Nanoporous and nonporous conjugated donor–acceptor polymer semiconductors for photocatalytic hydrogen production

• Zhao-Qi Sheng,
• Yu-Qin Xing,
• Yan Chen,
• Guang Zhang,
• Shi-Yong Liu and
• Long Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 607–623, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.50

• and Honda [4] reported the first example of hydrogen production by photocatalytic water splitting in 1972, using TiO2 as the photocatalyst under ultraviolet-light irradiation. Since then, numerous semiconductors have been explored for photocatalytic hydrogen production (PHP) by water splitting, which

• P80 as the acceptor could intimately blend with the donor P81, which rendered HERs up to 128.85 μmol·h−1 (2 mg) [96]. Regarding heterojunctions with TiO2, for instance, Hua et al. used two indeno[1,2-b]thiophene-based organic dyes (P82 and P83) (Figure 10) to sensitize TiO2 to harvest near-infrared

• light [97]. Consequently, the average HERs of P82/TiO2 and P83/TiO2 with Pt as cocatalyst dramatically increased to 11.3 and 3.9 times, respectively, as high as that of using TiO2 only. Chen et al. attempted to incorporate several CPs, that is, P37, P40, and P84 (Figure 5 and Figure 10), with TiO2 and

Interface interaction of transition metal phthalocyanines with strontium titanate (100)

• Reimer Karstens,
• Thomas Chassé and
• Heiko Peisert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 485–496, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.39

• first monolayer on the oxide surface depends on the central metal atom of the phthalocyanine, whereas the substrate preparation has minor influence on the interaction between CoPc and SrTiO3(100). Differences of the interaction mechanism to related TiO2 surfaces are discussed. Keywords: charge transfer

• increased by introducing oxygen vacancies into the crystal structure or by doping (e.g., n-type doping with niobium, Nb5+). Generally, two different terminations of STO(100) are known, that is, the surface can be either TiO2- or SrO-terminated. The TiO2 termination can be achieved by (ex situ) acid

• are visualized in Figure 1. LEED measurements (see below) gave no evidence for the appearance of occasionally discussed surface reconstructions after our preparation procedures [26][27]. In Figure 1a a TiO2-terminated surface is shown, where Ti4+ (light blue) and O2− (red) ions form the outmost (top

Nickel nanoparticle-decorated reduced graphene oxide/WO₃ nanocomposite – a promising candidate for gas sensing

• Ilka Simon,
• Alexandr Savitsky,
• Rolf Mülhaupt,
• Vladimir Pankov and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 343–353, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.28

• the sensitivity, response time and working temperature of MOS/rGO systems [15][41]. TiO2/rGO decorated with Pd and Pt nanoparticles was successfully used in the gas sensing of hydrogen gas [19]. The decoration of WO3/rGO nanosheets with Pt nanoparticles yielded a faster response for acetone at 200 °C

Exploring the fabrication and transfer mechanism of metallic nanostructures on carbon nanomembranes via focused electron beam induced processing

• Christian Preischl,
• Linh Hoang Le,
• Elif Bilgilisoy,
• Armin Gölzhäuser and
• Hubertus Marbach

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 319–329, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.26

• suitable combination of substrate and precursor is a prerequisite, that is, the substrate must be chemically altered by the electron beam and the precursor molecule must be susceptible to the altered site. Substrates that are known to fulfill the prerequisite are silicon oxide [10][12], rutile TiO2(110

Extended iron phthalocyanine islands self-assembled on a Ge(001):H surface

• Rafal Zuzak,
• Marek Szymonski and
• Szymon Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 232–241, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.19

• ][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57]. However, the need to electronically decouple organic moieties from the underlying substrates directed the attention towards insulators and/or semiconductors. Metal phthalocyanines on semiconducting TiO2 surfaces have been frequently studied in the

• wetting layer on TiO2 [67]. As indicated in Figure 3b, the STM-measured height of the molecular island reaches approximately 1.05 nm. This is in good agreement with previous reports indicating the STM height of an upright-oriented phthalocyanines to be in the range from 1.10 nm [66] to 1.16 nm [67]. This

• is much more than a layer of flat-lying molecules, exhibiting an STM height below 0.8 nm [66], and more than the range of 0.3–0.4 nm for single FePc molecules in the present study. In the case of CuPc on TiO2 [67], the formation of upright-oriented molecules within assemblies has been achieved by

TiO_x/Pt₃Ti(111) surface-directed formation of electronically responsive supramolecular assemblies of tungsten oxide clusters

