ZnO nanoparticles sensitized by CuInZn_xS_2+x quantum dots as highly efficient solar light driven photocatalysts

• Florian Donat,
• Serge Corbel,
• Halima Alem,
• Steve Pontvianne,
• Lavinia Balan,
• Ghouti Medjahdi and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1080–1093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.110

• contain highly toxic elements, which severely restricts their use. In recent years, I–III–VI2 group semiconductors such as CuInS2 (CIS) have emerged as environmentally friendly alternatives to Cd- or Pb-based QDs [20]. CIS QDs can be alloyed with ZnS to generate CuInZnxS2+x (ZCIS) nanocrystals with high

• absorption coefficients and bandgaps covering almost the whole visible spectrum [21][22][23], which is of high interest for solar-driven photocatalysis. CIS or ZCIS QDs have recently been associated with TiO2 [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] and ZnO [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41] nanoparticles to

• develop materials for various photonic applications such as photoelectrodes, solar cells or photocatalysts. Despite the photosensitizing properties of ZCIS QDs and their increased stability compared to CIS cores, ZCIS QDs have yet to be combined with ZnO to develop photocatalysts. Moreover, ZnO/CIS

Photocatalysis applications of some hybrid polymeric composites incorporating TiO₂ nanoparticles and their combinations with SiO₂/Fe₂O₃

• Andreea Laura Chibac,
• Tinca Buruiana,
• Violeta Melinte and
• Emil C. Buruiana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 272–286, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.30

• Pa·s). PTHF-UDMA. Yield: 10.8 g (93.5 %); 1H NMR (CDCl3, δ) 8.09 (4H, NH); 6.06 (d, 2H, CH2=C in trans position relative to CH3 unit); 5.53 (s, 2H, CH2=C in cis position relative to CH3 group); 4.15 (m, 4H, NH-COO-CH2-CH2); 4.01 (m, 4H, COO-CH2-CH2-O); 3.67 (m, 106H, CH2-CH2-CH2-CH2 from PTHF); 3.41 (m

Structural and tribometric characterization of biomimetically inspired synthetic "insect adhesives"

• Matthias W. Speidel,
• Malte Kleemeier,
• Andreas Hartwig,
• Klaus Rischka,
• Angelika Ellermann,
• Rolf Daniels and
• Oliver Betz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 45–63, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.6

• the double bonds and the methyl branches modify this behaviour [27]. Indeed, in the potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata, the supplementation of unsaturated components (e.g., cis-alkenes) to the adhesive tarsal secretions results in a significant reduction of friction forces [28]. Recent chemical

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

• ) polymers, rubbers (e.g., cis-poly(isoprene), or polyesters (e.g., polyhydroxyalkanoates) [88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97]. Although they are typically non-cytotoxic and biocompatible, it is often very challenging to use them for most microfabrication processes. Independently of their use as pure or

Rigid multipodal platforms for metal surfaces

• Michal Valášek,
• Marcin Lindner and
• Marcel Mayor

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 374–405, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.34

Single pyrimidine discrimination during voltage-driven translocation of osmylated oligodeoxynucleotides via the α-hemolysin nanopore

• Yun Ding and
• Anastassia Kanavarioti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 91–101, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.11

• done using conditions for unmodified oligos as described in [14]: 10 μM oligo in 1.00 M KCl, at pH 7.4 with 10 mM potassium phosphate buffer at 22 ± 1 °C. Up to four different probing voltages, namely 100, 120, 140, and 160 mV (trans vs cis) were tested. The observation of decreasing dwell times with

• and 0.05 ms at 120 mV (trans vs cis), respectively. These differences are well above experimental error, they are observed at all three different voltages, i.e., at 120, 140 and 160 mV (see Table 2), and clearly suggest a forceful interaction between the base and the nanopore for all four osmylated

