Characterisation of a micrometer-scale active plasmonic element by means of complementary computational and experimental methods

• Ciarán Barron,
• Giulia Di Fazio,
• Samuel Kenny,
• Silas O’Toole,
• Robin O’Reilly and
• Dominic Zerulla

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 110–122, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.12

• polaritons (SPPs) are mixed states of photons and electron density waves propagating along the interface between a conductor and a dielectric. As a result of this phenomenon, an electric field strongly confined in the z-direction is produced at the interface. As direct excitation of a smooth metallic surface

Antimicrobial and mechanical properties of functionalized textile by nanoarchitectured photoinduced Ag@polymer coating

• Jessica Plé,
• Marine Dabert,
• Helene Lecoq,
• Sophie Hellé,
• Lydie Ploux and
• Lavinia Balan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 95–109, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.11

• [10]), gold [11][12], zinc oxide [13][14], and especially silver nanoparticles [15][16][17][18]. Silver is known to target peptidoglycane, a cellular membrane component of Gram-negative and -positive bacteria. If introduced directly in its ionic form, silver interacts with the electron-donor groups of

• electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and reflectance measurements to assess the optical properties and the durability of the functionalized textiles. Results and Discussion Photoinduced synthesis of the Ag@polymer coating Specific monomers poly(ethylene glycol) 600 diacrylate

• , as well as the final thickness of the metallic layer, account for this difference in reflectivity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) carried out on the surface of functionalized textiles revealed the homogenous distribution of AgNPs, with average sizes of 62 ± 2 nm and 58 ± 1 nm for the Ag@PEG600DA

Combining physical vapor deposition structuration with dealloying for the creation of a highly efficient SERS platform

• Adrien Chauvin,
• Walter Puglisi,
• Damien Thiry,
• Cristina Satriano,
• Rony Snyders and
• Carla Bittencourt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 83–94, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.10

• SERS properties of the nanoporous structure. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) the morphology and surface composition of each nanoporous structure were respectively evaluated and used to describe the SERS properties of the samples. Results and

• 20 min to stop the dealloying process and to ensure a good cleaning of the samples. Characterization Scanning electron microscopy micrographs were recorded using a HITACHI STEM-FEG with an acceleration voltage of 5 kV. The images were treated with the ImageJ software [58] to assess the size of the

Frontiers of nanoelectronics: intrinsic Josephson effect and prospects of superconducting spintronics

• Anatolie S. Sidorenko,
• Horst Hahn and
• Vladimir Krasnov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 79–82, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.9

• -electron bolometers, with photon NEP of 1.1 × 10−16 W/Hz(1/2), achieved by replacing one of two single superconductor–insulator–normal (SIN) tunnel junctions with a single superconductor–normal (SN) contact [21]. Proposing a new type of cold electron bolometers with traps and hybrid superconducting

Cooper pair splitting controlled by a temperature gradient

• Dmitry S. Golubev and
• Andrei D. Zaikin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 61–67, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.7

• reflection (CAR): A Cooper pair may split into two electrons [2] (see Figure 1a), thereby generating pairs of entangled electrons in different metallic electrodes [3]. This phenomenon and its effect on electron transport in normal metal–superconductor–normal metal (NSN) hybrid structures were intensively

• investigated both theoretically [4][5][6][7][8][9][10] and experimentally [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] over the past decades. The process competing with CAR is the so-called elastic cotunneling (EC), where an electron is transferred from one normal metal to another across an effective barrier created by

• temperature gradient across our device. In addition, voltages V1 and V2 can be applied to two normal leads, as shown in Figure 2. The Hamiltonian of this structure can be chosen in the form where are the Hamiltonians of two normal leads, denote creation and annihilation operators for an electron with a spin

Solvent-induced assembly of mono- and divalent silica nanoparticles

• Bin Liu,
• Etienne Duguet and
• Serge Ravaine

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 52–60, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.6

• shell of approx. 15 nm (as estimated by transmission electron microscopy, TEM). The latter is made up of covalently grafted PS macromolecules resulting from the copolymerization of styrene with methacryloxymethyl groups. As previously demonstrated [25], these PS chains can serve as sticky patches when

• . Characterization methods Transmission electron microscopy experiments were performed using a Hitachi H600 microscope operating at an acceleration voltage of 75 kV. The samples were prepared by depositing one drop of the colloidal dispersion on conventional carbon-coated copper grids. The liquid evaporated in the

