Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy of difurylethene-based photochromic single-molecule junctions

• Youngsang Kim,
• Safa G. Bahoosh,
• Dmytro Sysoiev,
• Thomas Huhn,
• Fabian Pauly and
• Elke Scheer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2606–2614, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.261

• HOMO energy is closer to the Fermi energy than the LUMO level, as typical for sulfur anchoring groups [37]. In Figure 2c, we show the wavefunctions of the dominant eigenchannel at EF for the closed and open forms for electrons that enter from the left side. The electric transport mainly proceeds

Nanoprofilometry study of focal conic domain structures in a liquid crystalline free surface

• Anna N. Bagdinova,
• Evgeny I. Demikhov,
• Nataliya G. Borisenko and
• Sergei M. Tolokonnikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2544–2551, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.254

• substrate anchoring [1][2]. This understanding is important for display-quality technology and production enhancement. The study of the free liquid crystalline boundary is interesting for applications such as liquid crystalline colors and coatings as well as cosmetics. To study liquid crystalline free

• liquid crystal display was used (Figure 7). For this, we have broken a commercial Samsung PC display, cleaned and dried it. The LC PC display substrate brings two main advantages. First, it has a large anchoring energy for the liquid crystal director field and it makes for better conditions for FCD

Dynamic behavior of a nematic liquid crystal mixed with CoFe₂O₄ ferromagnetic nanoparticles in a magnetic field

• Emil Petrescu,
• Cristina Cirtoaje and
• Cristina Stan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2467–2473, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.246

• variations of transition thresholds [27][28] or response time [29]. Ferromagnetic nanoparticles are good candidates for LC improvement due to their significant positive magnetic anisotropy and strong anchoring energy [30][31] on a large surface provided by chain clustering. All these effects help the

• nanoparticles are agglomerating in long chains on which LC molecules are attached like leaves on a tree branch. Previous results [32] and microscopy images indicate that CoFe2O4 nanoparticles are gathering in long chains which align themselves parallel to the rubbing directions indicating a strong anchoring to

• interaction of the liquid crystal with the applied field, the interaction of the ferromagnetic nanoparticles with the magnetic field and the LC molecules anchoring on the surface of the added particles. The deviation angle θ between the glass plates is given by: where z is the Oz coordinate of the LC

Adsorbate-driven cooling of carbene-based molecular junctions

• Giuseppe Foti and
• Héctor Vázquez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2060–2068, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.206

• adsorbate is fundamentally different from that of anchoring groups in molecular junctions (R–NH2): here NH2 acts as an acceptor, while as anchoring group, amines are electron donors [42]. In Supporting Information File 1, we show a comparison of the plane-averaged electron density difference upon adsorption

• of NH2 for reference, and its saturated counterpart NH3 (which is similar to the role as anchoring group R–NH2). Similar shifts of molecular levels are expected for other adsorbates, whose donor or acceptor character could be used to gate NHC conducting orbitals. We now turn to the spectral features

Application of visible-light photosensitization to form alkyl-radical-derived thin films on gold

• Rashanique D. Quarels,
• Xianglin Zhai,
• Neepa Kuruppu,
• Jenny K. Hedlund,
• Ashley A. Ellsworth,
• Amy V. Walker,
• Jayne C. Garno and
• Justin R. Ragains

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1863–1877, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.187

• demonstrated with radical initiators [44]. Therefore, crosslinking is a possible underlying reason for robustness (see proposed mechanism, Scheme 3). In addition, formation of Au–C and CO2–Au bonds at the surface is evidenced by TOF-SIMS but not by XPS, suggesting that limited anchoring of the film may be

Methionine-mediated synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles and functionalization with gold quantum dots for theranostic applications

• Arūnas Jagminas,
• Agnė Mikalauskaitė,
• Vitalijus Karabanovas and
• Jūrate Vaičiūnienė

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1734–1741, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.174

• stabilization of cobalt ferrite NPs as the capping ligand and reducing agent of gold ions. The interest in NPs capped with methionine was based on the current understanding that methionine can reduce chloroauric acid from alkaline solutions anchoring Au0 at the surface of the NPs [18]. As-synthesized NPs were

Two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic energy generation and environmental remediation applications

• Suneel Kumar,
• Ashish Kumar,
• Ashish Bahuguna,
• Vipul Sharma and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1571–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.159

• reactions, mainly controlled hydrolysis and condensation, to form the desired photocatalyst. The major advantage of using the sol–gel method is the in situ growth of nanostructures so that the various functional groups on the surface of GO sheets are available to provide reactive and anchoring sites for the

• properties with unsaturated N-atoms for anchoring active sites [69]. Furthermore, the stacked 2D layered structure of g-C3N4 consists of single-layer nitrogen heteroatom-substituted graphite nanosheets, formed through sp2 hybridization of C and N atoms, and various layers are bound together by van der Waals