• added to the cis side of GNM (a volume of 350 µL). A voltage of 120 mV (trans vs cis) was applied. The I–t traces were filtered at 100 kHz and sampled at 500 kHz. Events were extracted using QuB (version 1.5.0.31), and histograms were analyzed by Origin 9.1. Heat plots were plotted using data analysis

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

• . According to their results, lower AgNO3 concentration led to formation of smaller particles and higher AgNO3 concentration can lead to formation of aggregates. Using FTIR spectra, they found that the ammonia which is used for conservation of the NRL, participate in the reduction of Ag ions and also the cis

Light-powered, artificial molecular pumps: a minimalistic approach

• Giulio Ragazzon,
• Massimo Baroncini,
• Serena Silvi,
• Margherita Venturi and
• Alberto Credi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2096–2104, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.214

• , photosensitive azobenzene group (A), an ammonium ion that performs as the recognition site (R) for the macrocycle, and a nonphotoactive unit (S). Azobenzene, which is stable in its trans configuration, can be temporarily converted in a photochemical manner into the metastable cis isomer, endowed with

• significantly different steric and electronic properties [27]. In particular, the threading of the trans-A unit through the crown ether ring is much faster than that of the cis-A unit [28]. The S moiety is chosen so that its hindrance for the passage of the macrocycle falls in between that of the trans-A

• (linear) and cis-A (bent) units. The investigated strategy is shown in Figure 3. Because of the hydrogen bonds established between the molecular ring and the R unit located on the axle, a pseudorotaxane is formed in solution [29][30]. This process involves the passage of the ring on the trans-A unit

Experimental determination of the light-trapping-induced absorption enhancement factor in DSSC photoanodes

• Serena Gagliardi and
• Mauro Falconieri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 886–892, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.91

• D/SP titania paste, sensitized with di-tetrabutylammonium cis-bis(isothiocyanato)bis(2,2’-bipyridyl-4,4’-dicarboxylato)ruthenium(II), also known as N719, purchased from Solaronix. Photoanodes of two different sizes were prepared: 0.5 × 0.5 cm2 for device assembly, and 1.8 × 1.8 cm2 for use in

Synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes and their applications

• Saban Kalay,
• Zehra Yilmaz,
• Ozlem Sen,
• Melis Emanet,
• Emine Kazanc and
• Mustafa Çulha

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 84–102, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.9

• study revealed that platinum-based anticancer drugs preferentially interacted with Al-doped BNNTs as compared to pristine, zigzag and armchair BNNTs [88]. Cisplatin (cis-Pt) and nedaplatin (neda-Pt) molecules were used as platinum-based anticancer drugs. An aluminum (Al) atom is substituted for a boron

• atom. The Al atom induced a protrusion out of the plane of the BNNT and a distortion occurred at the doping site to relieve the stress. Density functional theory was performed to observe the absorption of cis-Pt and neda-Pt on pristine and Al-doped BNNTs. The results indicated that the chlorine atom of

• cis-Pt and the oxygen atom of the carbonyl group of neda-Pt interacted with the Al-doped BNNTs [88]. Biomaterial applications The addition of BNNTs into a polymeric matrix could increase the physical strength, degradation rate and durability of the final product. Therefore, their use in polymeric

Low-cost plasmonic solar cells prepared by chemical spray pyrolysis

• Erki Kärber,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Ilona Oja Acik,
• Valdek Mikli,
• Arvo Mere,
• Ilmo Sildos and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2398–2402, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.249

• , while providing a technologically simple method for solar cell production. Chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP) is a simple method to produce thin semiconductor oxide- and sulphide layers and metal nanoparticles (NPs) via thermal decomposition of metal precursor salts. CuInS2 (CIS) is a semiconductor material

• with a band gap of 1.5 eV that is often used as a photovoltaic absorber. Previously published, related work by our research group regarding CIS-based solar cells includes: the synthesis and properties of CIS [5][6], application of CIS in extremely thin absorber solar cells based on ZnO nanorods [7