Upper critical magnetic field in NbRe and NbReN micrometric strips

• Zahra Makhdoumi Kakhaki,
• Antonio Leo,
• Federico Chianese,
• Loredana Parlato,
• Giovanni Piero Pepe,
• Angela Nigro,
• Carla Cirillo and
• Carmine Attanasio

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 45–51, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.5

• Figure 4a). In fact, kF = 3Dm/ℏ [47], where D = [48] is the quasiparticle diffusion coefficient and m is the mass of the electron. From the value of D reported in Table 1, we get kF ≈ 1.3 and then α = 0.51. In contrast, data are very well reproduced by the WHH theory with α = 0, even though the points

Gap-directed chemical lift-off lithographic nanoarchitectonics for arbitrary sub-micrometer patterning

• Chang-Ming Wang,
• Hong-Sheng Chan,
• Chia-Li Liao,
• Che-Wei Chang and
• Wei-Ssu Liao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 34–44, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.4

• limit of commercially available techniques down to the 10 nm scale in the form of extreme ultraviolet lithography [1][2], though equipment cost and energy consumption substantially increase with smaller desired feature dimension. On the contrary, direct-write methods like electron beam lithography can

• Schottky Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, Tokyo, Japan) is used, but for sub-100 nm features AFM is employed to avoid the heavy influence of high-energy electron beams on molecular patterns in imaging. The straightness of the obtained lines is also assessed by calculating the linear regression

The influence of structure and local structural defects on the magnetic properties of cobalt nanofilms

• Alexander Vakhrushev,
• Aleksey Fedotov,
• Olesya Severyukhina and
• Anatolie Sidorenko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 23–33, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.3

• electron charge. Such nanomaterial behavior is associated with the ordering of magnetic moments and is typical for ferromagnetic materials (e.g., cobalt [50][51]). Thus, from the analysis of the graphs in Figure 6 we can conclude that, despite the defects in the structure and the local arrangement of the

Two-step single-reactor synthesis of oleic acid- or undecylenic acid-stabilized magnetic nanoparticles by thermal decomposition

• Mykhailo Nahorniak,
• Pamela Pasetto,
• Jean-Marc Greneche,
• Volodymyr Samaryk,
• Sandy Auguste,
• Anthony Rousseau,
• Nataliya Nosova and
• Serhii Varvarenko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 11–22, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.2

• , and composition via several techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy/attenuated total reflectance, 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The effect of unsaturated oleic (OA) and

• be adsorbed on the surface of the particles, ensures nanodispersion stability (Figure 1) [31]. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs of the prepared nanoparticles confirmed their size between 8 and 16 nm (Figure 2 and Figure 3). The diameter and shape of the nanoparticles depend on the

• 1-octadecene. The electron diffraction patterns (Figure 4) of the crystallographic planes present the Miller indexes as selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns and clearly correspond to a spinel phase, typical for both magnetite and maghemite. Moreover, the fact that the halos observed

Electrical and optical enhancement of ITO/Mo bilayer thin films via laser annealing

• Abdelbaki Hacini,
• Ahmad Hadi Ali,
• Nurul Nadia Adnan and
• Nafarizal Nayan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1589–1595, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.133

• crystalline improvement leads to less light scattering in the metal layer [29][30]. Moreover, laser annealing reduces the defects, including grain boundaries and impurities, reducing light scattering and photon–electron interactions [29][30][31]. The optical bandgap energy Eg of ITO/Mo thin film was studied

From a free electron gas to confined states: A mixed island of PTCDA and copper phthalocyanine on Ag(111)

• Alfred J. Weymouth,
• Emily Roche and
• Franz J. Giessibl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1572–1577, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.131

• at submonolayer coverage, it forms islands under which the native Shockley state of the Ag(111) surface can no longer be found. Previous work has shown that this state shifts upwards to form a new interface state starting at 0.6 V above the Fermi level, having properties of a two-dimensional electron

• gas (2DEG). We investigated mixed islands of PTCDA and copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) to study the change in the electronic state with the addition of an electron donor. We no longer observe a 2DEG state and instead identify states at 0.46 and 0.79 V. While one state appears in dI/dV images as an array

• of one-dimensional quantum wells, our analysis shows that this state does not act as a free electron gas and that the features are instead localized above individual PTCDA molecules. Keywords: AFM; copper phthalocyanine; dI/dV; PTCDA; STM; Introduction Organic semiconductor devices typically

