Rapid thermal annealing for high-quality ITO thin films deposited by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering

• Petronela Prepelita,
• Ionel Stavarache,
• Doina Craciun,
• Florin Garoi,
• Catalin Negrila,
• Beatrice Gabriela Sbarcea and
• Valentin Craciun

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1511–1522, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.149

• sputtered onto the sample surfaces prior to imaging and cross-sectional analysis to avoid electrostatic charging during the measurements. The elemental and chemical composition of the ITO thin films as well as the electronic state of the elements within the material were investigated by X-ray photoelectron

• spectroscopy (XPS) method. A SPECS spectrometer with a PHOIBOS RX 150 analyzer and a Specs XR–50 M source was operated with a monochromatic Al anode (hν = 1486.61 eV) at 300 W. The charging effect of the sample deposited onto the quartz substrate is compensated for with a Specs FG15/40 flood gun. The chemical

Synthesis of P- and N-doped carbon catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction via controlled phosphoric acid treatment of folic acid

• Rieko Kobayashi,
• Takafumi Ishii,
• Yasuo Imashiro and
• Jun-ichi Ozaki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1497–1510, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.148

• . The results of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis demonstrated that when pretreatment was performed in the absence of PA, the N content of the carbon materials decreased with increasing temperature. On the other hand, in the presence of PA, the N/C atomic ratio initially increased with

Flexible freestanding MoS₂-based composite paper for energy conversion and storage

• Florian Zoller,
• Jan Luxa,
• Thomas Bein,
• Dina Fattakhova-Rohlfing,
• Daniel Bouša and
• Zdeněk Sofer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1488–1496, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.147

• identified (Supporting Information File 1, Table S1) that there was about 2.1 wt % of iron in the sample. This contamination originates from the carbon nanotubes, where iron usually serves as a catalyst for their growth [36]. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to track the degree of degradation

• the measurements. High-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was performed using an ESCAProbeP spectrometer (Omicron Nanotechnology Ltd, Germany) with a monochromatic aluminum X-ray radiation source (1486.7 eV). Wide-scan surveys of all elements were performed (0–1000 eV, step 0.5 eV) with

Growth of lithium hydride thin films from solutions: Towards solution atomic layer deposition of lithiated films

• Ivan Kundrata,
• Karol Fröhlich,
• Lubomír Vančo,
• Matej Mičušík and
• Julien Bachmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1443–1451, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.142

• homogeneous air-sensitive thin films, characterized by using ellipsometry, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD), in situ quartz crystal microbalance, and scanning electron microscopy, was observed. Lithium hydride diffraction peaks have been observed in as-deposited films by GIXRD. X-ray photoelectron

• spectroscopy and Auger spectroscopy analysis show the chemical identity of the decomposing air-sensitive films. Despite the air sensitivity of BuLi and LiH, making many standard measurements difficult, this work establishes the use of sALD to deposit LiH, a material inaccessible to conventional ALD, from

BiOCl/TiO₂/diatomite composites with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity for the degradation of rhodamine B

• Minlin Ao,
• Kun Liu,
• Xuekun Tang,
• Zishun Li,
• Qian Peng and
• Jing Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1412–1422, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.139

• electron spectrometer was used to observe X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results. A monochromatic Al Kα source (1486.7 eV) and a 300 × 500 μm spot size was used to collect the spectra. In 77 K nitrogen atmosphere, the specific surface area and pore size distribution of the sample were determined by

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

• was used for the fabrication of well-faceted wire-like crystals with diameters ranging between 15–100 nm. The sol–gel method allowed us to obtain fragile gels from powders with grain sizes of about 5 nm. By means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) it was proven that the nanowires contain

• ; gas transport method; nanowires; quasi-one-dimensional materials; sol–gel synthesis; tin dioxide; X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES); X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); Introduction Semiconductor sensor functionality relies on heterogeneous catalytic chemical processes, which makes the

• calcination as follows: Figure 2 shows a TEM image of the obtained material. The particle diameter derived from this measurement was found to be 4–6 nm. X-ray spectroscopy of the materials In the present study, we used the non-destructive techniques, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption

A biomimetic nanofluidic diode based on surface-modified polymeric carbon nitride nanotubes

• Kai Xiao,
• Baris Kumru,
• Lu Chen,
• Lei Jiang,
• Bernhard V. K. J. Schmidt and
• Markus Antonietti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1316–1323, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.130