Nano-engineered skin mesenchymal stem cells: potential vehicles for tumour-targeted quantum-dot delivery

• Liga Saulite,
• Dominyka Dapkute,
• Karlis Pleiko,
• Ineta Popena,
• Simona Steponkiene,
• Ricardas Rotomskis and
• Una Riekstina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1218–1230, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.123

• through the anchoring of the clathrin and adaptor protein 2 (AP2) complex to endosomes, thereby preventing the assembly of coated pits at the inner plasma membrane [42]. In serum-free medium, QD uptake was decreased by CPZ and nystatin (Figure 7b,d). nystatin is an inhibitor of caveolin/lipid raft

Stable Au–C bonds to the substrate for fullerene-based nanostructures

• Taras Chutora,
• Jesús Redondo,
• Bruno de la Torre,
• Martin Švec,
• Pavel Jelínek and
• Héctor Vázquez

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1073–1079, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.109

• as well as anchoring groups [9][10][11][12]. They have featured in spin transport studies, where spin currents can be achieved by encapsulating magnetic atoms or impurities inside the fullerene cage [13][14][15][16][17][18]. The adsorption of C60 on the metal surface determines the strength and

CVD transfer-free graphene for sensing applications

• Chiara Schiattarella,
• Sten Vollebregt,
• Tiziana Polichetti,
• Brigida Alfano,
• Ettore Massera,
• Maria Lucia Miglietta,
• Girolamo Di Francia and
• Pasqualina Maria Sarro

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1015–1022, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.102

• temperature at 1000 °C, the pressure at 25 mbar and using Ar/H2/CH4 as feedstock. At the end of the CVD growth, the Mo has been selectively etched away underneath graphene employing phosphoric acid. Due to anchoring at the sides of the patterned catalyst, the graphene layer sticks directly to the underlaying

Triptycene-terminated thiolate and selenolate monolayers on Au(111)

• Jinxuan Liu,
• Martin Kind,
• Björn Schüpbach,
• Daniel Käfer,
• Stefanie Winkler,
• Wenhua Zhang,
• Andreas Terfort and
• Christof Wöll

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 892–905, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.91

• larger domains and lower defect densities than their sulfur-based analogues. The most prominent example likely is anthraceneselenolate [5] vs anthracenethiolate [26] on Au(111). The selenolate anchoring group is believed to experience a smaller corrugation of the Au(111) interaction potential, enabling

Calculating free energies of organic molecules on insulating substrates

• Julian Gaberle,
• David Z. Gao and
• Alexander L. Shluger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 667–674, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.71

• molecular dynamics. Both molecules contain the same anchoring groups and benzene ring structures, yet differ in their flexibility. Therefore, the entropic contributions to their free energy differ, which affects surface processes. Using potential of mean force and thermodynamic integration techniques, free

α-((4-Cyanobenzoyl)oxy)-ω-methyl poly(ethylene glycol): a new stabilizer for silver nanoparticles

• Jana Lutze,
• Miguel A. Bañares,
• Marcos Pita,
• Andrea Haase,
• Andreas Luch and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 627–635, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.67

• oligomeric or polymeric stabilizer is attached to the particle surface without a specific anchor group [26][27][28][29][30]. The current gold standard for anchoring an organic moiety on the NP surface is the thiol or thiolate group [3][24][31][32][33]. There are, however, cases where the thiol group may not

• be desirable (such as situations, where thiols may form thiyl radicals leading to protein degradation and cause diseases such as cancer) [34][35]. Hence, there is an interest in alternative anchoring groups with a similar or better anchoring efficiency. Among the possible candidates are the amine and

Performance of natural-dye-sensitized solar cells by ZnO nanorod and nanowall enhanced photoelectrodes

• Saif Saadaoui,
• Mohamed Aziz Ben Youssef,
• Moufida Ben Karoui,
• Rached Gharbi,
• Emanuele Smecca,
• Vincenzina Strano,
• Salvo Mirabella,
• Alessandra Alberti and
• Rosaria A. Puglisi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 287–295, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.31

• cells (DSSCs). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of the extract revealed the presence of anchoring groups and coloring constituents. Two different structures were prepared by chemical bath deposition (CBD) using zinc oxide (ZnO) layers to obtain ZnO nanowall (NW) or nanorod (NR) layers employed

• semiconductor in DSSCs [2][3][4][5]. Besides, the TiO2 offers high electronic mobility for photogenerated electron collection, a suitable band gap, which adapts to the injection of the electrons of most studied dyes, and high surface area to enhance the dye loading by anchoring the dye [6][7]. Zinc oxide (ZnO

