Exploring wear at the nanoscale with circular mode atomic force microscopy

• Olivier Noel,
• Aleksandar Vencl and
• Pierre-Emmanuel Mazeran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2662–2668, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.266

• the Experimental section for details). This material is of industrial relevance as it is widely used in electrical sliding contacts such as those in railway overhead current collection system, lead frames in large-scale integrated circuitd, welding electrodes, transfer switches and electrical contact

Charge transport in organic nanocrystal diodes based on rolled-up robust nanomembrane contacts

• Vineeth Kumar Bandari,
• Lakshmi Varadharajan,
• Longqian Xu,
• Abdur Rehman Jalil,
• Mirunalini Devarajulu,
• Pablo F. Siles,
• Feng Zhu and
• Oliver G. Schmidt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1277–1282, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.129

• effective electrical contact to the tube electrode remains, because the total number of current pathways across the crystalline nanopyramids is experimentally difficult to determine. The morphology properties of organic layer will determine the effective contact area to a great extent. For instance, a

Synthesis of graphene–transition metal oxide hybrid nanoparticles and their application in various fields

• Arpita Jana,
• Elke Scheer and
• Sebastian Polarz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 688–714, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.74

• 3D flower hybrids [113], where this typical morphology results in a high surface area as well as better electrical contact with the graphene leading to better electrochemical performance. Liu et al. have developed a sol–gel method for the incorporation of GSs into V2O5 nanoribbons [114]. These

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

• oxygen [33] and the high surface/mass ratio of the nanoparticle layer. We observed the presence of a series of substoichiometric oxides (as reported by RBS analysis) that allows for good electrical contact between the black TiOx surface and the Pt nanoparticle layer on the rear side of the film through

Low temperature co-fired ceramic packaging of CMOS capacitive sensor chip towards cell viability monitoring

• Niina Halonen,
• Joni Kilpijärvi,
• Maciej Sobocinski,
• Timir Datta-Chaudhuri,
• Antti Hassinen,
• Someshekar B. Prakash,
• Peter Möller,
• Pamela Abshire,
• Sakari Kellokumpu and
• Anita Lloyd Spetz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1871–1877, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.179

• wire bonding process improved the electrical contact between the chip and the LTCC package, presumably by punching through the Al oxide. The gold wires were then manually removed, leaving a gold bump on the contact pads for the following steps. LTCC package Commercial Dupont 951 Green TapeTM LTCC was

Nanostructured TiO₂-based gas sensors with enhanced sensitivity to reducing gases

• Wojciech Maziarz,
• Anna Kusior and
• Anita Trenczek-Zajac

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1718–1726, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.164

• . The as-obtained pore network and fine grains of titanium dioxide nanoflowers promote high surface-to-volume ratio, which favor the p-type behavior. Finally, the presence of tin dioxide nanoparticles induce creation of intimate electrical contact at the TiO2/SnO2 interface [32], along which electron

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

• to 15.5 cm3·mol−1 for sulfur) [12]. This can lead to the loss of electrical contact of Li2S with the conducting additive or the current collector [9]. Cathode materials composed of porous carbon and sulfur show promising results with regard to overcoming these problems. Thus, a lot of research has

Photocurrent generation in carbon nanotube/cubic-phase HfO₂ nanoparticle hybrid nanocomposites

• Protima Rauwel,
• Augustinas Galeckas,
• Martin Salumaa,
• Frédérique Ducroquet and
• Erwan Rauwel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1075–1085, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.101

• ]. Furthermore, since the CNTs are not functionalized in the present study, a direct insight into the role of intrinsic defects in the as-grown CNTs can be attained in the process of attaching nanoparticles to their surfaces. Similarly, the absence of functional groups on the CNT provides a direct electrical

• contact between the CNT and HfO2 NP along with a better understanding of the individual contribution of CNTs to the photoluminescence properties and photocurrent generation in the hybrid material. Results and Discussion Structure and morphology The overall morphology of the hybrid material was studied by

Large area scanning probe microscope in ultra-high vacuum demonstrated for electrostatic force measurements on high-voltage devices

• Urs Gysin,
• Thilo Glatzel,
• Thomas Schmölzer,
• Adolf Schöner,
• Sergey Reshanov,
• Holger Bartolf and
• Ernst Meyer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2485–2497, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.258

• ) measurements before and after sputtering of a copper alloy with chromium grains used as electrical contact surface in ultra-high power switches. In addition, we discuss KPFM measurements on cross sections of cleaved silicon carbide structures: a calibration layer sample and a power rectifier. To demonstrate

Blue and white light emission from zinc oxide nanoforests

• Nafisa Noor,
• Luca Lucera,
• Thomas Capuano,
• Venkata Manthina,
• Alexander G. Agrios,
• Helena Silva and
• Ali Gokirmak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2463–2469, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.255

