Progress and innovation of nanostructured sulfur cathodes and metal-free anodes for room-temperature Na–S batteries

• Marina Tabuyo-Martínez,
• Bernd Wicklein and
• Pilar Aranda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 995–1020, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.75

• systems, but the current lithium-ion battery technology may face limitations in the future concerning the availability of raw materials and socio-economic insecurities. Sodium–sulfur (Na–S) batteries are a promising alternative energy storage device for small- to large-scale applications driven by more

• favorable environmental and economic perspectives. However, scientific and technological problems are still hindering a commercial breakthrough of these batteries. This review discusses strategies to remedy some of the current drawbacks such as the polysulfide shuttle effect, catastrophic volume expansion

• shuttle effect is therefore diminished, which results in an improvement in cycling stability. In this way, Qiang et al. [31] reported a decay in discharge capacity of only 3% after 8000 cycles at a high current density of 4.6 A·g−1. This improvement has also been clearly shown in the electrochemical

A Au/CuNiCoS₄/p-Si photodiode: electrical and morphological characterization

• Adem Koçyiğit,
• Adem Sarılmaz,
• Teoman Öztürk,
• Faruk Ozel and
• Murat Yıldırım

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 984–994, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.74

• regarding the development of more efficient metal–semiconductor devices such as photodiodes, photodetectors, and transistors [14][15][16]. The interfacial layer controls the current flow between metal and semiconductor and produces charge carriers under illumination [17][18]. Thiospinel CuNiCoS4

• increasing light intensity can be attributed to the increasing of the current at the interface at forward biases [20]. The RR value as function of the illumination power density is displayed in the inset of Figure 4. The fabricated Au/CuNiCoS4/p-Si photodiode exhibited almost linear growth of the current

• values with increasing illumination power density due to enhancing number of charge carriers at the interface at reverse biases. A photocurrent value 1000 times higher than the dark current was obtained, owing to the existence of the interfacial CuNiCoS4 layer and the semiconductor p-Si [21][22]. The

Is the Ne operation of the helium ion microscope suitable for electron backscatter diffraction sample preparation?

• Annalena Wolff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 965–983, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.73

• upper limit since sputtered and backscattered ions are not considered here. To determine the time until this steady-state condition is reached when using 30 keV Ga ions at a frontal irradiation, the copper sample was milled for 3 min using a 0.3 nA beam current (1872 ions per 1 µs) and the milled depth

Uniform arrays of gold nanoelectrodes with tuneable recess depth

• Elena O. Gordeeva,
• Ilya V. Roslyakov,
• Alexey P. Leontiev,
• Alexey A. Klimenko and
• Kirill S. Napolskii

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 957–964, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.72

• array and the ability to control the recess depth, and (4) a predictable number of nanoelectrodes in electrical contact with the current collector. In the present study, the first two points are fulfilled by using AAO as a template and Au as the material of the working part of the nanoelectrodes. To

• surface in the proposed NEAs. At the third stage (Figure 1c), Cu was grown until the nanowires reached the AAO top surface and a continuous metal layer was formed on it. This Cu layer served as current collector during operation of the Au NEAs. Finally, the initial Cu current collector and the first Cu

• hydrogen evolution manifests itself by the decrease in the current efficiency (η). It ranged from 98% to 100% for Ed values from −0.1 to −0.3 V, whereas, the η value at Ed = −0.4 V decreased below 97% (Table 1). The electrodeposition at potentials above −0.1 V leads to a significant decrease in the Cu

Molecular assemblies on surfaces: towards physical and electronic decoupling of organic molecules

• Sabine Maier and
• Meike Stöhr

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 950–956, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.71

• such vertical tunneling through the interfacial layers can be undesirable since it prevents the current from flowing across electrode–molecule–electrode junctions [43] or leads to the charging of physisorbed molecules on top of such layers [18]. Hence, ultrathin insulating layers are often not

Self-assembly of Eucalyptus gunnii wax tubules and pure ß-diketone on HOPG and glass

• Miriam Anna Huth,
• Axel Huth and
• Kerstin Koch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 939–949, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.70

• the formation of ß-diketone tubules, we cannot yet provide a molecular model of ß-diketone tubules, which explains the observed differences caused by the substrate polarity in this current study. In future studies, the molecular arrangement of the observed layers and tubules could provide a deeper