• and mallow plants in different concentrations and at various immersion times. Furthermore, we analyzed the properties of the different used dyes and we reported the most anchoring-dominant molecules. By studying different gases used in the annealing process, we noted that the FG gave the most

Performance of colloidal CdS sensitized solar cells with ZnO nanorods/nanoparticles

• Anurag Roy,
• Partha Pratim Das,
• Mukta Tathavadekar,
• Sumita Das and
• Parukuttyamma Sujatha Devi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 210–221, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.23

• ; ZnO; Introduction Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using inorganic semiconductors are being investigated as a cost-effective and alternative energy source. In DSSCs, a porous electrode made of a wide band gap semiconductor is required for anchoring dye molecules and transporting photo-injected

• nanoparticle aggregation. Various disulfide bonds, thiol residues and other hydroxyl moieties that exist on BSA can serve as effective surface functionalized groups on CdS surfaces [27]. This may further lead to better anchoring with the metal oxide-based photoanode. Among the alternative single oxide

• ]. The surface-functionalized CdS acts as an anchoring moiety, which promotes CdS towards effective sensitization with ZnO. The Raman spectrum was performed as shown in Figure 2b. The peaks located at 294 and 589 cm−1 correspond to the fundamental band (1LO) and corresponding overtone (2LO) of

Solvent-mediated conductance increase of dodecanethiol-stabilized gold nanoparticle monolayers

• Patrick A. Reissner,
• Jean-Nicolas Tisserant,
• Antoni Sánchez-Ferrer,
• Raffaele Mezzenga and
• Andreas Stemmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2057–2064, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.196

• networks; Self-assembly; Introduction Ordered gold nanoparticle monolayers are increasingly applied as templates for molecular resistor networks [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Gold nanoparticles serve as conducting nodes and different molecules can bind to the gold nanoparticle using anchoring groups such as

In situ formation of reduced graphene oxide structures in ceria by combined sol–gel and solvothermal processing

• Jingxia Yang,
• Johannes Ofner,
• Bernhard Lendl and
• Ulrich Schubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1815–1821, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.174

• the intensity ratio I(D)/I(G). I(D)/I(G) values for all rGO–CeO2 composites were larger than that of GO, indicating that the number of defects in the graphene layer increased during the reduction of GO [29][30]. Anchoring of CeO2 on rGO also caused an intensity decrease and up-shifting of the G-band

Morphology of SiO₂ films as a key factor in alignment of liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropy

• Volodymyr Tkachenko,
• Antigone Marino,
• Eva Otón,
• Noureddine Bennis and
• Josè Manuel Otón

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1743–1748, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.167

• technique as a reference for such materials. The measure of the optical constants [21], tilt distribution and anchoring strength [22] in nematic LC cells is well reported. The integration of VASE with other techniques [23] has also been investigated to improve the reliability and accuracy of the optical

• < 75° high discrepancy is observed between the data of different authors, as a transition occurs from "pebble dash-like" structures to columnar structure of SiO2 film [2]. We believe that LC anchoring becomes spatially inhomogeneous, unstable and sensitive to the small changes of film deposition

Analysis of self-heating of thermally assisted spin-transfer torque magnetic random access memory

• Austin Deschenes,
• Sadid Muneer,
• Mustafa Akbulut,
• Ali Gokirmak and
• Helena Silva

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1676–1683, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.160

• tunneling junction. We compare self-heating for different common passivation materials, positive and negative electrical current polarity, and different device thermal anchoring and boundaries resistance configurations. The variations considered are found to result in significant differences in maximum

• temperatures reached. Average increases of 3 K, 10 K, and 100 K for different passivation materials, positive and negative polarity, and different thermal anchoring configurations, respectively, are observed. The highest temperatures, up to 424 K, are obtained for silicon dioxide as the passivation material

• , positive polarity, and low thermal anchoring with thermal boundary resistance configurations. Interestingly it is also found that due to the tunneling heat, Peltier effect, device geometry, and numerous interfacial layers around the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ), most of the heat is dissipated on the

Scanning probe microscopy studies on the adsorption of selected molecular dyes on titania

• Jakub S. Prauzner-Bechcicki,
• Lukasz Zajac,
• Piotr Olszowski,
• Res Jöhr,
• Antoine Hinaut,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Bartosz Such,
• Ernst Meyer and
• Marek Szymonski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1642–1653, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.156

• deposition, or the necessity of some surface pre-treatment), (2) the structure of the deposited molecule (e.g., specific anchoring groups), and (3) a particular balance of the molecule–molecule and molecule–substrate interactions (e.g., different faces of the same bulk material may have distinct properties

• upright as the coverage increases – an effect observed on both (110) and (011) surfaces [55][56]. Let us first review the results for zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) adsorbed on a rutile TiO2(110) surface [55]. To chemically anchoring the molecule to the oxide surface, it is important to consider that

