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

• nanoparticles and hybrid polymeric composites with 10 wt % NPs (S1–S4) was realized through XRD, TEM and FTIR analyses. The mean size (10–30 nm) and the crystallinity of the NPs varied as a function of the inorganic constituent. The catalytic activity of these hybrid films was tested for the photodegradation of

• anatase TiO2. The intensity of the peaks corresponding to 1 wt % γ-Fe2O3 was too small in comparison to that of anatase. Still, the shape of the pattern indicated a good crystallinity and the average TiO2 crystallite size determined from the main (101) anatase peak was 20.2 nm. The TEM image (Figure 1c

Colorimetric gas detection by the varying thickness of a thin film of ultrasmall PTSA-coated TiO₂ nanoparticles on a Si substrate

• Urmas Joost,
• Andris Šutka,
• Meeri Visnapuu,
• Aile Tamm,
• Meeri Lembinen,
• Mikk Antsov,
• Kathriin Utt,
• Krisjanis Smits,
• Ergo Nõmmiste and
• Vambola Kisand

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 229–236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.25

• demonstrated that the NPs bound into the film were in the anatase crystal phase (see Figure 3b) and had good crystallinity. The main anatase Raman band (Eg) had slightly shifted from 144 cm−1 (the typical value for anatase TiO2 powders) to 151 cm−1. Such a shift has been explained by a small diameter (some

Laser irradiation in water for the novel, scalable synthesis of black TiO_x photocatalyst for environmental remediation

• Massimo Zimbone,
• Giuseppe Cacciato,
• Mohamed Boutinguiza,
• Vittorio Privitera and
• Maria Grazia Grimaldi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 196–202, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.21

• our previously presented methodology [22]. We demonstrate the scalability of the reported methodology and open up the possible further exploitation of such a technology. In fact, several differences arose with respect to our previous work, mainly regarding the morphology and crystallinity of the

Nitrogen-doped twisted graphene grown on copper by atmospheric pressure CVD from a decane precursor

• Ivan V. Komissarov,
• Nikolai G. Kovalchuk,
• Vladimir A. Labunov,
• Ksenia V. Girel,
• Olga V. Korolik,
• Mikhail S. Tivanov,
• Algirdas Lazauskas,
• Mindaugas Andrulevičius,
• Tomas Tamulevičius,
• Viktoras Grigaliūnas,
• Šarunas Meškinis,
• Sigitas Tamulevičius and
• Serghej L. Prischepa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 145–158, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.15

• typical for samples synthesized under similar conditions. The transfer of graphene from the original to the arbitrary substrate without deteriorating the crystallinity of the graphene is still a challenging task [17]. Currently, there are two main approaches for the transfer of graphene. The first one

• ]), deteriorates the graphene crystallinity. Additionally, these processes are operated at high temperatures, which restricts the application of graphene, including its use in flexible electronics and biomolecule encapsulation [21]. In this work, we employed a wet-chemical room temperature transfer process onto

From iron coordination compounds to metal oxide nanoparticles

• Mihail Iacob,
• Carmen Racles,
• Codrin Tugui,
• George Stiubianu,
• Adrian Bele,
• Liviu Sacarescu,
• Daniel Timpu and
• Maria Cazacu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2074–2087, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.198

• changes in morphology and crystallinity (NPU2T). The IR absorption bands characteristic of iron oxide (Fe–O bond) are present in the 617–407 cm−1 spectral range (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S25a). The presence of Fe in the samples NPU1–NPU2 was confirmed by EDX analysis (Supporting Information

• shown that the microwave irradiation and ultrasonication times of μ3-oxo trinuclear iron(III) acetate influences both the crystallinity and shape of nanoparticles. As a result of this apparently wide and heterogeneous investigation, we are able to design and prepare nanoparticles with well-defined shape

A novel electrochemical nanobiosensor for the ultrasensitive and specific detection of femtomolar-level gastric cancer biomarker miRNA-106a

• Maryam Daneshpour,
• Kobra Omidfar and
• Hossein Ghanbarian

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2023–2036, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.193