• purchased from Merck Millipore. Characterizations: The released CNNM was transferred to a quartz glass substrate and analyzed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was performed by an ESCALab220i-XL electron spectrometer from VG Scientific using 300W Al Kα radiation, while the base pressure was about 3

A silver-nanoparticle/cellulose-nanofiber composite as a highly effective substrate for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• Yongxin Lu,
• Yan Luo,
• Zehao Lin and
• Jianguo Huang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1270–1279, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.126

• particle size [62]. These results are in accordance with the electron microscopy observations discussed above. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) survey spectrum of sample Ag-NP/cellulose-NF–C is shown in Figure 3c, showing the distinct peaks of carbon, oxygen and silver. Figure 3d shows the

• nanoparticle showing the lattice of metallic silver (b). X-ray diffraction patterns (a) and diffuse reflectance UV–vis spectra (b) of Ag-NP/cellulose-NF–A, B, C, D, and E. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) survey spectrum (c) and high-resolution XPS spectrum of the Ag 3d region (d) of sample Ag-NP

Alloyed Pt₃M (M = Co, Ni) nanoparticles supported on S- and N-doped carbon nanotubes for the oxygen reduction reaction

• Stéphane Louisia,
• Yohann R. J. Thomas,
• Pierre Lecante,
• Marie Heitzmann,
• M. Rosa Axet,
• Pierre-André Jacques and
• Philippe Serp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1251–1269, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.125

• doping. Elemental and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis results are shown in Table 1. The elemental analysis confirmed the efficiency of the doping, and showed that S-CNT contains a significant amount of residual catalyst (iron, encapsulated in the structure of the tubes). An effect of heat

• ) and thermal analysis under air (thermobalance Perkin Elmer Diamond TG). The textural characterization (BET surface area, SBET) of the material was evaluated by N2 adsorption–desorption analysis at −196 °C using a Quantachrome autosorb device. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was performed on a

Playing with covalent triazine framework tiles for improved CO₂ adsorption properties and catalytic performance

• Giulia Tuci,
• Andree Iemhoff,
• Housseinou Ba,
• Lapo Luconi,
• Andrea Rossin,
• Vasiliki Papaefthimiou,
• Regina Palkovits,
• Jens Artz,
• Cuong Pham-Huu and
• Giuliano Giambastiani

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1217–1227, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.121

• within the furnace, ampules were charged to a maximum of half of their volume. Elemental analyses were performed using a Thermo FlashEA 1112 Series CHNS-O elemental analyzer and elemental average values for each sample were calculated over three independent runs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS

A highly efficient porous rod-like Ce-doped ZnO photocatalyst for the degradation of dye contaminants in water

• Binjing Hu,
• Qiang Sun,
• Chengyi Zuo,
• Yunxin Pei,
• Siwei Yang,
• Hui Zheng and
• Fangming Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1157–1165, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.115

• a sunlight simulator. The results showed that ZnO doped with 3% Ce exhibits the highest RhB degradation rate. To understand the crystal structure, elemental state, surface morphology and chemical composition, the photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron

• spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and inductively coupled plasma emission spectroscopy (ICP), respectively. The newly developed, robust, field-only surface integral method was employed to explore the relationship between the remarkable catalytic effect and the catalyst shape and porous

Porous N- and S-doped carbon–carbon composite electrodes by soft-templating for redox flow batteries

• Maike Schnucklake,
• László Eifert,
• Jonathan Schneider,
• Roswitha Zeis and
• Christina Roth

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1131–1139, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.113

• obtained inside the macroporous carbon felt. For the investigation of electrode structure and porosity X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and nitrogen sorption (BET) were used. The electrochemical performance of the carbon felts was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry

• hydrogen content. The average of the measured values was determined and listed in Table 2. The elemental composition and the chemical state of the elements in the sample surfaces were determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements (CLAM4 electron analyzer from Thermo VG scientific

Glucose-derived carbon materials with tailored properties as electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction

• Rafael Gomes Morais,
• Natalia Rey-Raap,
• José Luís Figueiredo and
• Manuel Fernando Ribeiro Pereira

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1089–1102, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.109

• which heteroatoms can be incorporated, and so materials with a lower degree of functionalization are obtained. Further understanding of the functionalities of the carbon materials was achieved by analyzing their surface composition by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS spectra in the C 1s