• ], the thermal decomposition of a HAuCl4·3H2O precursor solution for Au-NP formation [8], and CIS/Au-NP and Au-NP/CIS composite layers prepared by spraying on glass [9]. In the composite layers, the Au-NPs assist photon absorption in the CIS absorber in the wavelength region of 500–800 nm [9]. Increased

Non-covalent and reversible functionalization of carbon nanotubes

• Antonello Di Crescenzo,
• Valeria Ettorre and
• Antonella Fontana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1675–1690, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.178

• irradiation converts the dispersant into a cation with a superhydrophilic nature and thus more prone to interact with water than with the nanotube surface. The CNTs dispersing ability of azobenzene polymers is also tunable by the light-promoted trans–cis isomerization of azobenzene units that allow to switch

Nano-rings with a handle – Synthesis of substituted cycloparaphenylenes

• Anne-Florence Tran-Van and
• Hermann A. Wegner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1320–1333, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.145

• ), providing the desired cis-diol in 36% yield after separation. The diol was further methylated by using MeI and NaH as base. They combined the designed L-shaped naphthylene modified building block 28 in a nickel-mediated shotgun macrocyclization producing the trimer 29 in 2% yield. Final aromatization under

• group of Wang [56] explored a different strategy to integrate a substituted naphthylene unit into CPP (Scheme 8). The square shaped subtituent was synthesized via Diels–Alder reaction of 35 and 31 selectively affording the cis product 36 after methylation. This building block was further submitted to

• benzene and naphthalene junction, respectively. The molecules were rather insoluble, which is in sharp contrast to the monomeric CPP which is readily soluble in organic solvents. There are two conformers possible for the molecule: the cis conformer, in which the two rings are on top of each other like in

An insight into the mechanism of charge-transfer of hybrid polymer:ternary/quaternary chalcopyrite colloidal nanocrystals

• Parul Chawla,
• Son Singh and
• Shailesh Narain Sharma

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1235–1244, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.137

• notable study reports on a combination of poly(2-methoxy-5-(3,7-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene) (MDMO-PPV) and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) with (CISe) and copper indium disulfide (CIS) nanocrystals involving a bulk heterojunction device prepared from copper indium disulfide and p-doped poly

• component accounts for an efficient charge separation which can even negate the effect of the interfacial driving energy ∆E. The driving energy depends on the difference between the LUMO of the donor (P3HT) and the conduction band of the acceptor (CZTS/CIGS/CIS). For the charge generation and separation

Characterization and photocatalytic study of tantalum oxide nanoparticles prepared by the hydrolysis of tantalum oxo-ethoxide Ta₈(μ₃-O)₂(μ-O)₈(μ-OEt)₆(OEt)₁₄

• Subia Ambreen,
• N D Pandey,
• Peter Mayer and
• Ashutosh Pandey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1082–1090, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.121

• cis pairs of terminal OEt ligands, single terminal OEt ligands and μ-OEt groups. Crystal structure Compound 1 was found in the monoclinic space group P21/n with Z = 2. The molecular structure (Figure 1) consists of a centrosymmetric unit of formula Ta8(μ3-O)2(μ-O)8(μ-OEt)6(OEt)14 (1). Each molecule

• has two Ta3(μ3-O)-(μ-OEt)3(OEt)5 units linked with two Ta(μ-O)4(OEt)2 moieties by four μ-oxo ligands. All of the tantalum atoms display distorted octahedral configurations. Six tantalum atoms are bonded to cis pairs of terminal ethoxy ligands and the other two are bonded to single ethoxy ligands. The

Optical modeling-assisted characterization of dye-sensitized solar cells using TiO₂ nanotube arrays as photoanodes

• Jung-Ho Yun,
• Il Ku Kim,
• Yun Hau Ng,
• Lianzhou Wang and
• Rose Amal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 895–902, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.102