• –magnetic particles confirms not only the crystallinity of the nanostructures but also the presence of gold in the synthesized nanocomposite. The XRD result shows six significant reflections of the (220), (311), (422), (511), (440), and (533) plane spacings of the magnetite phase with spinel structure

Intercalation and structural aspects of macroRAFT agents into MgAl layered double hydroxides

• Dessislava Kostadinova,
• Ana Cenacchi Pereira,
• Muriel Lansalot,
• Franck D’Agosto,
• Elodie Bourgeat-Lami,
• Fabrice Leroux,
• Christine Taviot-Guého,
• Sylvian Cadars and
• Vanessa Prevot

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2000–2012, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.191

• larger basal spacing ranging from 2.32 to 2.33 nm, regardless of their molar mass (Table 2). This indicates that the copolymer molar mass did not strongly affect the intercalation and the interlayer arrangement of the macromolecules in between the LDH layers. The crystallinity of the samples was quite

Chitosan-based nanoparticles for improved anticancer efficacy and bioavailability of mifepristone

• Huijuan Zhang,
• Fuqiang Wu,
• Yazhen Li,
• Xiping Yang,
• Jiamei Huang,
• Tingting Lv,
• Yingying Zhang,
• Jianzhong Chen,
• Haijun Chen,
• Yu Gao,
• Guannan Liu and
• Lee Jia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1861–1870, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.178

• due to P–O stretching vibration. The MCNs formulation showed the characteristic absorption peaks of both MIF and CNs, which proved that MIF was successfully wrapped in Cs nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis The XRD patterns were studied to observe the change in crystallinity of the MIF in

• the carrier system of CNs. Figure 4 shows the XRD pattern of the Cs, blank CNs, MIF, and MCNs. In the XRD patterns of Cs (Figure 4A), two intense diffraction peaks of crystallinity were observed. A broadening peak with lower intensity at about 2θ between 10° and 30° was observed in Figure 4B as

• compared with Figure 4A, indicating the decrease of the crystallinity of Cs structure and the presence of Cs in amorphous forms in the nanoparticles [6]. Figure 4C shows the XRD pattern of MIF, which displayed a distinct spectrum. The XRD analysis of MCNs showed the detailed peaks of MIF superimposed over

Cubic chemically ordered FeRh and FeCo nanomagnets prepared by mass-selected low-energy cluster-beam deposition: a comparative study

• Veronique Dupuis,
• Anthony Robert,
• Arnaud Hillion,
• Ghassan Khadra,
• Nils Blanc,
• Damien Le Roy,
• Florent Tournus,
• Clement Albin,
• Olivier Boisron and
• Alexandre Tamion

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1850–1860, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.177

• between low signal from the Si substrate and maximum intensity of the Bragg (110) peak. The Figure 7 shows the measured X-ray scattering where we can see three peaks which correspond to the main Bragg peaks common to the B2 and bcc structures. These three peaks, showing the very good crystallinity of the

Properties of Ni and Ni–Fe nanowires electrochemically deposited into a porous alumina template

• Alla I. Vorobjova,
• Dmitry L. Shimanovich,
• Kazimir I. Yanushkevich,
• Sergej L. Prischepa and
• Elena A. Outkina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1709–1717, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.163

• orientations are specific for Ni NWs electrodeposited into alumina template. The primary direction of Ni growth in alumina pores is the orientation (220), and the height of the corresponding peak is significantly larger than that of other peaks. This demonstrates the high crystallinity of the NWs and the

Sb₂S₃ grown by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and its application in a hybrid solar cell

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

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1662–1673, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.158

• ] and by ALD [5][19]. The peak at 145 cm−1 attributed to TiO2 is also more pronounced in spectrum C2, presumably due to the higher transparency of the amorphous layer to the green laser beam when compared to regions with higher crystallinity (spectrum C1). Secondly, the 145 cm−1 peak appears to be more

Influence of hydrothermal synthesis parameters on the properties of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles

• Sylwia Kuśnieruk,
• Jacek Wojnarowicz,
• Agnieszka Chodara,
• Tadeusz Chudoba,
• Stanislaw Gierlotka and
• Witold Lojkowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1586–1601, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.153