• determined in a Vario micro cube analyzer (Elementar GmbH), by combustion of the sample at 1050 °C. The oxygen content was determined using a rapid oxy cube analyzer (Elementar GmbH) in which the sample underwent pyrolysis at 1450 °C. Each sample was analysed in triplicate. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Concurrent nanoscale surface etching and SnO₂ loading of carbon fibers for vanadium ion redox enhancement

• Jun Maruyama,
• Shohei Maruyama,
• Tomoko Fukuhara,
• Toru Nagaoka and
• Kei Hanafusa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 985–992, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.99

• using Microsoft Excel based on Gaussian functions was used for the Raman peak deconvolution and fitting. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry was performed using a FESEM (JSM-7800F, JEOL) and EDX (Octane Elect Super, EDAX). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was carried out using an AXIS ULTRA DLD

• single heat-treatment step. The subsequent thermal oxidation concurrently achieved nanoscale surface etching and loading with SnO2 nanoparticles. The nanoscale-etched and SnO2-loaded surface was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray

• photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The activity for the vanadium ion redox reactions was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) to demonstrate the enhancement of both the positive and negative electrode reactions. A full cell test of the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) showed a significant decrease of the

Structural and optical properties of penicillamine-protected gold nanocluster fractions separated by sequential size-selective fractionation

• Xiupei Yang,
• Zhengli Yang,
• Fenglin Tang,
• Jing Xu,
• Maoxue Zhang and
• Martin M. F. Choi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 955–966, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.96

• size and the ratio of Au atoms to ligands of AuNCs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has also been applied to observe the molecular dependence on the gold and sulfur chemical state of organosulfur monolayers of the fractions. The photoluminescence spectra of these AuNCs in the range of 900–790 nm

• fractionation, the crude AuNCs and fractions obtained from SSSP have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and UV–vis absorption together with photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Experimental Chemicals and

• -flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF MS) (Autoflex, Bruker, Germany). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were conducted with a Leybold Heraeus SKL-12 X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (Shenyang, China) modified with a VG CLAM 4 multichannel hemispherical analyzer using a Mg Kα excitation

In situ AFM visualization of Li–O₂ battery discharge products during redox cycling in an atmospherically controlled sample cell

• Kumar Virwani,
• Younes Ansari,
• Khanh Nguyen,
• Francisco José Alía Moreno-Ortiz,
• Jangwoo Kim,
• Maxwell J. Giammona,
• Ho-Cheol Kim and
• Young-Hye La

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 930–940, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.94

• -ray photoelectron spectroscopy to study the reactions under ultrahigh vacuum as well as 500 mtorr O2 pressure. Zheng et al. [20] performed in situ scanning electron microscopy of the reaction whereby they observed the growth of toroidal lithium peroxide (Li2O2) particles along a specific direction as

• al. [18] used transmission electron microscopy to investigate electrochemical processes of Li/O2 cells. In situ observations using electron beams tend to have limited time for observation as the electron beam reacts with the Li and the Li/O2 discharge products. Lu et al. [19] used ambient pressure X

Synthesis of novel C-doped g-C₃N₄ nanosheets coupled with CdIn₂S₄ for enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

• Jingshuai Chen,
• Chang-Jie Mao,
• Helin Niu and
• Ji-Ming Song

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 912–921, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.92

• the CCN surface, resulting in close contact (Figure 4c,d). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was utilized to study the surface elemental composition of the representative composite photocatalyst CISCCN3. The survey XPS spectrum of Figure 5a shows that the CISCCN3 composite is mostly composed of C

• , NEXUS-870, Nicolet Instrument Co. USA), X-ray diffraction (XRD, XD-3, Purkinje General, China, Cu Kα radiation), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, Escalab 250Xi, America), UV–vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS, Hitachi U-4100) at a wavelength range of 200–800 nm, and fluorescence

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

• measurements of the chemical composition of the fabricated SNIFs by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and their optical properties by using UV–vis spectroscopy. Finally, we describe the SERS performance of SNIFs in the measurements of para-mercaptoaniline (pMA) molecules. Results and Discussion

• deposited silver layers X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used (XPS spectrometer, Prevac Company). The measurements were made using an X-ray source equipped with an Al anode emitting X-ray radiation with photon energy of 1486.6 eV. The analysis of registered XPS spectra was performed in the CasaXPS

