Synthesis of a MnO₂/Fe₃O₄/diatomite nanocomposite as an efficient heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for methylene blue degradation

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

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1940–1950, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.185

• ) oxide (Fe3O4); manganese(IV) oxide (MnO2); Introduction Organic contaminants are widely distributed in water and soil due to the excessive emissions of industrial processes, which causes a great threat to the ecosystem as well as to human health [1][2][3]. Most of the organic pollutants are toxic and

• degradation of organic contaminants) and show the advantages of a fast reaction rate and being cost-efficient [8]. However, the practical application is limited through issues such as the narrow acidic pH range, non-selective oxidation, H2O2 storage and sludge removal [9][10]. To overcome the limitation, the

• composite is the most effective strategy [14]. Through this strategy, catalysts with controllable particle size, better dispersion and decreased agglomeration are easy to be synthesized and are expected to significantly increase the contact between active sites and contaminants. In addition, with the

Synthesis of hafnium nanoparticles and hafnium nanoparticle films by gas condensation and energetic deposition

• Irini Michelakaki,
• Nikos Boukos,
• Dimitrios A. Dragatogiannis,
• Spyros Stathopoulos,
• Costas A. Charitidis and
• Dimitris Tsoukalas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1868–1880, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.179

• produced by inert-gas condensation. In order to avoid contaminants the base pressure prior to deposition was ca. 9·10−7 mbar, a high-purity (99.95%) sputtering Hf target was utilized, and thorough target presputtering was performed prior to deposition. All depositions were performed at room temperature

Cr(VI) remediation from aqueous environment through modified-TiO₂-mediated photocatalytic reduction

• Rashmi Acharya,
• Brundabana Naik and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1448–1470, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.137

Formation mechanisms of boron oxide films fabricated by large-area electron beam-induced deposition of trimethyl borate

• Aiden A. Martin and
• Philip J. Depond

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1282–1287, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.120

• except for the two O-rings used in the differential pumping apparatus. This provides a deposition rate attributed to residual contaminants of less than 50 nm in 30 min at room temperature under high vacuum (ca. 10−4 Pa). A focused, Gaussian profile 2 keV, 20 μA, 200 μm radius (ω0, radius at 1/e2

Heterostuctures of 4-(chloromethyl)phenyltrichlorosilane and 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)-21H,23H-porphine prepared on Si(111) using particle lithography: Nanoscale characterization of the main steps of nanopatterning

• Phillip C. Chambers and
• Jayne C. Garno

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1211–1219, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.112

• distinct differences in the interfacial chemistry of the uncovered silicon surface within the nanoholes versus the surrounding OTS matrix. A closer look at the hexagonal arrangement of nanoholes is presented in Figure 2c and 2d. A few bright spots on the areas of OTS reveal trace contaminants that were not

• Figure 3b [38]. A close-up view of three nanodots are shown in zoom-in topography and phase images in Figures 3c and 3d. The heights and sizes of the nanodots are quite similar, without nonspecific attachment of contaminants in surrounding areas of the OTS resist film. There is a dark outline surrounding

• ) were rinsed with water and cleaned in piranha solution (3:1 sulfuric acid to hydrogen peroxide) for 1.5 h to remove surface contaminants. Caution: this solution is highly corrosive and should be handled carefully. The substrates were then rinsed with ultrapure water and dried under nitrogen. After

Effect of annealing treatments on CeO₂ grown on TiN and Si substrates by atomic layer deposition

• Silvia Vangelista,
• Rossella Piagge,
• Satu Ek and
• Alessio Lamperti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 890–899, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.83

• , we can conclude that CeO2 is stable up to 600 °C with no annealing effects on its structure or chemical composition. Moreover, annealing (at 300 °C in O2) helps in the removal of the adsorbed moisture and in reducing residual contaminants, such as carbon, from the deposition process. However, the

Heavy-metal detectors based on modified ferrite nanoparticles

• Urszula Klekotka,
• Ewelina Wińska,
• Elżbieta Zambrzycka-Szelewa,
• Dariusz Satuła and
• Beata Kalska-Szostko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 762–770, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.69

