Controlling the dispersion of supported polyoxometalate heterogeneous catalysts: impact of hybridization and the role of hydrophilicity–hydrophobicity balance and supramolecularity

• Gijo Raj,
• Colas Swalus,
• Eglantine Arendt,
• Pierre Eloy,
• Michel Devillers and
• Eric M. Gaigneaux

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1749–1759, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.185

• , and the hybrid materials were imaged by using an etched Si tapping mode cantilever of the TESP type (Bruker AFM probes), having a nominal radius of curvature of 8 nm. Samples were glued on a magnetic stainless steel disc by using double-sided adhesive tape before mounting on to the “J” type

• ) equipped with a monochromatised Al X-ray source (powered at 10 mA and 15 kV) and an eight-channeltrons detector. The samples were fixed on a standard stainless steel multi-specimen holder by using a piece of double-sided insulating tape. The pressure in the analysis chamber was approximately 10−6 Pa. The

A study on the consequence of swift heavy ion irradiation of Zn–silica nanocomposite thin films: electronic sputtering

• Compesh Pannu,
• Udai B. Singh,
• Dinesh. C. Agarwal,
• Saif A. Khan,
• Sunil Ojha,
• Ramesh Chandra,
• Hiro Amekura,
• Debdulal Kabiraj and
• Devesh. K. Avasthi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1691–1698, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.179

• therapy, anticorrosive coating and antimicrobial coatings, in chemical reaction as catalyst, galvanization of iron and steel [30][31]. Bulk Zn has a melting point of 419.6 °C and the melting point of Zn nanoparticle varies from 250 to 420 °C depending on the size of nanoparticle [32][33]. The melting

Silica nanoparticles are less toxic to human lung cells when deposited at the air–liquid interface compared to conventional submerged exposure

• Alicja Panas,
• Andreas Comouth,
• Harald Saathoff,
• Thomas Leisner,
• Marco Al-Rawi,
• Michael Simon,
• Gunnar Seemann,
• Olaf Dössel,
• Sonja Mülhopt,
• Hanns-Rudolf Paur,
• Susanne Fritsch-Decker,
• Carsten Weiss and
• Silvia Diabaté

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1590–1602, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.171

• chambers (VITROCELL Systems GmbH, Waldkirch). Two stainless steel modules were equipped with three Transwell® inserts of 24 mm membrane diameter. To increase the deposition efficiency an almost homogeneous electrical field with an axial strength of 500 V·mm−1 was applied. Determination of the dose In order

Current state of laser synthesis of metal and alloy nanoparticles as ligand-free reference materials for nano-toxicological assays

• Christoph Rehbock,
• Jurij Jakobi,
• Lisa Gamrad,
• Selina van der Meer,
• Daniela Tiedemann,
• Ulrike Taylor,
• Wilfried Kues,
• Detlef Rath and
• Stephan Barcikowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1523–1541, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.165

• , mammalian cells and bacteria are considered. Keywords: albumin; gold-silver; implant alloy; laser ablation; nickel-titanium; size control; wear debris; Introduction The widespread use of medical implants consisting of metals (e.g., gold coatings [1]) and alloys (e.g., NiTi, CoCr, stainless steel) [2][3][4

• nanoparticles from implant alloy are much more relevant. Hence, this chapter reviews laser-based synthesis of these materials, concentrating on NiTi and Cr-steel as examples for medically relevant binary and ternary alloys. NiTi alloys are widely applied in medicine due to their outstanding mechanical

• . Next to binary alloys like NiTi, nanoparticle release and related toxicity from alloys with more complex elemental compositions like stainless steels is particularly interesting as it is found in a broad range of medical devices and implants [128][129]. Synthesis of steel nanoparticles by PLAL has not

Magnesium batteries: Current state of the art, issues and future perspectives

• Rana Mohtadi and
• Fuminori Mizuno

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1291–1311, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.143

• prohibits using materials such as steel or aluminum as current collectors when using these electrolytes. 2) Tetrahydrofuran is the preferred solvent which is undesirable due to its high volatility and tendency to form peroxides. Aurbach et al. [22] demonstrated optimized compositions obtained from mixing