In situ transport characterization of magnetic states in Nb/Co superconductor/ferromagnet heterostructures

• Olena M. Kapran,
• Roman Morari,
• Taras Golod,
• Evgenii A. Borodianskyi,
• Vladimir Boian,
• Andrei Prepelita,
• Nikolay Klenov,
• Anatoli S. Sidorenko and
• Vladimir M. Krasnov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 913–923, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.68

• experimental setup and sample fabrication and characterization can be found in [23][34] and [43], respectively. Resistances are measured by the lock-in technique with different current amplitudes Iac. In all cases, the magnetic field is applied parallel to the film plane in the orientation sketched in Figure

•  1a. The multiterminal geometry of samples allows for simultaneous four-probe measurements of different segments of the sample in both longitudinal, Rxx, and Hall, Rxy, directions. When current is sent through the central vertical bridge, as sketched in Figure 1a, the measurements correspond to the

• easy-axis magnetization orientation (field along the long side of the vertical line). Alternatively, we can send current through horizontal bridges, which corresponds to the hard-axis magnetization orientation (field perpendicular to the long side of the bridge). In the latter case, the resistance of

The role of convolutional neural networks in scanning probe microscopy: a review

• Ido Azuri,
• Irit Rosenhek-Goldian,
• Neta Regev-Rudzki,
• Georg Fantner and
• Sidney R. Cohen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 878–901, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.66

• the training is terminated (Figure 5). Deep learning in microscopy The profound impact of deep learning on the field of microscopy was emphasized in a recent editorial in “Nature Methods”: “In microscopy, we would be hard pressed to identify a trend that has so captured the current zeitgeist as deep

Comprehensive review on ultrasound-responsive theranostic nanomaterials: mechanisms, structures and medical applications

• Sepand Tehrani Fateh,
• Lida Moradi,
• Elmira Kohan,
• Michael R. Hamblin and
• Amin Shiralizadeh Dezfuli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 808–862, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.64

• [60]. Ultrasound is generally produced by the passage of electric current through a piezoelectric crystal [61]. The interaction of acoustic waves with the interfaces that exist between different tissues causes an alteration in the energy of the US. When these waves encounter tissues with different

9.1% efficient zinc oxide/silicon solar cells on a 50 μm thick Si absorber

• Rafal Pietruszka,
• Bartlomiej S. Witkowski,
• Monika Ozga,
• Katarzyna Gwozdz,
• Ewa Placzek-Popko and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 766–774, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.60

• . The obtained solar cell shows response in a wide spectral range from ultraviolet to infrared. Current–voltage and current–voltage–temperature measurements were performed to evaluate basic photovoltaic parameters. At room temperature, the cells efficiency equals to 9.1% for textured structures and 5.4

• several articles reporting the photovoltaic effect for the n-type ZnO/p-type Si heterojunction [10][11][12][13][14]. In several works, open-circuit voltage (VOC), short-circuit current (JSC), fill factor (FF), and photovoltaic efficiency (Eff.) were reported for ZnO/Si solar cells. Such results were

• the light-trapping effect. The impact of light-trapping on the operation of solar cells is presented by means of current–voltage curves. In contrast, sample B showed a flat surface morphology. The average RMS roughness value was 9 nm. Therefore, interference peaks in external quantum efficiency (EQE

Recent progress in actuation technologies of micro/nanorobots

• Ke Xu and
• Bing Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 756–765, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.59

• -actuation. The application of different actuation methods in micro/nanorobots is described, and principles and characteristics are introduced in detail. In addition, potential applications and possible challenges in the current development are also presented. In the end, future actuation methods for micro

Recent progress in magnetic applications for micro- and nanorobots

• Ke Xu,
• Shuang Xu and
• Fanan Wei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 744–755, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.58

• of the microrobot could be changed by the position of the lifter magnet. The advantage of the system is that it does not require current control and can use single carrier magnets and lifter magnets to control three-dimensional motion in a liquid environment, eliminating unwanted physical effects

• 500 nm through the lifter magnet, a design suitable for biomedical applications. Magnetic MNRs are a major topic in current research. Researchers continue to explore and apply properties of diamagnetic nanoparticles. Cho et al. [34] carried out research on diamagnetic nanoparticles. They analyzed a