• electrical contact with the ZnO structures melt during the excitation, indicating that the local temperature can exceed 3422 °C, which is the melting temperature of tungsten. The distinct and narrow peaks in the optical spectra and the abrupt increase in current at high electric fields suggest that a plasma

• electrical contact (Figure 1c). The probe separation for all electrical measurements was ≈10–15 µm. Either a high-sensitivity 1080p HD camcorder with a frame rate of 60 fps (Sony, HDR-CX160) or a high-speed camera with a maximum of 1200 fps (Casio, EX-F1) was connected to the microscope head for imaging

Electrical properties of single CdTe nanowires

• Elena Matei,
• Camelia Florica,
• Andreea Costas,
• María Eugenia Toimil-Molares and
• Ionut Enculescu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 444–450, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.45

• transport through the nanowire, a third electrical contact was made to the n++ Si substrate. A comparison of the transport properties of the nanowires with and without a passivated thin layer of PMMA was performed. This polymer passivation layer was deposited onto the wire by means of spin coating. SEM

Electrical contacts to individual SWCNTs: A review

• Wei Liu,
• Christofer Hierold and
• Miroslav Haluska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 2202–2215, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.229

• challenges for widespread application of CNFETs are additionally discussed. Keywords: charge carrier transport; CNFET; electrical contact; metal–SWCNT interface; SWCNT; Review Introduction The unique crystalline and electronic structure of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) afford extraordinary

• process and their effect on the device with respect to resistance are summarized. Finally, the challenges in obtaining high-performance CNFETs are discussed, covering the reproducibility, long term stability of electrical contact properties, and large-scale fabrication options. Carrier transport mechanism

• barrier is formed at the metal–semiconductor contact if the position of the Fermi level of the metal lies between the edges of the semiconductor conduction and valence bands. This barrier impacts charge carrier transport through the electrical contact. Ideally, for a preselected semiconductor, the height

High speed e-beam lithography for gold nanoarray fabrication and use in nanotechnology

• Jorge Trasobares,
• François Vaurette,
• Marc François,
• Hans Romijn,
• Jean-Louis Codron,
• Dominique Vuillaume,
• Didier Théron and
• Nicolas Clément

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 1918–1925, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.202

• -off processes are used. Immediately before evaporation, native oxide is removed with dilute HF solution to allow good electrical contact with the substrate. Single crystal Au nanodots can be obtained after thermal annealing at 260 °C during 2 h under N2 atmosphere. At the end of the process, these

Integration of ZnO and CuO nanowires into a thermoelectric module

• Dario Zappa,
• Simone Dalola,
• Guido Faglia,
• Elisabetta Comini,
• Matteo Ferroni,
• Caterina Soldano,
• Vittorio Ferrari and
• Giorgio Sberveglieri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 927–936, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.106

• enhanced by improving electrical contact resistances; moreover, an increase in carrier concentration will boost the thermoelectric performance [34]. The main limitation of this prototype is to be found in the still high electrical resistance of the material, especially ZnO, limiting both the power factor

• patterned shadow mask technique on alumina substrates (20 mm × 20 mm, Kyocera, Japan) to form an array of elementary units. Each element consisted of an S-shaped strip 20 mm in length and 1 mm in width [22]. The electrical contact was provided by the overlap of adjacent strips, as reported in Figure 7. ZnO

Optical and structural characterization of oleic acid-stabilized CdTe nanocrystals for solution thin film processing

• Claudio Davet Gutiérrez-Lazos,
• Mauricio Ortega-López,
• Manuel A. Pérez-Guzmán,
• A. Mauricio Espinoza-Rivas,
• Francisco Solís-Pomar,
• Rebeca Ortega-Amaya,
• L. Gerardo Silva-Vidaurri,
• Virginia C. Castro-Peña and
• Eduardo Pérez-Tijerina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 881–886, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.100

• , this result imposes a technological limitation in the colloid application in a thin-film device due to strong stabilization of oleic acid, which is nonconductive and separates the nanocrystals with spacings of about 0.7 nm and thus impedes their electrical contact [15]. Conclusion Oleic acid-stabilized

Biomolecule-assisted synthesis of carbon nitride and sulfur-doped carbon nitride heterojunction nanosheets: An efficient heterojunction photocatalyst for photoelectrochemical applications

• Hua Bing Tao,
• Hong Bin Yang,
• Jiazang Chen,
• Jianwei Miao and
• Bin Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 770–777, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.89

• area of 1 cm2. After coating, the film was dried at 70 °C in ambient atmosphere, followed by annealing at 350 °C for 1 h under argon to improve physical and electrical contact. The light source used for photoelectrochemical measurement was a 300 W xenon lamp (Newport, Oriel, 91160) equipped with an AM

3D-nanoarchitectured Pd/Ni catalysts prepared by atomic layer deposition for the electrooxidation of formic acid

• Loïc Assaud,
• Evans Monyoncho,
• Kristina Pitzschel,
• Anis Allagui,
• Matthieu Petit,
• Margrit Hanbücken,
• Elena A. Baranova and
• Lionel Santinacci