Induced electric conductivity in organic polymers

• Konstantin Y. Arutyunov,
• Anatoli S. Gurski,
• Vladimir V. Artemov,
• Alexander L. Vasiliev,
• Azat R. Yusupov,
• Danfis D. Karamov and
• Alexei N. Lachinov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1551–1557, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.128

• conditions, PDP is a wide-gap dielectric material and is characterized by the following parameters: band gap ≈4.3 eV, electronic work function ≈4.2 eV, electron affinity ≈2 eV, first ionization potential ≈6.2 eV. Experimental evaluations of the electronic parameters of PDP have been made earlier by various

• methods [8][9]. Quantum chemical studies of PDP [10] have shown that its molecular structure is unstable with regard to interaction with an excess (thermal) electron and can result in a transition to a metastable state. However, in that state, e.g. induced by external electric field, the system is

• characterized by non-zero density of electronic states within the energy gap. The depth of such states increases if the system accepts an extra electron (Figure 1b), thus indirectly enabling electric conductivity along the polymer chain [11]. Later the validity of this model was supported experimentally and

Photoelectrochemical water oxidation over TiO₂ nanotubes modified with MoS₂ and g-C₃N₄

• Phuong Hoang Nguyen,
• Thi Minh Cao,
• Tho Truong Nguyen,
• Hien Duy Tong and
• Viet Van Pham

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1541–1550, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.127

• of materials The morphology, the phase, and the vibrational characteristics of the surface functional groups of the materials were observed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Diffuse reflectance

• -C3N4 and MoS2 to TNAs. Furthermore, the Efb values of g-C3N4/TNAs and MoS2/TNAs are shifted to −0.14 and −0.045 V vs RHE (Figure 5c). The heterostructures express much more negative Efb values than pristine TNAs, which is attributed to the enhanced electron density, the depletion of the Efb, and

• electron–hole recombination [55]. PEC characterizations of materials Figure 6 shows the linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) curves, Tafel slopes, and the photo-response of the samples. Figure 6a shows that the current density of all materials is grows linearly with the applied potential under visible-light

Non-stoichiometric magnetite as catalyst for the photocatalytic degradation of phenol and 2,6-dibromo-4-methylphenol – a new approach in water treatment

• Joanna Kisała,
• Anna Tomaszewska and
• Przemysław Kolek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1531–1540, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.126

• designing an effective photocatalytic process. The factors that influence photocatalytic efficiency include the photocatalyst bandwidth, the recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, the use of solar energy, and problems with catalyst degradation. Magnetite is a common auxiliary mineral in

• the mixed and variable valency of iron in its structure (Fe(III)tet[Fe(II),Fe(III)]octO4), this oxide has unique properties [13][14]. At room temperature, magnetite is an inverse spinel conductor with Fe3+ on the tetrahedral sites and Fe2+ and Fe3+ on the octahedral sites. Electron hopping along the

• catalysts has been investigated by us in our previous article [17] as photocatalysts for the degradation of 4,4′-isopropylidenebis(2,6-dibromophenol) in comparison with ozonolysis. Magnetite was chosen as a photocatalyst because of its low cost, interesting electron properties, and indisputably low

A TiO₂@MWCNTs nanocomposite photoanode for solar-driven water splitting

• Anh Quynh Huu Le,
• Ngoc Nhu Thi Nguyen,
• Hai Duy Tran,
• Van-Huy Nguyen and
• Le-Hai Tran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1520–1530, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.125

• -scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and linear sweep voltammetry. The results show that the TiO2@MWCNTs nanocomposite has an optical bandgap of 2.5 eV, which is a significant improvement in visible-light absorption capability compared to TiO2 (3.14 eV). The

• cyclic voltammograms show that incorporating TiO2 with the MWCNTs leads to a decrease in the electrical double layer, thereby facilitating the electron transfer rate in the TiO2@MWCNTs electrode. Moreover, the current density of the photoelectrochemical electrode formed by TiO2@MWCNTs under solar

• nanocomposite characterizations The surface morphology of MWCNTs and the TiO2@MWCNTs nanocomposite is characterized by using field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM, S4800) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM, JEOL-1400). The crystallization behavior of the catalysts is analyzed by X-ray

In search of cytotoxic selectivity on cancer cells with biogenically synthesized Ag/AgCl nanoparticles

• Mitzi J. Ramírez-Hernández,
• Mario Valera-Zaragoza,
• Omar Viñas-Bravo,
• Ariana A. Huerta-Heredia,
• Miguel A. Peña-Rico,
• Erick A. Juarez-Arellano,
• David Paniagua-Vega,
• Eduardo Ramírez-Vargas and
• Saúl Sánchez-Valdes