• materials to propel and rotate microrobots. The force was proportional to the magnetic field gradient and had nothing to do with the induced current, so the resonance frequency could be used. The magnetic material designed by Kim’s team did not rely on the Lorentz force, avoiding the influence of the

Prediction of Co and Ru nanocluster morphology on 2D MoS₂ from interaction energies

• Cara-Lena Nies and
• Michael Nolan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 704–724, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.56

• activation energies for 2D or 3D clusters will give a more detailed insight into the processes that control aggregation on the surface. However, this is out of the scope of the current study. Based on our findings MoS2 would be most suitable as a barrier+liner for a Co interconnect, although based on our

Electromigration-induced formation of percolating adsorbate islands during condensation from the gaseous phase: a computational study

• Alina V. Dvornichenko,
• Vasyl O. Kharchenko and
• Dmitrii O. Kharchenko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 694–703, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.55

• high temperatures is electromigration, which occurs when an electric current is applied to the substrate [1][2]. Electromigration (EM) is the movement of atoms caused by an electric current. It occurs due to the scattering of conduction electrons on atoms that move in a solid due to diffusion processes

• neighboring vacancies in the direction of electron flow leading to an accumulation of atoms at the anode and vacancies at the cathode [1][2]. Current trends in computer technology, namely, reducing the size of integrated circuits, increasing their power, and increasing the density of elements, have led to an

• increase in current density and, consequently, to a greater manifestation of EM. It is recognized as one of the main problems in the reliability of polar connections in microelectronics. The most common failure of electronics devices is the rupture of the electrical circuit caused by pores induced by the

Nanogenerator-based self-powered sensors for data collection

• Yicheng Shao,
• Maoliang Shen,
• Yuankai Zhou,
• Xin Cui,
• Lijie Li and
• Yan Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 680–693, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.54

• sensor that uses mechanical energy and biochemical energy. The fiber nanogenerator (FNG) and the fiber biofuel cell (FBFC) are fully integrated on a single carbon fiber. The FNG converts the periodically applied pressure in the liquid into an alternating current (AC) output, and the FBFC converts glucose

• in the blood into electrical energy to generate a direct current (DC) output. Figure 4e shows the output performance of FBFC and FNG, and the output performance of two devices in series. The output of FNG as a pressure sensor with pressure changes is shown in Figure 4f. The output is proportional to

• pressure and temperature and generates output signals [51]. (h) The output current of smelling electronic skin exposed to air and ethanol at a concentration of 60 ppm [91]. Figure 2h–j was reproduced from [91]. Copyright © 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. Used with permission from Xinyu Xue

A review of defect engineering, ion implantation, and nanofabrication using the helium ion microscope

• Frances I. Allen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 633–664, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.52

• of the HIM, junction barriers of width 1–2 nm were created, that is, narrow enough for the tunneling current to propagate. An overview of the sample and a schematic outlining the irradiation approach are shown in Figure 2d. The electronic properties of the junction barrier can be continuously tuned

• introduction of lattice vacancy defects, and with an increase in the average interatomic distances due to swelling, that is, a magnetovolume effect. And in a recent report implementing in situ current–voltage characterization, site-selective helium ion irradiation of cobalt-based magnetic multilayer structures

• biomolecules by optical means, as opposed to having to rely on the conventional ionic current method. Nanopore fabrication using the HIM is discussed in more detail in Section 5. The HIM has also been used to tune the optical properties of quantum well structures [61]. In this work, epitaxially grown InGaAs

High-yield synthesis of silver nanowires for transparent conducting PET films

• Gul Naz,
• Hafsa Asghar,
• Muhammad Ramzan,
• Muhammad Arshad,
• Rashid Ahmed,
• Muhammad Bilal Tahir,
• Bakhtiar Ul Haq,
• Nadeem Baig and
• Junaid Jalil

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 624–632, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.51

• measured voltage and I is the source current. It was found that for the film with V/A = 0.25 mL/A, T approached 92.5% with Rs approaching 19.8 Ω/sq, in contrast to traditional ITO films with lower electrical conductivity and higher transmittance values. For the film with V/A = 0.5 mL/A, T approached 49

Stability and activity of platinum nanoparticles in the oxygen electroreduction reaction: is size or uniformity of primary importance?