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 162–172, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.16

• geometric area of the working electrode was 0.196 cm2. The electrical contact to the working electrode was established by a gold wire on the Pd/Ni layer. Cyclic voltammetry was carried out by using a BioLogic VSP potentiostat together with the EC-Lab software at room temperature. The CVs were performed in

Constant-distance mode SECM as a tool to visualize local electrocatalytic activity of oxygen reduction catalysts

• Michaela Nebel,
• Thomas Erichsen and
• Wolfgang Schuhmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2014, 5, 141–151, doi:10.3762/bjnano.5.14

• requirement of a small catalyst-modified area with simultaneously high catalyst loadings are met by the application of recessed microelectrodes whose cavities are filled with the desired catalyst powder. The bottom of the microcavity forms the electrical contact and the thickness of the investigated catalyst

STM tip-assisted engineering of molecular nanostructures: PTCDA islands on Ge(001):H surfaces

• Amir A. Ahmad Zebari,
• Marek Kolmer and
• Jakub S. Prauzner-Bechcicki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 927–932, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.104

• formation of a molecular device is a key element of its successful operation. However, the desired properties of the device may be severely hampered by its environment, e.g., dangling bonds of a semiconducting substrate surface or electrical contact with a metallic substrate. There have been developed

Influence of particle size and fluorination ratio of CF_x precursor compounds on the electrochemical performance of C–FeF₂ nanocomposites for reversible lithium storage

• Ben Breitung,
• M. Anji Reddy,
• Venkata Sai Kiran Chakravadhanula,
• Michael Engel,
• Christian Kübel,
• Annie K. Powell,
• Horst Hahn and
• Maximilian Fichtner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 705–713, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.80

• carbon enwraps the formed FeF2 nanocrystallites and provides an electrical contact between the insulating FeF2 particles and the collector. The overall reaction follows Equation 1: It was also shown that ball milling of CFx as pretreatment significantly influences the electrochemical performance of the C

Preparation of electrochemically active silicon nanotubes in highly ordered arrays

• Tobias Grünzel,
• Young Joo Lee,
• Karsten Kuepper and
• Julien Bachmann

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 655–664, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.73

• tensions generated by the full electrochemical cycling will rupture the solid and large fractions of the material will lose the electrical contact. In principle, this difficulty could be circumvented by nanostructuring. A porous structure in which parallel cylindrical channels run ‘vertically’ from the

• byproduct removal (f,g) are new. In the final step, which again is a standard one, an electrical contact of metallic gold is created on the other side of the membrane by magnetron sputtering (h). Investigation of the SiO2 reduction on flat samples A native SiO2 oxide layer of 200 nm thickness on a

• several circular openings are at the bottom of the beaker, under which aluminum plates of 2 cm diameter are held between an O-ring and a thick copper plate functioning as the electrical contact. The cell is closed with a lid that holds a silver wire mesh as the counter-electrode and a mechanical stirrer

A nano-graphite cold cathode for an energy-efficient cathodoluminescent light source

• Alexander N. Obraztsov,
• Victor I. Kleshch and
• Elena A. Smolnikova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 493–500, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.58

• emission intensity [13]. Starting to grow immediately on the Si substrate, these graphite crystallites have an excellent adhesion and electrical contact with the substrate. The mechanical strength and the excellent electrical conductivity at the contact between the nano-graphite flakes and the substrate

In situ monitoring magnetism and resistance of nanophase platinum upon electrochemical oxidation

• Eva-Maria Steyskal,
• Stefan Topolovec,
• Stephan Landgraf,
• Heinz Krenn and
• Roland Würschum

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 394–399, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.46

• , applying an electrical contact (further referred to as sample PtSQUID). All measurements were carried out at ambient temperature in a 1 molar aqueous solution of KOH. Resistance measurements were performed in a standard electrochemical cell with a PGZ-100 potentiostat (Radiometer Analytical). The PtER

Functionalization of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes

• Eloise Van Hooijdonk,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Rony Snyders and
• Jean-François Colomer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 129–152, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.14

• SWCNTs and graphene. The covalent bond between both elements leads to an ohmic contact at the junction. In parallel to this efficient electrical contact, a SSA between 2,000 and 2,600 m2·g−1 was measured. This work opens perspectives for potential applications in energy storage and nanoelectronic devices

Low-dose patterning of platinum nanoclusters on carbon nanotubes by focused-electron-beam-induced deposition as studied by TEM

• Xiaoxing Ke,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Sara Bals and
• Gustaaf Van Tendeloo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2013, 4, 77–86, doi:10.3762/bjnano.4.9

• structure, can result in a low-resistance electrical contact between CNT and metals, thanks to graphitic carbon layers crystallized from amorphous carbon [46]. Nevertheless, in the deposition of metal nanoclusters by FEBID, conventional annealing of the composite structure may lead to unwanted fast growth