• biological apatite, the main substituent is carbonate, which normally occurs at 5 to 8 wt % in bone mineral. Moreover, calcium deficiency is always observed in biological apatites along with a relatively low degree of crystallinity – with diameter on the order of 0.2 µm and smaller [16][17][18]. In the

• occurrence of the aforementioned elements affects the activity of bone-cell-related enzymes. The introduction of Mg2+ and CO32− ions causes a decrease in the size of crystals and an increase in solubility. The high reactivity of bone apatite is a result of low crystallinity. The reactivity is reflected in

• bone resorption processes. The amount of elements substituted depends on the conditions under which that structure is formed. Their occurrence also influences stoichiometry, crystallinity, and thermal and chemical stability of a compound [19]. In line with the increase in calcium deficiency, the number

Antitumor magnetic hyperthermia induced by RGD-functionalized Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles, in an experimental model of colorectal liver metastases

• Oihane K. Arriortua,
• Eneko Garaio,
• Borja Herrero de la Parte,
• Maite Insausti,
• Luis Lezama,
• Fernando Plazaola,
• Jose Angel García,
• Jesús M. Aizpurua,
• Maialen Sagartzazu,
• Mireia Irazola,
• Nestor Etxebarria,
• Ignacio García-Alonso,
• Alberto Saiz-López and
• José Javier Echevarria-Uraga

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1532–1542, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.147

• deviates from the bulk saturation value of magnetite (92 emu/g) [39]. Nevertheless, the deviation could be ascribed to different effects such as crystallinity of the samples as well as the impact of surface spin disorder, which increases at high temperatures [40]. At 5 K, saturation magnetization increases

• , lower values are found in NPs, attributed to size effects and the crystallinity of the samples [43]. More information concerning the magnetic characteristics of the samples can be obtained from the spectrum of electronic magnetic resonance (EMR) spectroscopy recorded at room temperature in colloidal

• tumors. Therefore, the achievement of an effective tumor necrosis would require increasing the amount and affinity of the MNPs towards the peripheral fibro-vascular matrix. Conclusion The synthesis method of thermal decomposition by successive additions produced samples of very high crystallinity without

Nanostructured germanium deposited on heated substrates with enhanced photoelectric properties

• Ionel Stavarache,
• Valentin Adrian Maraloiu,
• Petronela Prepelita and
• Gheorghe Iordache

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1492–1500, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.142

• the high-quality material with high crystallinity, a low density of trap centers, and a quick separation of huge amounts of photogenerated carriers by the built-in electric field formed at the SiO2/Ge interface. Conclusion In summary, deposition parameters have been optimized to nanostructure Ge:SiO2

Microwave synthesis of high-quality and uniform 4 nm ZnFe₂O₄ nanocrystals for application in energy storage and nanomagnetics

• Christian Suchomski,
• Ben Breitung,
• Ralf Witte,
• Michael Knapp,
• Sondes Bauer,
• Tilo Baumbach,
• Christian Reitz and
• Torsten Brezesinski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1350–1360, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.126

• electron diffraction (SAED, Figure 1c) demonstrate the high crystallinity of the ZFO nanoparticles. In addition, SAED indicates that the sol–gel derived material is single-phase and adopts a cubic structure. Figure 1d presents the size distribution obtained by particle counting from TEM images. These data

• conclude that the particles are of good quality and thus hold promise for application in various fields of nanotechnology. Electron microscopy of as-prepared ZFO nanoparticles. (a) Bright-field TEM image. (b) HRTEM image and (c) SAED pattern demonstrating the crystallinity. Note that only the most intense

High performance Ce-doped ZnO nanorods for sunlight-driven photocatalysis

• Bilel Chouchene,
• Tahar Ben Chaabane,
• Lavinia Balan,
• Emilien Girot,
• Kevin Mozet,
• Ghouti Medjahdi and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1338–1349, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.125

• ZnO rods when varying the Ce-dopant percentage from 0 to 10. The XRD patterns show sharp peaks, indicating a high degree of crystallinity. The peaks located at 2θ values of 31.7, 34.3, 36.1, 47.5, 56.5, 62.7, 67.8 and 69° are ascribed to the (100), (002), (101), (102), (110), (103), (112) and (201