• Kirill O. Paperzh,
• Anastasia A. Alekseenko,
• Vadim A. Volochaev,
• Ilya V. Pankov,
• Olga A. Safronenko and
• Vladimir E. Guterman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 593–606, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.49

• friendliness, low operating temperature, and high adaptability of specific characteristics [1][2][3]. The key components of PEMFC membrane–electrode assemblies (MEA) are the proton-exchange polymer membrane and porous electrode layers, in which current-forming reactions of oxygen electroreduction (ORR) and

• distributions were also studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM images were obtained using a JEOL JEM F200 microscope (voltage 200 kV, current 12–15 μA, CFEG). To prepare a sample for measurements, 0.5 mg of the catalyst was placed into 1 mL of isopropanol and dispersed by ultrasound for 10

• spatial distribution over the surface of the Vulcan XC-72 carbon support, as compared with the commercial electrocatalysts JM20 and JM40. The cyclic voltammograms of Pt/C catalysts have a characteristic form (Figure 4). As the content of platinum in the catalysts increases, the specific current values

Impact of GaAs(100) surface preparation on EQE of AZO/Al₂O₃/p-GaAs photovoltaic structures

• Piotr Caban,
• Rafał Pietruszka,
• Jarosław Kaszewski,
• Monika Ożga,
• Bartłomiej S. Witkowski,
• Krzysztof Kopalko,
• Piotr Kuźmiuk,
• Katarzyna Gwóźdź,
• Ewa Płaczek-Popko,
• Krystyna Lawniczak-Jablonska and
• Marek Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 578–592, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.48

• solution with no final passivation. Subsequent I–V measurements, however, confirmed that from these samples, only the sulfur-passivated ones provided the highest current density. The tested devices were fabricated by using the ALD method. Keywords: atomic layer deposition; external quantum efficiency

• lamp. The slit used in the measurements was 0.7 mm which corresponds to an analyzed area spot of 1 mm2. In the function of changing the excitation wavelength for 5 nm within the range of 300–950 nm, the number of generated carriers in the examined devices was calculated. Current–voltage light

• approx. 900 nm stems from reaching the limit of absorption capabilities for the substrate, which for GaAs is 1240.8/Eg(GaAs) = 1240.8/1.42 eV which gives approx. 874 nm. For every EQE feature that was collected, its corresponding current density at zero voltage was calculated (Table 3) by multiplying the

Local stiffness and work function variations of hexagonal boron nitride on Cu(111)

• Abhishek Grewal,
• Yuqi Wang,
• Matthias Münks,
• Klaus Kern and
• Markus Ternes

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 559–565, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.46

• ]. Results and Discussion STM/AFM on h-BN/Cu(111) As illustrated in Figure 1a, we employ nc-AFM to probe the electronic and topographic structure of a monolayer of h-BN on a Cu(111) surface. Figure 1b shows a typical large-scale constant-current STM scan of this structure. We observe the monolayer growing

• calibrated the amplitude prior to the measurement atop the bare Cu(111) substrate [50]. The bias voltage V is applied to the substrate and the tunnelling current I is measured at the virtually grounded tip. The STM/AFM images were processed with the Gwyddion software [51]. FER and KPFM measurements: FER

• measurements are taken by modulating V (fm = 607 Hz, Vm = 10 mV peak-to-peak) and detecting the dI/dV signal with the lock-in technique while the tip height is adjusted so that the current I remains constant (constant-current mode) during the bias sweep. For KPFM measurements we stabilise the tip height at I

Determining amplitude and tilt of a lateral force microscopy sensor

• Oliver Gretz,
• Alfred J. Weymouth,
• Thomas Holzmann,
• Korbinian Pürckhauer and
• Franz J. Giessibl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 517–524, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.42

• the acquired data. To determine the amplitude and tilt we make use of the scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) channel and acquire data without and with oscillation of the tip above a local surface feature. We use a full two-dimensional current map of the STM data without oscillation to simulate data

• oscillates vertically to the surface, and the current is related to the vertical position z of the tip above the sample, via I = I0exp(-2κz), where I0 is the current at z = 0 m and κ is the decay constant [23]. For non-conducting surfaces Δf spectra with different oscillation amplitudes can be used [23