• life, detect contaminants [5] and receive intelligent packaging [6]. A lot of research is focused on the reduction of the amount of fat in the products through the use of nanotechnological solutions. The idea to use fat in the forms of nanoemulsions, e.g., in cream or mayonnaise, became very popular in

Tuning adhesion forces between functionalized gold colloidal nanoparticles and silicon AFM tips: role of ligands and capillary forces

• Sven Oras,
• Sergei Vlassov,
• Marta Berholts,
• Rünno Lõhmus and
• Karine Mougin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 660–670, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.61

• that under ambient conditions an adsorbed thin water film exists at the NPs–substrate interface, that should increase the capillary forces and indirectly the adhesion between NPs and tip. On the other hand, high polarity of –COOH group increases the reactivity of NPs with airborne contaminants, which

Anchoring Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in a reduced graphene oxide aerogel matrix via polydopamine coating

• Błażej Scheibe,
• Radosław Mrówczyński,
• Natalia Michalak,
• Karol Załęski,
• Michał Matczak,
• Mateusz Kempiński,
• Zuzanna Pietralik,
• Mikołaj Lewandowski,
• Stefan Jurga and
• Feliks Stobiecki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 591–601, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.55

• batteries [8][9][10][11], supercapacitors [12][13][14][15][16]), sensors (gas sensors [17][18][19], biosensors [20][21]) and adsorbers (oil pollution [22][23], organic contaminants [24][25]). Moreover, the properties of GO-based aerogels can be modified by addition of various functional additives, e.g

Fabrication and photoactivity of ionic liquid–TiO₂ structures for efficient visible-light-induced photocatalytic decomposition of organic pollutants in aqueous phase

• Anna Gołąbiewska,
• Marta Paszkiewicz-Gawron,
• Aleksandra Sadzińska,
• Wojciech Lisowski,
• Ewelina Grabowska,
• Adriana Zaleska-Medynska and
• Justyna Łuczak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 580–590, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.54

• , evaluated for all samples, were estimated to be higher than nominal values related to the respective IL cations (see Table 3). This may be caused by adsorption of additional carbon contaminants on the finally prepared IL-assisted TiO2 because of the exposure of the samples to air prior to the XPS analysis

Single-step process to improve the mechanical properties of carbon nanotube yarn

• Maria Cecilia Evora,
• Xinyi Lu,
• Nitilaksha Hiremath,
• Nam-Goo Kang,
• Kunlun Hong,
• Roberto Uribe,
• Gajanan Bhat and
• Jimmy Mays

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 545–554, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.52

• intensity for the C–O peak (see Figure 1). As also illustrated in Table 1, some traces of contaminant elements (sulfur (S), iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al)) were observed in XPS spectra of all samples, which can be attributed to traces of the inhibitor metal salt, FeSO4 and other contaminants. The samples

Photocatalytic and adsorption properties of TiO₂-pillared montmorillonite obtained by hydrothermally activated intercalation of titanium polyhydroxo complexes

• Mikhail F. Butman,
• Nikolay L. Ovchinnikov,
• Nikita S. Karasev,
• Nataliya E. Kochkina,
• Alexander V. Agafonov and
• Alexandr V. Vinogradov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 364–378, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.36

• to anionic ones. The pillared materials prepared using hydrothermal treatment combine sorptive and photocatalytic properties and can be recommended for mineralization and decomposition of organic contaminants, even in highly acidic media. Experimental Montmorillonite A fraction of MM particles with a

Review: Electrostatically actuated nanobeam-based nanoelectromechanical switches – materials solutions and operational conditions

• Liga Jasulaneca,
• Jelena Kosmaca,
• Raimonds Meija,
• Jana Andzane and
• Donats Erts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 271–300, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.29

• mostly defined by the contacting material properties and the real contact area. In non-vacuum environments the presence of contaminants can significantly impact these processes, as will be discussed later in this review. Despite the importance of understanding of the nanocontact evolution, only a few

Comparing postdeposition reactions of electrons and radicals with Pt nanostructures created by focused electron beam induced deposition