• Marco Moors,
• Yun An,
• Agnieszka Kuc and
• Kirill Yu. Monakhov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 203–212, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.16

• surfaces by using high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), in particular on TiO2(110) [15][16], CuO(110) [17], and Pt(111) [18]. Recently, the surface behavior of W3O9 was assessed on a complex CuWO3 phase grown on Cu(110). The CuWO3/Cu(110) substrate can be viewed as a two-dimensional (2D

• W3O8 should also lead to an increased local interaction with the transition metal oxide layer, which might play a role in the new assembly arrangement. We have observed stronger interaction of both clusters with a simpler TiO2 surface, in which O atoms from the cluster interact with Ti atoms of the

A review on the biological effects of nanomaterials on silkworm (Bombyx mori)

• Sandra Senyo Fometu,
• Guohua Wu,
• Lin Ma and
• Joan Shine Davids

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 190–202, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.15

• to generate more reactive oxygen species (ROS) and to induce oxidative stress could be a reason for their antibacterial activity against R. solanacearum in tobacco plants [23]. Aside from MgO NPs, other nanomaterials, including titanium dioxide (TiO2 NPs), zinc oxide (ZnO NPs), copper oxide (CuO NPs

• ] and antiviral properties [30]. TiO2 NPs improved the water and oxygen intake by spinach leaves [31], which led to an increase in the growth and germination rate of the spinach seeds. In addition, a higher percentage of dry weight and chlorophyll formation over the germination period of 30 days were

• observed [32]. TiO2 NPs have also been documented to increase the germination of lettuce seeds [33]. Recent reports indicate that multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) also increased the germination of tomato seeds by increasing the seed water uptake [34]. These reports of nanomaterials improving the

A review on the green and sustainable synthesis of silver nanoparticles and one-dimensional silver nanostructures

• Sina Kaabipour and
• Shohreh Hemmati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 102–136, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.9

• [143][231]. In most cases, AgNPs are synthesized in metal oxide thin films such as TiO2, SiO2, and ZrO2 where the average particle size is almost 10 nm when the heating temperature is 600 °C in the case of SiO2 thin films, and 500 °C in the case of TiO2 and ZrO2 [231]. Arun Kumar et al. [145

• precursor for this purpose [241]. An important advantage of this technique is the establishment of a silver-metal-oxide (e.g. SiO2 or TiO2) nanocomposite coating using only one deposition step [241]. The CVD method also provides many opportunities for the synthesis of silver-coated materials with varying

Atomic layer deposited films of Al₂O₃ on fluorine-doped tin oxide electrodes: stability and barrier properties

• Hana Krýsová,
• Michael Neumann-Spallart,
• Hana Tarábková,
• Pavel Janda,
• Ladislav Kavan and
• Josef Krýsa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 24–34, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.2

• better the blocking. This approach has been used previously [18][19][20] for testing semiconducting nonporous blocking layers of oxides (TiO2 or SnO2) deposited onto FTO. In this way, direct electron transfer between the redox couple in the electrolyte solution and the conducting substrate (i.e., FTO

Bio-imaging with the helium-ion microscope: A review

• Matthias Schmidt,
• James M. Byrne and
• Ilari J. Maasilta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 1–23, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.1

• HIM-SIMS was published by Lovric et al., who investigated E.coli bacteria exposed to TiO2 nanoparticles using the sector-field SIMS spectrometer [36]. In this review article, we build upon previous articles by Kim [37] and Gölzhäuser and Hlawacek [38] to present an overview on past discoveries and

• they investigated E.coli which were exposed to TiO2 nanoparticles with the sector-field spectrometer [36]. The authors report on secondary ion maps of CN− from the biomass as well as of Ti+ from the nanoparticles. So far, the mass resolution achieved does not allow for using HIM-SIMS to characterise

Unravelling the interfacial interaction in mesoporous SiO₂@nickel phyllosilicate/TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures for photocatalytic activity

• Bridget K. Mutuma,
• Xiluva Mathebula,
• Isaac Nongwe,
• Bonakele P. Mtolo,
• Boitumelo J. Matsoso,
• Rudolph Erasmus,
• Zikhona Tetana and
• Neil J. Coville

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1834–1846, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.165

• @NiPS/TiO2) core–shell nanostructures. The TEM results showed that the mSiO2@NiPS composite has a core–shell nanostructure with a unique flake-like shell morphology. XPS analysis revealed the successful formation of 1:1 nickel phyllosilicate on the SiO2 surface. The addition of TiO2 to the mSiO2@NiPS

