount of water, can serve as ideal vehicles for wearable devices [8][9]. Several

• after the drying of the graphene solution. The sensing performance of the graphene/WG-hydrogel composite material is shown in Figure 3a. The sensitivity of the graphene/WG-hydrogel composite sensor, represented by the gauge factor (the ratio of the relative electrical resistance change ΔR/R to the

Temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy and sensor applications of PtSe₂ nanosheets synthesized by wet chemistry

• Mahendra S. Pawar and
• Dattatray J. Late

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 467–474, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.46

• annealed in a vacuum furnace at 170 °C to improve the contact resistance and adhesion of the nanosheets with the substrate. The humidity sensing performance was investigated by exposing the sensor device to various relative humidity (RH) levels ranging from 11.3–97.3% as described in detail previously [26

• resistance of the sensor device vs relative humidity plot. The resistance is significantly decreased from 3.75 GΩ to 0.83 MΩ. The humidity sensing mechanism for the PtSe2 sensor can be explained as follows. When the PtSe2 nanosheet sensor device was exposed to water molecules/vapors, a charge transfer

Advanced scanning probe lithography using anatase-to-rutile transition to create localized TiO₂ nanorods

• Julian Kalb,
• Vanessa Knittel and
• Lukas Schmidt-Mende

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 412–418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.40

• optoelectronic characteristics. The fabrication of nanostructured TiO2 is inexpensive and hence employed in many applications such as photodetectors [2], photovoltaics [3][4][5][6], photocatalysis [7][8][9][10][11], surficial disinfection [12], biosensing [13], gas sensing [14][15][16], dewetting [17][18][19

• adhesion between implants and body tissues [32]. Many of the listed applications could be refined into spatially resolved technologies such as locally controlled photocatalysis for molecule degradation, spatially resolved gas or molecule sensing, gradients on superhydrophilic surfaces with close-meshed