• oscillation and tip tilt on the current signal is demonstrated for LFM. Due to the bandwidth of the STM channel, the recorded signal ⟨I⟩ is the average of the current over the motion of the tip [24]: where T = 1/f is the period. I(x, z) is the tunneling current at time τ at the coordinates x and z of the tip

Simulation of gas sensing with a triboelectric nanogenerator

• Kaiqin Zhao,
• Hua Gan,
• Huan Li,
• Ziyu Liu and
• Zhiyuan Zhu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 507–516, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.41

• charge flow of a TENG is shown in Figure 1. When the two triboelectric materials contact each other, different charges are generated on the surface. When they are separated, the induced electrons of the upper surface electrode will flow to the lower surface electrode, forming a current flow. When the two

• triboelectric materials approach, the electrons of the electrode on the lower surface will flow back to the electrode on the upper surface, forming a downward current until the two triboelectric materials contact each other. A simplified model of a two-dimensional TENG was set up in COMSOL (Figure 2). Two

Solution combustion synthesis of a nanometer-scale Co₃O₄ anode material for Li-ion batteries

• Monika Michalska,
• Huajun Xu,
• Qingmin Shan,
• Shiqiang Zhang,
• Yohan Dall'Agnese,
• Yu Gao,
• Amrita Jain and
• Marcin Krajewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 424–431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.34

• obtained material was composed of loosely arranged nanoparticles whose average diameter was about 36 nm. The as-prepared cobalt oxide powder was also tested as the anode material for Li-ion batteries and revealed specific capacities of 1060 and 533 mAh·g−1 after 100 cycles at charge–discharge current

• current densities between 50 and 5000 mA·g−1. Keywords: anode material; cobalt oxide; lithium-ion battery; solution combustion synthesis; transition metal oxide; Introduction Recently, a considerable research effort regarding new anode materials has been made because the traditional carbonaceous anodes

• from the current collector. Besides that, the Co3O4 electrode material suffers from low ionic and electronic conductivity, which influences its relatively slow charge/discharge rate [2][4]. In order to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks, some strategies have been proposed. One of them is related to

A stretchable triboelectric nanogenerator made of silver-coated glass microspheres for human motion energy harvesting and self-powered sensing applications

• Hui Li,
• Yaju Zhang,
• Yonghui Wu,
• Hui Zhao,
• Weichao Wang,
• Xu He and
• Haiwu Zheng

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 402–412, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.32

• -coated glass microspheres (S-TENG). The S-TENG exhibits a remarkable performance in harvesting human motion energy and as flexible tactile sensor. By optimizing the device parameters and operating conditions, the maximum open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of the S-TENG can reach up to 370 V

• electronic systems. The TENG generates an open-circuit voltage of 3.82 V and a short-circuit current of 65.8 nA. There are two more references focused on stretchable TENGs utilizing SCGMs to harvest biomechanical energy [16][17]. Zhang et al. invented a closed-structure TENG made of stretchable materials for

• procedure of the TENG devices. More recently, Qian et al. proposed a nylon-regulated TENG in contact-separated working mode, whose open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current can reach up to 1.17 kV and 138 µA, respectively [16]. Although this is a tremendous advancement in output performance, the

The impact of molecular tumor profiling on the design strategies for targeting myeloid leukemia and EGFR/CD44-positive solid tumors

• Nikola Geskovski,
• Nadica Matevska-Geshkovska,
• Simona Dimchevska Sazdovska,
• Marija Glavas Dodov,
• Kristina Mladenovska and
• Katerina Goracinova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 375–401, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.31

• condition, and genetic profile. The current treatment options include traditional chemotherapy, haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and targeted therapy (small molecule inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies). Traditional chemotherapeutic regimens are limited by two primary concerns: overall

• mechanisms and increasing the overall therapeutic effect. Still, it is challenging to coordinate pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and intracellular concentration profiles of individual drugs with different physiochemical and biological properties [57][58]. Hence, current clinical combinatorial therapy

• therapy goals in myeloid leukemia. Hence, the design of the nanoscale carriers needs to integrate strategies for extravasation in the bone marrow niches and subsequent specific molecular recognition of the LSC. Current advances in molecular diagnostics offer a glimpse into the molecular profile of each