• yielded the mSiO2@NiPS/TiO2 composite. The bandgap energy of mSiO2@NiPS and of mSiO2@NiPS/TiO2 were estimated to be 2.05 and 2.68 eV, respectively, indicating the role of titania in tuning the optoelectronic properties of the SiO2@nickel phyllosilicate. As a proof of concept, the core–shell nanostructures

• were used as photocatalysts for the degradation of methyl violet dye and the degradation efficiencies were found to be 72% and 99% for the mSiO2@NiPS and the mSiO2@NiPS/TiO2 nanostructures, respectively. Furthermore, a recyclability test revealed good stability and recyclability of the mSiO2@NiPS/TiO2

Nanocasting synthesis of BiFeO₃ nanoparticles with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Thomas Cadenbach,
• Maria J. Benitez,
• A. Lucia Morales,
• Cesar Costa Vera,
• Luis Lascano,
• Francisco Quiroz,
• Alexis Debut and
• Karla Vizuete

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1822–1833, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.164

• the complete mineralization of dyes is achieved by the generation of hydroxyl and superoxide anion radicals [10][11]. Traditional photocatalysts, such as TiO2 or ZnO, provide chemical stability and facile preparation methods [12][13]. However, their environmental benefit in large-scale industrial

Fabrication of nano/microstructures for SERS substrates using an electrochemical method

• Jingran Zhang,
• Tianqi Jia,
• Xiaoping Li,
• Junjie Yang,
• Zhengkai Li,
• Guangfeng Shi,
• Xinming Zhang and
• Zuobin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1568–1576, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.139

• a KCl-saturated Ag/AgCl rod are used as the working, counter, and reference electrodes, respectively. Using this approach, Au/TiO2 nanocomposites formed on Pt substrates yielded a SERS enhancement factor of 1.8 × 108 for R6G molecules [34]. Chang et al. [35] fabricated different Ag nanostructures on

Antimicrobial metal-based nanoparticles: a review on their synthesis, types and antimicrobial action

• Matías Guerrero Correa,
• Fernanda B. Martínez,
• Cristian Patiño Vidal,
• Camilo Streitt,
• Juan Escrig and
• Carol Lopez de Dicastillo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1450–1469, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.129

• different morphologies and sizes. For example, the technique has been used to obtain ultrafine MgO nanoparticles (8–10 nm) [50], TiO2 nanoparticles (10–20 nm) [51], and even flower-like microstructures (diameter ≈6 µm) and microtubes (diameter ≈1 µm and length ≈4 µm) [52]. The sol–gel technique has been

• widely used to synthesize nanoparticles since it is a simple and relatively fast technique. With this technique it is possible to fabricate TiO2 NPs smaller than 10 nm [56][57] and MgO NPs with sizes ranging from 35 to 50 nm [53][54]. Furthermore, it has been used in the synthesis of N–Ag–TiO2–ZnO

• ][132]. When the size of titanium dioxide is reduced to the nanoscale (TiO2 NPs), its photocatalytic property is greatly improved, generating more reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS damages bacterial cells, DNA chains, and other cellular structures through oxidative stress. Therefore, the use of TiO2

High permittivity, breakdown strength, and energy storage density of polythiophene-encapsulated BaTiO₃ nanoparticles

• Adnanullah Khan,
• Amir Habib and
• Adeel Afzal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1190–1197, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.103

• dioxide (TiO2 Tronox, 99.5%, Tronox Pigments GmbH) are used as Ba and Ti precursors for the hydrothermal synthesis of BTO nanoparticles. Ba(OH)2·8H2O also acts as the mineralizer and prevents the use of NaOH or KOH for controlling the pH value of the reaction mixture [12]. Equimolar amounts of Ba and Ti

Photothermally active nanoparticles as a promising tool for eliminating bacteria and biofilms

• Mykola Borzenkov,
• Piersandro Pallavicini,
• Angelo Taglietti,
• Laura D’Alfonso,
• Maddalena Collini and
• Giuseppe Chirico

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1134–1146, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.98

• formation are controversial as the Ag nanoparticles seem to be effective against the Gram-negative but not so much against the Gram-positive strains [6]. The antibacterial properties of a wide range of nanoparticles and their corresponding nanocomposites, such as ZnO [17][18], TiO2 [19][20], Fe3O4 [21][22