• some irregular cylindrical structures developed. The high crystallinity of the particles is further evident from the HRTEM image (Figure 6) and from the selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns shown in the insets of Figure 5. The bright and clear diffraction spots belong to the single

Mesoporous hollow carbon spheres for lithium–sulfur batteries: distribution of sulfur and electrochemical performance

• Anika C. Juhl,
• Artur Schneider,
• Boris Ufer,
• Torsten Brezesinski,
• Jürgen Janek and
• Michael Fröba

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1229–1240, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.114

• the samples impregnated at ambient pressure (Figure 5a) show that up to a sulfur content of 60 wt % there are only the broad reflections of amorphous carbon visible. In the literature this behavior is attributed to sulfur being dispersed in mesopores, thereby losing its crystallinity [22][40]. For a

Fast diffusion of silver in TiO₂ nanotube arrays

• Wanggang Zhang,
• Yiming Liu,
• Diaoyu Zhou,
• Hui Wang,
• Wei Liang and
• Fuqian Yang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1129–1140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.105

• with Ag nanofilm. No crystallinity of TiO2 is observable for the untreated TiO2 nanotube arrays with Ag nanofilm, and the coating of the Ag nanofilm does not cause any change of the microstructure of the TiO2 nanotube arrays. The XRD patterns of all the heat-treated TiO2 nanotube arrays with Ag

Selective photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to methanol in CuO-loaded NaTaO₃ nanocubes in isopropanol

• Tianyu Xiang,
• Feng Xin,
• Jingshuai Chen,
• Yuwen Wang,
• Xiaohong Yin and
• Xiao Shao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 776–783, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.69

• the good crystallinity, morphology and proper amount of CuO loading, which functioned as reductive sites for selective formation of methanol. The reaction mechanism was also proposed and explained by band theory. Keywords: CO2 reduction; CuO loading; isopropanol; NaTaO3 nanocubes; photocatalysis

• hydrothermal treatment [32][33], sufficient NaOH was used to ensure that pure NaTaO3 was obtained. As calculated by Jade 5.0 software, all the samples had good crystallinity (>98%), which was attributed to the hydrothermal method of catalyst preparation. Figure 2 shows the SEM images of NaTaO3 nanocubes

• to decrease. In our experiments, 2 wt % CuO loaded 2M-NaTaO3 showed the highest activity, which was attributed to its good crystallinity, morphology and proper amount of CuO loading. According to the XRD results of non-loaded NaTaO3, all samples had good crystallinity, which was beneficial to

Correlative infrared nanospectroscopic and nanomechanical imaging of block copolymer microdomains

• Benjamin Pollard and
• Markus B. Raschke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 605–612, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.53

• , domain structure [8], and degrees of crystallinity. However, information beyond nanoscale IR response is sometimes desired for a more complete understanding of molecular interactions and their relationship to material function. Nanomechanical properties, measured through force spectroscopy, can provide

• elasticity and the hardness of the sample [32]. Polymers, including syndiotactic PMMA, tend to pack in a semi-ordered way to minimize the total free energy, though this is highly dependent on tacticity and molecular weight distribution [35]. Crystallinity also creates varying mechanical properties, as

• interfacial mixing between microdomains, suggesting a complex interplay between crystallinity, composition, and intermolecular interactions, especially at microdomain interfaces. On the other hand, Figure 5 shows strong negative correlations of resonant s-SNOM phase with adhesion (Figure 5a,b) and dissipation

Orientation of FePt nanoparticles on top of a-SiO₂/Si(001), MgO(001) and sapphire(0001): effect of thermal treatments and influence of substrate and particle size

• Martin Schilling,
• Paul Ziemann,
• Zaoli Zhang,
• Johannes Biskupek,
• Ute Kaiser and
• Ulf Wiedwald

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 591–604, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.52

• the crystallite size, the observed sharpening after annealing at higher temperatures suggests an improvement of the crystallinity and orientation. For such strong preferential (111) orientation, the intensity contributions from other planes are expected to vanish at the centered position of the