• oxidation was 1.7, 2.2 and 2.3 V (vs Mg) on platinum, stainless steel and glassy carbon electrodes, respectively. As the borohydride electrolytes are not corrosive, these stability trends are opposite of those observed for other magnesium electrolytes. The higher stability of the borohydride on a non-noble

• [34]. Unfortunately, the MgCl2 electrolytes were found to be very corrosive; i.e., stability on stainless steel was as low as 1.8 V vs Mg [34]. What is notable about the Mg(HMDS)2:AlCl3 and MgCl2:AlCl3 systems is that the in situ products exhibited wide electrochemical windows and high electrochemical

Surface processes during purification of InP quantum dots

• Natalia Mordvinova,
• Pavel Emelin,
• Alexander Vinokurov,
• Sergey Dorofeev,
• Artem Abakumov and
• Tatiana Kuznetsova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1220–1225, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.135

• acetone were separated by centrifugation and re-dissolved in toluene. Electrophoresis was carried out in acetone in an U-shaped quartz tube, the distance between two electrodes is 10 cm. The QDs were placed near the cathode and deposited on the anode made of stainless steel at the voltage of 1 kV and were

Dry friction of microstructured polymer surfaces inspired by snake skin

• Martina J. Baum,
• Lars Heepe,
• Elena Fadeeva and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1091–1103, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.122

• coefficient parallel to the microstructure was higher, than in the perpendicular direction. The second investigated frictional pair was a steel ball (diameter = 800 µm) in contact with a microstructured tungsten carbide surface (λ = 220 µm). For this combination, the frictional coefficients in both directions

The study of surface wetting, nanobubbles and boundary slip with an applied voltage: A review

• Yunlu Pan,
• Bharat Bhushan and
• Xuezeng Zhao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1042–1065, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.117

• as an electrode. A stainless steel wire was used as another electrode by inserting it into the droplet. The experimental setup is shown in Figure 4. The applied voltage was generated by a power amplifier (model 50, Ling-Altec Electronics Inc.) which amplifies an electrical signal generated by a

Measuring air layer volumes retained by submerged floating-ferns Salvinia and biomimetic superhydrophobic surfaces

• Matthias J. Mayser,
• Holger F. Bohn,
• Meike Reker and
• Wilhelm Barthlott

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 812–821, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.93

• level in an aquarium filled with water. A metal needle (40 mm length, 0.4 mm diameter, V2A steel) was bent into an L-shape and glued to the end of the beam with resin glue resulting in the tip of the needle being submerged 20 mm below the water surface. All specimens were mounted to the force sensor by

Effects of the preparation method on the structure and the visible-light photocatalytic activity of Ag₂CrO₄

• Difa Xu,
• Shaowen Cao,
• Jinfeng Zhang,
• Bei Cheng and
• Jiaguo Yu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 658–666, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.77

• prepared by precipitation method was loaded into a Teflon-lined stainless steel autoclave with a capacity of 100 mL, sealed, heated to and maintained at 160 °C for 16 h, and subsequently cooled to room temperature naturally. All the samples were collected and washed by centrifugation–redispersion cycles

Magnesiothermic conversion of the silica-mineralizing golden algae Mallomonas caudata and Synura petersenii to elemental silicon with high geometric precision

• Janina Petrack,
• Steffen Jost,
• Jens Boenigk and
• Matthias Epple

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 554–560, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.65

• consisting of heat-resistant steel (Figure 5). The reactor had an inner length of 18 cm and an outer length of 22 cm. The outer diameter was 7 cm; the inner diameter was 5 cm. Inside the tube was a rack with a large reservoir on both sides which each contained 3 g of magnesium powder (4 × 2 × 0.3 cm3

An ultrasonic technology for production of antibacterial nanomaterials and their coating on textiles

• Anna V. Abramova,
• Vladimir O. Abramov,
• Aharon Gedanken,
• Ilana Perelshtein and
• Vadim M. Bayazitov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 532–536, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.62

• it. Magnetostrictive transducers were welded onto rectangular steel plates to increase the surface area for irradiation. The vibrations of the plates were transmitted directly into the reaction zone. The power of each transducer was 2.5 kW, which was enough to initiate cavitation in the reactor. The