Synthesis of MnO₂–CuO–Fe₂O₃/CNTs catalysts: low-temperature SCR activity and formation mechanism

• Yanbing Zhang,
• Lihua Liu,
• Yingzan Chen,
• Xianglong Cheng,
• Chengjian Song,
• Mingjie Ding and
• Haipeng Zhao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 848–855, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.85

• results of XRD (Figure 2). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy The XPS spectra of the as-prepared catalysts are given in Figure 4. The elements Mn, Cu, Fe, C, and O were detected in the XPS full-scan spectrum of Figure 4A. For the Mn 2p spectrum of 4% MnO2–CuO–Fe2O3/CNTs (Figure 4B), the binding energies at

• -programmed reduction by H2 (H2-TPR) was assessed by using a custom-built TCD apparatus. Before the H2-TPR test, 50 mg catalyst was firstly purged in N2 at 200 °C for 1.5 h. The test was carried out in N2 (containing 6% H2) with a heating rate of 10 °C/min. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was carried

Trapping polysulfide on two-dimensional molybdenum disulfide for Li–S batteries through phase selection with optimized binding

• Sha Dong,
• Xiaoli Sun and
• Zhiguo Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 774–780, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.77

• Mo by Re atoms [28], electron-beam irradiation [31] and hot-electron injection [32]. Recently, it was reported that MoS2/reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/S cathodes for Li–S batteries exhibit outstanding performance. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy showed that few-layered MoS2 is

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

• reported using the same color scales [55]. For chemical analysis of the obtained thin films, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were performed. For the FTIR analysis, a Bruker IFS 66v/S was adopted. For each spectrum, 1000 scans were recorded in transmission mode

• with a resolution of 4 cm−1 between 400 cm−1 and 4000 cm−1. All spectra were baseline corrected and normalized to the film thickness. Surface chemical composition was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Analyses were performed with a Scanning XPS Microprobe (PHI 5000 Versa Probe II

• range of 375–475 °C is solely attributed to the growth of ZnO crystals. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy In Figure 2d–f, the XPS measurements performed on the zincone-like layers after calcination are reported. In Table 1, the atom % fractions after calcination are specified. In Figure 2d and reported

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

• studied. Transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are used to analyze the resulting gas-sensitive hybrid films. Among the different nanomaterials tested, short-chain thiols having a hydrophilic head group, self-assembled onto Au-decorated carbon nanotubes

• thiols [28]. Material characterization The hydrophilicity of the gas-sensitive coatings was evaluated using an optical tensiometer from Biolin Scientific. Their chemical composition was characterized by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Raman spectrometry was performed

A porous 3D-RGO@MWCNT hybrid material as Li–S battery cathode

• Yongguang Zhang,
• Jun Ren,
• Yan Zhao,
• Taizhe Tan,
• Fuxing Yin and
• Yichao Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 514–521, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.52

• (SmartLab, Rigaku Corporation) with Cu Ka radiation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS, Shimadzy Axis Ultra) was applied to investigate the chemical valence states and compositions of the sample. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM, Hitachi S4800) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy

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

• -synthesized PtSe2 sample. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra of the Pt 4f and Se 3d regions acquired on a PtSe2 nanosheet sample were carried out on a film deposited on the Si substrate. The Figure 4a represents the fitted spectrum for Pt 4f7/2 and Pt 4f5/2 with binding energy 72.55 eV and

Reduced graphene oxide supported C₃N₄ nanoflakes and quantum dots as metal-free catalysts for visible light assisted CO₂ reduction

• Md Rakibuddin and
• Haekyoung Kim

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 448–458, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.44

• , X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and UV–vis spectroscopy. High-resolution TEM images clearly show that C3N4 QDs (average diameter of 2–3 nm) and NFs (≈20–45 nm) are

• by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, which is carried out to study the surface composition and the interactions and valence states of the elements present in the hybrid materials. The full XPS survey spectrum of the GCN-5 hybrid material reveals the presence of C, N and O, while no

• gas. Schematic representation of the preparation of C3N4 nanoflakes (NFs), quantum dots (QDs) and the rGO-supported C3N4 (GCN) hybrid material. Powder X-ray diffraction patterns of the synthesized rGO-supported C3N4 (GCN) hybrid materials. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of the prepared GCN