• FePt particles on MgO(001). The enhanced sharpness of the rings can be attributed to an improved crystallinity of the nanoparticles after annealing at 650 °C, but also to decreasing charging effects due to the formation of surface defects in the MgO substrate leading to better electrical conductivity

• min. This elongation decreases after annealing at 530 °C (e) and 600 °C (f) indicating improved crystallinity. Debye–Scherrer rings are absent for the 2–3 nm FePt NPs. (a–d) RHEED pattern of a FePt film on MgO(100), recorded with an electron beam energy of 25 keV after several annealing steps (each

Nanoscale effects in the characterization of viscoelastic materials with atomic force microscopy: coupling of a quasi-three-dimensional standard linear solid model with in-plane surface interactions

• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 554–571, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.49

• surface still undergoes some type of relaxation, such that its final structure and specific energy differ from those of the bulk. The degree of crystallinity in viscoelastic surfaces can in general be low compared to that observed in crystals, and adjacent molecules are often not joined by covalent bonds

Time-dependent growth of crystalline Au⁰-nanoparticles in cyanobacteria as self-reproducing bioreactors: 2. Anabaena cylindrica

• Liz M. Rösken,
• Felix Cappel,
• Susanne Körsten,
• Christian B. Fischer,
• Andreas Schönleber,
• Sander van Smaalen,
• Stefan Geimer,
• Christian Beresko,
• Georg Ankerhold and
• Stefan Wehner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 312–327, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.30

• homemade sample holder, whose main component is a 1 mm thick disk of Si(977) oriented single crystal, 25 mm in diameter. As XRD instrument a Philips X’pert was used to show the crystallinity of the formed nanoparticles and to determine their average size. Transmission electron microscopy For TEM analysis

• the color changes in the experiment (Figure 1b–e) are only caused by the gold incubation and not due to a potential pH shift of the added acid. X-ray powder diffraction The crystallinity was proven and the average diameter of the produced nanoparticles was determined by XRD. Washed samples of biomass

• detected is not necessarily exclusively the mass of the produced nanoparticles as detected with XRD or TEM. Besides, LIBS will also detect remaining Au3+ ions or clusters as well as tiny nanoparticles below the detection limit of both other techniques. The XRD method is limited by the need of crystallinity

Case studies on the formation of chalcogenide self-assembled monolayers on surfaces and dissociative processes

• Yongfeng Tong,
• Tingming Jiang,
• Azzedine Bendounan,
• Makri Nimbegondi Kotresh Harish,
• Angelo Giglia,
• Stefan Kubsky,
• Fausto Sirotti,
• Luca Pasquali,
• Srinivasan Sampath and
• Vladimir A. Esaulov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 263–277, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.24

• (111) monocrystals were purchased, oriented and polished, from Mateck or from the Surface Preparation Laboratories. In situ surface preparation was performed as usual by cycles of sputtering and annealing, and the surface cleanliness and crystallinity was checked by XPS and low energy electron

Fabrication and characterization of novel multilayered structures by stereocomplexion of poly(D-lactic acid)/poly(L-lactic acid) and self-assembly of polyelectrolytes

• Elena Dellacasa,
• Li Zhao,
• Gesheng Yang,
• Laura Pastorino and
• Gleb B. Sukhorukov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 81–90, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.10

• PLLA were not mixed but rather adsorbed onto the PEM capsules by the LBL technique. The characteristic peaks of the stereocomplex were detected, confirming the successful LBL deposition of PLAs on the polyelectrolyte capsule shell. WXRD curves Since the change in crystallinity is one of the differences

• , demonstrating that the PLA microcapsules assembled are in the structure of stereocomplex [52]. DSC curves It is known that the melting point will shift to a higher degree once two enantiomeric polymers have formed their stereocomplex polymer due to the increased crystallinity. This is because the enantiomeric

• does not seem to have a particular effect on the growth of the PLA stereocomplex layers as there was no evident difference in the thickness and mass of the PLA. The change in the melting point and crystallinity of the obtained microcapsules indicated that the stereocomplex was obtained. The presence of