• reheated to 450 °C for 30 min if not immediately used. For N719-DSSCs, the TNT array was soaked in 0.3 mM N719 (cis-diisothiocyanato-bis(2,2′-bipyridyl-4,4′-dicarboxylato)ruthenium(II) bis(tetrabutylammonium)) dye solution in anhydrous acetonitrile for 18 h. N719 compound was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich

Optical and structural characterization of oleic acid-stabilized CdTe nanocrystals for solution thin film processing

• Claudio Davet Gutiérrez-Lazos,
• Mauricio Ortega-López,
• Manuel A. Pérez-Guzmán,
• A. Mauricio Espinoza-Rivas,
• Francisco Solís-Pomar,
• Rebeca Ortega-Amaya,
• L. Gerardo Silva-Vidaurri,
• Virginia C. Castro-Peña and
• Eduardo Pérez-Tijerina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 881–886, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.100

• dispersion chemistry and on the required thin film optoelectronic properties, post-deposition complex processes are needed. Guo et al. [23] deposited CuInSe2 (CIS) thin films for solar cells starting from oleylamine-stabilized CIS nanocrystals. An additional annealing at 500 °C was needed to obtain suitable

• CIS films for photovoltaic applications. Jasieniak et al. [24] deposited photovoltaic cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin films by using pyridine-capped CdTe nanocrystals. In their approach, CdTe nanocrystals were deposited from solution by a layer-by-layer process with subsequent annealing per layer at 300

Adsorption of the ionic liquid [BMP][TFSA] on Au(111) and Ag(111): substrate effects on the structure formation investigated by STM

• Benedikt Uhl,
• Florian Buchner,
• Dorothea Alwast,
• Nadja Wagner and
• R. Jürgen Behm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 903–918, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.102

• that the anion adsorbs in a cis-conformation, with the SO2-groups pointing to the surface and the CF3-groups pointing towards the vacuum. The same adsorption geometry for the anion was also proposed by Sobota et al. [29] for [BMIM][TFSA] (B = butyl) adsorbed on a thin alumina film grown on NiAl(110

• ] ion pairs on Ag(111) [26]. Details on the calculations can be found elsewhere [26]. According to those calculations, the ring of the cation lies flat on the surface and the butyl group points upwards. The anion adsorbs in a cis-configuration (both SO2-groups are positioned on the same side of the

Template based precursor route for the synthesis of CuInSe₂ nanorod arrays for potential solar cell applications

• Mikhail Pashchanka,
• Jonas Bang,
• Niklas S. A. Gora,
• Ildiko Balog,
• Rudolf C. Hoffmann and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 868–874, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.98

• purity and crystallinity, and a stoichiometric composition of the CISe ternary semiconductor compound. Keywords: CIS; light absorption; nanocasting; nanorod arrays; precursor synthesis; Introduction Polycrystalline heterojunction solar cells with a columnar morphology of the photovoltaic active layer

• VLS synthesis of CuInSe2 nanowires (by Cu impregnation of In2Se3 nanowires) and the construction of a single-nanowire CIS/CdS core–shell device [4]. However, the authors estimated the efficiency of their solar cell to be below 1%, and the construction of a larger scale device with this approach still

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

• of two new peaks increase with reaction time. These two peaks have been verified to match the =CH− protons of the cis- and trans-isomers, respectively, of the propenyl ether group, which results from the isomerization of allyl-PEO [25] (Figure 4). In the 13C NMR spectrum (Figure 2), the position of

• the conversion of allyl-PEO associated with hydrosilylation (%CAP,hydro) were calculated according to the following equations: in which ICH2=(0) is the integral of the CH2= resonance in the 1H-NMR spectrum of the initial mixture and ICH2=(t), ICH,cis(t) and ICH,trans(t) are the integrals of the CH2

• =, cis-CH=, and trans-CH= resonances at time t, respectively. The density (δ) of grafted PEO molecules onto the PSZ chain expressed by the amount of PEO attaching to 10 equiv of initial S−H has been calculated according to The conversions of all three types of allyl-PEO in the different reactions during