Gram-scale synthesis of splat-shaped Ag–TiO₂ nanocomposites for enhanced antimicrobial properties

• Mohammad Jaber,
• Asim Mushtaq,
• Kebiao Zhang,
• Jindan Wu,
• Dandan Luo,
• Zihan Yi,
• M. Zubair Iqbal and
• Xiangdong Kong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1119–1125, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.96

• multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. In this regard, metal-oxide-based antibacterial nanomaterials have received potential research interest due to the efficient prevention of microorganism growth. In this study, splat-shaped Ag–TiO2 nanocomposites (NCs) were synthesized on the gram scale and the enhanced

• antibacterial properties of TiO2 in the presence of silver were examined. The formation of Ag–TiO2 NCs was analyzed through various characterization techniques. The cell viability experimental results demonstrated that the Ag–TiO2 NCs have good biocompatibility. The antibacterial activity of the prepared Ag

• –TiO2 NCs was tested against the Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacterial strains. The Ag–TiO2 NCs exhibited promising and superior antibacterial properties compared to TiO2 nanospheres as confirmed by the bacterial growth and inhibition zone

Highly sensitive detection of estradiol by a SERS sensor based on TiO₂ covered with gold nanoparticles

• Andrea Brognara,
• Ili F. Mohamad Ali Nasri,
• Beatrice R. Bricchi,
• Andrea Li Bassi,
• Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay,
• Matteo Ghidelli and
• Nathalie Lidgi-Guigui

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1026–1035, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.87

• Procédés et des Matériaux (LSPM), CNRS, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, 93430, Villetaneuse, France CSPBAT, UMR 7244, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, 93430 Villetaneuse, France 10.3762/bjnano.11.87 Abstract We propose the use of gold nanoparticles grown on the surface of nanoporous TiO2 films as surface

• -enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) sensors for the detection of 17β-estradiol. Gold deposition on top of a TiO2 surface leads to the formation of nanoparticles the plasmonic properties of which fulfil the requirements of a SERS sensor. The morphological and optical properties of the surface were investigated

• . Specifically, we demonstrate that the TiO2 background pressure during pulsed laser deposition and the annealing conditions offer control over the formation of Au nanoparticles with different sizes, shapes and distributions, yielding a versatile sensor. We have exploited the surface for the detection of 17β

Atomic layer deposition for efficient oxygen evolution reaction at Pt/Ir catalyst layers

• Stefanie Schlicht,
• Korcan Percin,
• Stefanie Kriescher,
• André Hofer,
• Claudia Weidlich,
• Matthias Wessling and
• Julien Bachmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 952–959, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.79

• etching. The surface roughness has increased, thereby increasing the specific surface area. The acid treatment also generates a homogeneously thin and stable TiO2 layer, which provides corrosion resistance while maintaining low transfer coefficients [24]. After coating with the catalyst layer (Figure 1c

• this, a Pt/Ir mixture can be deposited along the TiO2 tube walls by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis confirms the presence of all elements expected (Figure 3d). The metallic nature of the ALD deposits, the lack of any segregation between Pt and Ir, and the metal oxide

Adsorption behavior of tin phthalocyanine onto the (110) face of rutile TiO₂

• Lukasz Bodek,
• Mads Engelund,
• Aleksandra Cebrat and
• Bartosz Such

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 821–828, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.67

• , Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland 10.3762/bjnano.11.67 Abstract The adsorption behavior of tin phthalocyanine (SnPc) molecules on rutile TiO2(110) was studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Low-temperature STM

• measurements of single molecules reveal the coexistence of two conformations of molecules on the TiO2 surface. Density functional theory-based simulations (DFT) indicate that the difference originates from the position of the tin atom protruding from the molecule plane. The irreversible switching of Sn-up

• tunneling microscopy (STM); tin phthalocyanine (SnPc); titanium dioxide (TiO2); Introduction Phthalocyanines (Pcs) are aromatic molecules that can form metal complexes with a variety of elements, which can be used to tune molecular properties, such as position or shape of adsorption bands. Therefore, Pcs

Effect of Ag loading position on the photocatalytic performance of TiO₂ nanocolumn arrays

• Jinghan Xu,
• Yanqi Liu and
• Yan Zhao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 717–728, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.59

• solar energy harvesting in photovoltaic and photocatalytic applications owing to their extremely high visible-light absorption and tuned effective band gap. In this work, Ag-loaded TiO2 nanocolumn (Ag-TNC) arrays were fabricated based on anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template by combining atomic layer