Encapsulation of nanoparticles into single-crystal ZnO nanorods and microrods

• Jinzhang Liu,
• Marco Notarianni,
• Llew Rintoul and
• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 485–493, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.56

• centers exhibit red photoluminescence (PL) when excited by a green laser. The results of micro-PL measurements on a single ZnO nanorod containing luminescent NDs, a ZnO nanorod with NDs attached to its surface, and naked NDs dispersed from solution on a steel substrate are shown in Figure 6a. The insets

One-step synthesis of high quality kesterite Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanocrystals – a hydrothermal approach

• Vincent Tiing Tiong,
• John Bell and
• Hongxia Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 438–446, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.51

• experimental procedure, 0.2 mmol of CuCl2·2H2O, 0.1 mmol of ZnCl2, 0.1 mmol of SnCl4·5H2O, 0.5 mmol of Na2S·9H2O and 18 μL of TGA were dissolved in 34 mL of Milli-Q water under vigorous magnetic stirring. The solution was then transferred to a Teflon-lined stainless steel autoclave (Parr Instrument Company) of

Dye-sensitized Pt@TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures for the efficient photocatalytic generation of hydrogen

• Jun Fang,
• Lisha Yin,
• Shaowen Cao,
• Yusen Liao and
• Can Xue

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 360–364, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.41

• hydrothermal method. Typically, 15 mL solution of the as-prepared 30 nm Pt nanoparticles was mixed with 4.5 mL aqueous solution of TiF4 (0.04 M). The mixture was kept stirring for 10 min, diluted into 80 mL DI water, and then transferred into a 100 mL Teflon-lined stainless steel autoclave, which was treated

Effect of contaminations and surface preparation on the work function of single layer MoS₂

• Oliver Ochedowski,
• Kolyo Marinov,
• Nils Scheuschner,
• Artur Poloczek,
• Benedict Kleine Bussmann,
• Janina Maultzsch and
• Marika Schleberger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 291–297, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.32

• properties like a mechanical stiffness of 180 ± 60 N·m−1, which is comparable to steel [10][11], charge carrier mobilities that are comparable to Si [12][13], and it is possible to grow these ultrathin layers using CVD [14][15][16]. The main advantage SLM has to offer compared to the model 2D-material

Study of mesoporous CdS-quantum-dot-sensitized TiO₂ films by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and AFM

• Mohamed N. Ghazzal,
• Robert Wojcieszak,
• Gijo Raj and
• Eric M. Gaigneaux

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 68–76, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.6

• nominal curvature radius of 8 nm were used for imaging under ambient conditions (23 °C and 56% relative humidity). Samples were glued onto a magnetic stainless steel disc by using double-face adhesive tape and mounted on the "J" type piezoelectric scanner. The tapping engage set point was set to 1 in

• . For Kratos measurements, (i) sample powders were pressed into small stainless steel troughs mounted on a multi specimen holder; (ii) the C−(C,H) component of the C 1s peak of adventitious carbon was fixed to 284.8 eV to set the binding energy scale; (iii) the data were analyzed using the CasaXPS

Preparation of NiS/ZnIn₂S₄ as a superior photocatalyst for hydrogen evolution under visible light irradiation

• Liang Wei,
• Yongjuan Chen,
• Jialin Zhao and
• Zhaohui Li

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 949–955, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.107

• ) were dispersed in 70 mL of de-ionized water by stirring and ultra-sonication for 2 h. The resultant solution was transferred to a 100 mL Teflon liner, sealed in the stainless steel autoclave and heated at 120 °C for 4 h. After the autoclave was cooled to room temperature, the product was collected and

Synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes from unprocessed colemanite

• Saban Kalay,
• Zehra Yilmaz and
• Mustafa Çulha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 843–851, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.95

• their chemical composition [1]. The colemanite contains 50.8% B2O3 and is used in many applications including the fibre glass industry, the ceramic industry, the steel industry, boron alloys, and metallurgy. Another use of colemanite is the synthesis of boric acid (H3BO3) [2]. B2O3 and H3BO3 are also

Influence of particle size and fluorination ratio of CF_x precursor compounds on the electrochemical performance of C–FeF₂ nanocomposites for reversible lithium storage