• Julie A. Spencer,
• Michael Barclay,
• Miranda J. Gallagher,
• Robert Winkler,
• Ilyas Unlu,
• Yung-Chien Wu,
• Harald Plank,
• Lisa McElwee-White and
• D. Howard Fairbrother

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2410–2424, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.240

• could also be exploited to help redisperse metals, such as Pt, which have nucleated as a result of sintering during catalysis. Other Pt-containing deposits In contrast to the effectiveness of AH towards purification of PtCl2, there was no measureable removal of carbon or phosphorus contaminants for

Involvement of two uptake mechanisms of gold and iron oxide nanoparticles in a co-exposure scenario using mouse macrophages

• Dimitri Vanhecke,
• Dagmar A. Kuhn,
• Dorleta Jimenez de Aberasturi,
• Sandor Balog,
• Ana Milosevic,
• Dominic Urban,
• Diana Peckys,
• Niels de Jonge,
• Wolfgang J. Parak,
• Alke Petri-Fink and
• Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2396–2409, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.239

• comparison with FeOxNPs. However, it should be noted that the presence of an intracellular transport system for the AuNPs cannot be ruled out completely. Conclusion Most studies on NPs focus on exposure to a single analyte. The existing literature on joint toxicity of NPs and co-existing contaminants is

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

• . STM break-junction measurements are often carried out in solution, where, in addition to target molecules, solvent molecules are also present [11][12][13][14][15][16]. The presence of contaminants that might diffuse on the surface and cause fluctuations in conductance or sudden changes in the junction

Fluorination of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes: from CF₄ plasma chemistry to surface functionalization

• Claudia Struzzi,
• Mattia Scardamaglia,
• Jean-François Colomer,
• Alberto Verdini,
• Luca Floreano,
• Rony Snyders and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1723–1733, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.173

• combination of these experimental approaches enables evaluating the nature of the species that are generated inside the glow considering the presence of contaminants in the background pressure and at the walls of the functionalization chamber. These contaminants are responsible for the CO, CO2 and COF2

• plasma-activated background contaminants in the vacuum chamber, thus generating COF and COF2 as well. The signal corresponding to ionized HF raises for applied power higher than 110 W, in correspondence to the intensities depletion of ionized CF2, CF, COF and COF2, suggesting a high fragmentation rate

• presence of contaminants in the background pressure and on the walls of the chamber are responsible for the CO, CO2 and COF2 production due to reactions occurring within the discharge. Although an ion current is measured in the mass spectrum relatively to the COF ionized molecule, FTIR analysis excludes

Metal oxide nanostructures: preparation, characterization and functional applications as chemical sensors

• Dario Zappa,
• Angela Bertuna,
• Elisabetta Comini,
• Navpreet Kaur,
• Nicola Poli,
• Veronica Sberveglieri and
• Giorgio Sberveglieri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1205–1217, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.122

• . Samples were finally mounted on TO39 packages using electro-soldered gold wires. A flow-meter technique was used to evaluate the performance of fabricated conductometric devices for the detection of two common air contaminants, namely carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Samples were mounted

Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and thermogravimetric analysis of two series of substituted (metallo)tetraphenylporphyrins

• Rasha K. Al-Shewiki,
• Carola Mende,
• Roy Buschbeck,
• Pablo F. Siles,
• Oliver G. Schmidt,
• Tobias Rüffer and
• Heinrich Lang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1191–1204, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.121

• + K]+ ions and of cations of low m/z values, for example [393]+ (observed in the ESIMS spectra of 2c,d and 3c,d), is due to contaminants that typically appear in such measurements as described in the literature [23][24]. For 2b,c, 3 and 3a–c double charged ion peaks are visible, clearly identifiable

Growth, structure and stability of sputter-deposited MoS₂ thin films

• Reinhard Kaindl,
• Bernhard C. Bayer,
• Roland Resel,
• Thomas Müller,
• Viera Skakalova,
• Gerlinde Habler,
• Rainer Abart,
• Alexey S. Cherevan,
• Dominik Eder,
• Maxime Blatter,
• Fabian Fischer,
• Jannik C. Meyer,
• Dmitry K. Polyushkin and
• Wolfgang Waldhauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1115–1126, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.113