Continuous parallel ESI-MS analysis of reactions carried out in a bespoke 3D printed device

• Jennifer S. Mathieson,
• Mali H. Rosnes,
• Victor Sans,
• Philip J. Kitson and
• Leroy Cronin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 285–291, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.31

• , mixing points, inlets and outlets, et cetera [4]. Herein, we show that we can carry out complex supramolecular chemistry in milliscale reactionware, in which cis,trans-1,3,5-tris(pyridine-2-ylmethylene)cyclohexane-1,3,5-triamine (ttop) forms complexes with a number of metals, such as copper(II) and

• idle, and vice versa) (see Table 2 for flow rates). Results and Discussion The ttop ligand (L, C24H24N6) used in this investigation was produced by the reaction of cis,trans-1,3,5-triaminocyclohexane (trans-tach) with pyridine-2-carboxaldehyde (see Scheme 1). The ring-flip capability of the cyclohexane

Reduced electron recombination of dye-sensitized solar cells based on TiO₂ spheres consisting of ultrathin nanosheets with [001] facet exposed

• Hongxia Wang,
• Meinan Liu,
• Cheng Yan and
• John Bell

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 378–387, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.44

• resintered at 450 °C for 30 min. The geometrical area of the TiO2 film was 0.25 cm2. The TiO2 film (with or without TiCl4 treatment) when it was still warm (around 80 °C) was immersed in a dye solution containing 0.25 mM cis-bis(isothiocyanato) bis(2,2´- bipyridyl-4,4´-dicarboxylate) ruthenium(II) bis

Dipole-driven self-organization of zwitterionic molecules on alkali halide surfaces

• Laurent Nony,
• Franck Bocquet,
• Franck Para,
• Frédéric Chérioux,
• Eric Duverger,
• Frank Palmino,
• Vincent Luzet and
• Christian Loppacher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 285–293, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.32

• composed of a sulfonato endgroup (SO3−), which carries a negative charge and which is linked via an alkyl-chain to a pyridinum ring carrying a positive charge (N+). MSPS molecules adopt two main conformations corresponding to the cis/trans isomerization of the C–C double bond. Cis (agraffe-like) and trans

• (scorpion-like) are described in Figure 1. However, only the scorpion-like isomer is obtained after the synthesis, because it is more stable than the cis isomer. The permanent electric dipole of the trans isomer is 16.8 D, the total length of this isomer is 1.28 nm. Due to the isomerization of the C–C

• double bond, the cis isomer is shorter than the trans isomer (0.53 vs 1.28 nm). The ionic single-crystal substrates (MaTecK GmbH, Jülich, Germany) were cleaved ex situ and annealed in situ (UHV conditions) to 150–250 °C in order to obtain clean terraces and well-defined step edges. The molecules were

Direct monitoring of opto-mechanical switching of self-assembled monolayer films containing the azobenzene group

• Einat Tirosh,
• Enrico Benassi,
• Silvio Pipolo,
• Marcel Mayor,
• Michal Valášek,
• Veronica Frydman,
• Stefano Corni and
• Sidney R. Cohen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 834–844, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.93

• Support, Rehovot Israel 10.3762/bjnano.2.93 Abstract The potential for manipulation and control inherent in molecule-based motors holds great scientific and technological promise. Molecules containing the azobenzene group have been heavily studied in this context. While the effects of the cis–trans

• show that the modulus of the cis-form is approximately twice that of the trans-isomer. Quantum mechanical and molecular dynamics studies show good agreement with this experimental result, and indicate that the stiffer response in the cis-form comprises contributions both from the individual molecular

• through a facile cis↔trans isomerization that is controlled by UV and visible light. The forces involved in this transition have been characterized by a number of techniques. For instance, changes in the stiffness of azobenzene-containing films were monitored by nanoindentation [1], by quartz-crystal