• Ben Breitung,
• M. Anji Reddy,
• Venkata Sai Kiran Chakravadhanula,
• Michael Engel,
• Christian Kübel,
• Annie K. Powell,
• Horst Hahn and
• Maximilian Fichtner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 705–713, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.80

• used with different fluorine to carbon ratios, which correspond to x in the reaction equation. The synthesis of the C–FeF2 nanocomposites was performed in a tubular stainless steel reactor with metal fittings (VCR®). In a typical synthesis, 0.25 g graphite fluoride (CF0.5, CF0.7, CF1.0, Alfa Aesar, 99

• and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) in the mass ratio 90:10. A slurry containing the above mixture was prepared by using N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone. It was spread on a stainless steel (SS) foil (area: 1.13 cm2) and dried on hot plate at 160 °C for 12 h. Typically, each electrode contained 3–4 mg of

A facile synthesis of a carbon-encapsulated Fe₃O₄ nanocomposite and its performance as anode in lithium-ion batteries

• Raju Prakash,
• Katharina Fanselau,
• Shuhua Ren,
• Tapan Kumar Mandal,
• Christian Kübel,
• Horst Hahn and
• Maximilian Fichtner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 699–704, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.79

• in a carbon framework. The material could be used directly as anode and yielded a stable capacity. In a typical synthesis, Fe(CO)5 was sealed into a closed stainless steel Swagelok-type reactor under argon atmosphere as described previously [14]. The reactor was placed horizontally inside the home

New hybrid materials based on poly(ethyleneoxide)-grafted polysilazane by hydrosilylation and their anti-fouling activities

• Thi Dieu Hang Nguyen,
• François-Xavier Perrin and
• Dinh Lam Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 671–677, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.75

• (glass, polycarbonate, aluminium, steel, etc.) combined with a high brightness, a non-stick surface, and the resistance to heat, fire and UV irradiation. Poly(ethylene oxide) or poly(oxyethylene) (PEO) is a non-toxic polymer, which is used as a surface-modification agent, because it is effective in

Preparation of electrochemically active silicon nanotubes in highly ordered arrays

• Tobias Grünzel,
• Young Joo Lee,
• Karsten Kuepper and
• Julien Bachmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 655–664, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.73

• crystalline silicon substrate is used as a simple, well-defined model for the initial reactivity tests. We first investigate the reduction with Mg, which has been published [21], and then compare the results with those obtained with Li as the reductant. After having been enclosed in a sealed steel tube in the

• valves from Swagelok and with an MV10C pump from Vacuubrand. Gold was deposited in a Cressington 108 sputter coater. The high-temperature reactions were performed in home-made thick-walled stainless steel cylinders sealed with copper plates, placed in a muffle furnace, model L3/11/P330 from Nabertherm

• determined accurately by spectroscopic ellipsometry before reaction. (f) In a glovebox operated under argon, the silicon wafer pieces or nanoporous samples were placed into a stainless steel crucible of approximately 5 × 8 mm2 and inserted into a stainless steel cylinder of 10 mm inner diameter, 60 mm length

AFM as an analysis tool for high-capacity sulfur cathodes for Li–S batteries

• Renate Hiesgen,
• Seniz Sörgel,
• Rémi Costa,
• Linus Carlé,
• Ines Galm,
• Natalia Cañas,
• Brigitta Pascucci and
• K. Andreas Friedrich

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 611–624, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.68

• . Circular discs of 10 mm diameter were cut from the cathode films. The stainless-steel Swagelok® type lithium–sulfur batteries were assembled in an Ar-filled glove box by stacking together 10 mm diameter discs of lithium metal foil (99.9%, Alfa Aesar, thickness: 1.5 mm), 12 mm diameter discs of polyethylene

Ni nanocrystals on HOPG(0001): A scanning tunnelling microscope study

• Michael Marz,
• Keisuke Sagisaka and
• Daisuke Fujita

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 406–417, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.48

• different mosaic spread were used; however, we did not observe any influence of this in our data and refer to all of them by using the term HOPG substrate.) This setup allows local heating of the sample and avoids contamination from degassing of the surrounding stainless-steel parts. In order to get a clean