• deposition (ALD) and vacuum evaporation. The effects of the Ag loading position and deposition thickness, and the morphology, structure and composition of Ag-deposited TNC arrays on its optical and photocatalytic properties were studied. The Ag-filled TiO2 (AFT) nanocolumn arrays exhibited higher removal

• efficiency of methylene blue (MB) compared with Ag-coated TiO2 (ACT) nanocolumn arrays and pure TiO2 nanocolumns arrays. Both experimental and theoretical simulation results demonstrated that the enhanced photocatalytic performance of AFT nanocolumn arrays was attributed to the surface plasmon resonance (SPR

A novel dry-blending method to reduce the coefficient of thermal expansion of polymer templates for OTFT electrodes

• Xiangdong Ye,
• Bo Tian,
• Yuxuan Guo,
• Fan Fan and
• Anjiang Cai

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 671–677, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.53

• . González-Benito et al. [11] used high-energy ball cryomilling to uniformly disperse 5 wt % of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles with a size of 65 nm within poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) to subsequently obtain a film of the composite with lower CTE by hot pressing. Ren et al. [12] first prepared

Preparation, characterization and photocatalytic performance of heterostructured CuO–ZnO-loaded composite nanofiber membranes

• Wei Fang,
• Liang Yu and
• Lan Xu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 631–650, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.50

• narrow direct bandgap of 1.2–1.79 eV [14]. Because of that, CuO is usually used in combination with large-bandgap semiconductors, such as ZnO and TiO2, in order to improve their photocatalytic activity under solar light irradiation [15]. It was reported that the p–n heterojunction between ZnO and CuO has

• characteristics, such as high surface area, good thermal stability, and excellent mechanical properties [32][33]. CNFs loaded with metal oxide nanoparticles have attracted a great deal of attention regarding the photocatalytic purification of water. He et al. [34] fabricated porous graphene/TiO2 CNFs by

• electrospinning and observed their photocatalytic performance. Yuan et al. [35] obtained TiO2/WO3 CNFs using electrospinning and applied them in the photocatalytic removal of mercury. Teng et al. [36] prepared TiO2/NiO CNFs by electrospinning and used them for photocatalysis. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) has been

Correction: Photocatalytic antibacterial performance of TiO₂ and Ag-doped TiO₂ against S. aureus. P. aeruginosa and E. coli

• Kiran Gupta,
• R. P. Singh,
• Ashutosh Pandey and
• Anjana Pandey

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 547–549, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.43

• ., India Department of Biotechnology, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, Prayagraj, 211004, U.P., India 10.3762/bjnano.11.43 Keywords: Ag-doped TiO2; antimicrobial activity; sol–gel; The following is a correction to the section “XRD of TiO2 and Ag-doped TiO2”, which contains a new

• results of the article. XRD of TiO2 and Ag-doped TiO2 nanoparticles X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterize as-prepared TiO2 and Ag-doped TiO2 nanoparticles. The diameter of crystalline TiO2, 3 wt % Ag-doped TiO2 and 7 wt % Ag-doped TiO2 nanoparticles annealed at 450 °C was calculated by the

• the measured XRD pattern to powder diffraction patterns in the International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD) database. The characteristic peaks of the TiO2 nanoparticle sample indicate an anatase phase (2θ = 24.8°, 44.5°, compared with JCPDS file no. 00-021-1272) with some indication of a rutile

Interfacial charge transfer processes in 2D and 3D semiconducting hybrid perovskites: azobenzene as photoswitchable ligand

• Nicole Fillafer,
• Tobias Seewald,
• Lukas Schmidt-Mende and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 466–479, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.38

• system of a semiconductor. Torres et al. reported calculations of a charge-transfer complex of para-methyl red/TiO2 in the gas phase where the isomerisation is fully quenched. The photoexcited state is oxidized immediately through a charge transfer from the azobenzene to TiO2 and no conformational change

• photoswitching of azobenzene on semiconducting TiO2 is suppressed due to a sudden oxidation of the chromophore. The formation of a heterogeneous charge-transfer complex disturbs the isomerisation and no photoswitching is observed [37]. To clarify possible electronical processes, the relative energies of valence

• ligands attached to semiconductors can change conformation under irradiation with light is still a question that is being discussed. Rego et al. simulated a very fast charge transfer from azobenzene to the conduction band of TiO2, followed by a strong vibronic relaxation that excites the N–N stretching