Nano- and microstructured materials for in vitro studies of the physiology of vascular cells

• Alexandra M. Greiner,
• Adria Sales,
• Hao Chen,
• Sarah A. Biela,
• Dieter Kaufmann and
• Ralf Kemkemer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1620–1641, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.155

• (i.e., focal adhesions (FAs) that are complexes of proteins anchoring to the substrate and regulating cell adhesion strength, and actin cytoskeleton) have been observed to change and adapt to surface topography. Probably the influence of the topography on these internal structures provokes the

Multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids as MRI contrast agents

• Nikodem Kuźnik and
• Mateusz M. Tomczyk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1086–1103, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.102

• vivo studies. It is not clear whether the polyether chains of the poloxamer Pluronic® served as a non-ionic wrapping agent securing solid anchoring of the MWCNTs on the cell membrane [23][24]. Alternatively, its role might be more focused on stabilizing a disperse system by preventing the CNTs from

• functionalization of oMWCNT is aimed at introducing specific organic ligands to permanently chelate metal ions or their oxides. This is the manner in which Lamanna prepared an oligoglycol dendron with phosphonic groups responsible for SPIO anchoring. The ligand was introduced on the alkyne-derived oMWCNT by a click

• . Magnetic hysteresis loops close to zero magnetization in a varied magnetic field is typical behavior proving the super- [34][43] or paramagnetic [22] character of the introduced nanoparticles. Initially, the separately produced SPIOs, such as SPIO@Lac-Gly, exhibit higher magnetization, but their anchoring

Photocurrent generation in carbon nanotube/cubic-phase HfO₂ nanoparticle hybrid nanocomposites

• Protima Rauwel,
• Augustinas Galeckas,
• Martin Salumaa,
• Frédérique Ducroquet and
• Erwan Rauwel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1075–1085, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.101

• electronic structure of the C K-edge in the nanocomposites was probed by electron energy loss spectroscopy, highlighting the key role of the MWCNT growth defects in anchoring HfO2 NPs. A combined optical emission and absorption spectroscopy approach illustrated that, in contrast to HfO2 NPs, the metallic

• explanation to this selective anchoring is provided below and also in the EELS section. In Figure 1c, a HAADF-HRSTEM image exhibits small agglomerates of these nanoparticles on the MWCNT, where the diameter of the MWCNT has reduced due to buckling. The nanoparticles remain crystalline as displayed by the

• facilitate the decoration of these nanoparticles to the MWCNT. This mechanism of anchoring to the sidewalls is further probed in the EELS section. On the other hand, the side walls of the MWCNT do not appear to be atomically flat, and the outermost walls are not distinct, indicating damage to the walls of

Reorientation of single-wall carbon nanotubes in negative anisotropy liquid crystals by an electric field

• Amanda García-García,
• Ricardo Vergaz,
• José F. Algorri,
• Gianluigi Zito,
• Teresa Cacace,
• Antigone Marino,
• José M. Otón and
• Morten A. Geday

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 825–833, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.74

• orientation of the liquid crystal molecules. Moreover, impedance spectroscopy suggests a nonnegligible anchoring force between the CNTs and the liquid crystal molecules. Keywords: Anchoring; carbon nanotubes; impedance; liquid crystal; negative anisotropy; Raman spectroscopy; reorientation; single-wall CNTs

• in thin cells is dictated by the anchoring forces of the conditioned surfaces. However, the orientation may be altered if an external (electric) field above a certain threshold voltage (Vth) is applied. As a result, the effective permittivity of the LC material varies with the applied voltage. The LC

• director reorients to minimize the system energy; this energy depends on the anchoring forces of the substrate, the elastic parameters of the LC, and the applied field [6]. Calamitic LCs – the most commonly used LC in all kinds of applications – are rod-like uniaxial molecules having different properties

Gold nanoparticles covalently assembled onto vesicle structures as possible biosensing platform

• M. Fátima Barroso,
• M. Alejandra Luna,
• Juan S. Flores Tabares,
• Cristina Delerue-Matos,
• N. Mariano Correa,
• Fernando Moyano and
• Patricia G. Molina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 655–663, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.58

• and the polydispersity index of the SH–DOPC LUVs since these values are within the experimental error. Optimization of the SH/DOPC ratio for electrochemical measurements Different SH/DOPC ratios in the formation of vesicles were explored in order to find the optimal conditions for anchoring the AuNPs

• anchoring of the antibodies in futures studies because a certain spacing of the AuNPs is required for its proper orientation [25]. Figure 7c shows a TEM image of the LUVs decorated with AuNPs formed after 13 min of irradiation. The morphology of the AuNPs anchored on the vesicles shows hollow, nearly