• the films [37][38]. This suggests that possibly S atoms (and/or other ad-atoms such as Ar, or residual co-sputtered contaminants such as metals or oxygen from the PVD system) may have been placed in between the MoS2 layers, resulting in the observed increased interlayer spacing and reduced mass

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

• ; singlet oxygen; ZCIS quantum dots; ZnO; Introduction Over the last twenty years, the field of photocatalysis has attracted wide attention due to the environmental and energy crisis. Photocatalysis is considered to be a green technology, allowing the degradation of numerous contaminants both in water and

Graphene functionalised by laser-ablated V₂O₅ for a highly sensitive NH₃ sensor

• Margus Kodu,
• Artjom Berholts,
• Tauno Kahro,
• Mati Kook,
• Peeter Ritslaid,
• Helina Seemen,
• Tea Avarmaa,
• Harry Alles and
• Raivo Jaaniso

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 571–578, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.61

• established in order to clean the graphene surface and minimise the effect of trace contaminants left from the manufacturing process of the graphene sensor. The V2O5 target was ablated by using a laser pulse energy density of 5.0 J/cm2 in the presence of 5 × 10−2 mbar of O2. During the deposition, the sensor

Impact of air exposure and annealing on the chemical and electronic properties of the surface of SnO₂ nanolayers deposited by rheotaxial growth and vacuum oxidation

• Monika Kwoka and
• Maciej Krzywiecki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 514–521, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.55

• carbon contamination. After air exposure the relative [O]/[Sn] concentration increased to 1.80 while maintaining a relatively low level of carbon contaminants. Subsequent UHV annealing led to a relative [O]/[Sn] concentration comparable to the pristine samples. The oxidation resulted in a variation of

• the O-Sn4+ as well as the O-Sn2+ components at 531.2 eV and 530.4 eV, respectively, a small additional component was visible at a binding energy about 533 eV. We suspect that it could be attributed to O=C or C–OH contaminants, likely existing at the surface of RGVO SnO2 nanolayers after exposure to

• ] concentration reached a value comparable to the pristine samples. However, looking at the respective O 1s and Sn 3d5/2 spectral lines shown in Figure 2e,f it is easy to observe that i) the SnO2 phase became more dominant and ii) the amount of contaminants decreased. The first finding led us to conclusion that

Study of the surface properties of ZnO nanocolumns used for thin-film solar cells

• Neda Neykova,
• Jiri Stuchlik,
• Karel Hruska,
• Ales Poruba,
• Zdenek Remes and
• Ognen Pop-Georgievski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 446–451, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.48

• –H contributions centered at 530.4, 531.7 and 532.5 eV, respectively. The O=C and C–O–H contributions originate from organic contaminants adsorbed on the ZnO NCs surface during the transfer of the substrates to the XPS chamber. The plasma treatments that are typically used in the solar cell

• O 1s spectra and a strong increase of the contributions at about 531.7 eV, mainly due to the rise of the plasma induced Zn–O–H and Zn–O− contributions [18]. Pristine nanocolumns are characterized by a ratio between the non-lattice oxygen (Zn–O–H, Zn–O−) (excluding the O=C contaminants contributions

Nanoscale isoindigo-carriers: self-assembly and tunable properties

• Tatiana N. Pashirova,
• Andrei V. Bogdanov,
• Lenar I. Musin,
• Julia K. Voronina,
• Irek R. Nizameev,
• Marsil K. Kadirov,
• Vladimir F. Mironov,
• Lucia Ya. Zakharova,
• Shamil K. Latypov and
• Oleg G. Sinyashin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 313–324, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.34

• soaking it in nitric acid for 5–7 min, rinsing again with double-distilled water, and finally flame-drying. All glassware was soaked in nitric acid to avoid any contaminants, thoroughly rinsed with double-distilled water, and then steamed before use. Temperature was kept at 25 ± 0.2 °C during all