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1505–1519, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.124

• -dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques were used to characterize nanoparticle development. The breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was used as a test model to study the cytotoxic behavior of Ag/AgCl nanoparticles and, as a counterpart, the nanoparticles were also

• sizes. In the micrographs in Figure 6, it can be seen that the nanoparticles are embedded in a disordered system, with very low electron density. This system could be made of organic molecules that act as capping materials for nanoparticles, as described in the literature [24][40]. Thermal behavior The

• ° in 2θ. Quantitative chemical analysis was performed on a JEOL JSM-7401F field-emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) using EDX. An acceleration voltage of 15 kV and a working distance of 8 mm were used. The samples were precoated with Au/Pd for 10 seconds. Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy was

Hydroxyapatite–bioglass nanocomposites: Structural, mechanical, and biological aspects

• Olga Shikimaka,
• Mihaela Bivol,
• Bogdan A. Sava,
• Marius Dumitru,
• Christu Tardei,
• Beatrice G. Sbarcea,
• Daria Grabco,
• Constantin Pyrtsac,
• Daria Topal,
• Andrian Prisacaru,
• Vitalie Cobzac and
• Viorel Nacu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1490–1504, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.123

• intensity ratio between the peaks associated with the crystallographic planes (112) and (300) expressed in counts per second, and I300 represents the intensity of the characteristic peak of the crystallographic plane (300) expressed in counts per second. Scanning electron microscopy To determine the

• microstructural characteristics, such as micromorphology of the obtained materials and the qualitative and quantitative distribution of the granular phase and pores, SEM analysis of the sintered materials was performed using a Zeiss Auriga FESEM-FIB electron microscope. For SEM analysis, the samples underwent a

Structural studies and selected physical investigations of LiCoO₂ obtained by combustion synthesis

• Monika Michalska,
• Paweł Ławniczak,
• Tomasz Strachowski,
• Adam Ostrowski and
• Waldemar Bednarski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1473–1482, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.121

• analysis, (ii) morphology (size and distribution of grains) by using SEM, (iii) specific surface area (SSA) by carrying out Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) measurements, (iv) oxidation states of metals by measuring electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and (v) electrical parameters (thermal dependencies of

• . Hence, the averaging of the measurement results is inaccurate, and the results become unreliable [60]. SEM analysis The morphology of the LiCoO2 crystallites was determined using a scanning electron microscope Auriga CrossBeam Workstation (Carl Zeiss). Cross sections of the fabricated laminates were

• also observed using this microscope. The SEM images show the morphology of the LiCoO2 obtained at different synthesis temperatures. Before analysis, the samples were sputtered with graphite to improve the electrical contact. All samples were observed at 1 kV. EPR analysis Electron paramagnetic

Rapid and sensitive detection of box turtles using an electrochemical DNA biosensor based on a gold/graphene nanocomposite

• Abu Hashem,
• M. A. Motalib Hossain,
• Ab Rahman Marlinda,
• Mohammad Al Mamun,
• Khanom Simarani and
• Mohd Rafie Johan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1458–1472, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.120

• scanning electron microscopy and structural characteristics were analysed by using energy-dispersive X-ray, UV–vis, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The electrochemical characteristics of the modified electrodes were studied by cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and

• large surface area, high electrical conductivity and electron transfer rate, and it can immobilise diverse molecules, which is ideal for biosensor design [37][38][42]. On the other hand, AuNPs offer outstanding characteristics such as biocompatibility, conductivity, catalytic efficiency, density, and

• modified screen-printed carbon electrode Surface morphology and structural characterisation Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images of nanoparticles and their composites are depicted in Figure 2a–b, where the wrinkled regions represent specific patterns of different materials. In Figure

Facile preparation of Au- and BODIPY-grafted lipid nanoparticles for synergized photothermal therapy

• Yuran Wang,
• Xudong Li,
• Haijun Chen and
• Yu Gao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1432–1444, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.118

• determined and calculated using the following formula: The morphology of AB-LNPs was obtained on a Hitachi HT7700 transmission electron microscope (TEM, Hitachi, Japan). AB-LNPs were diluted and plated on a carbon-coated copper grid. The stability of AB-LNPs The stability of AB-LNPs was studied by measuring

Density of states in the presence of spin-dependent scattering in SF bilayers: a numerical and analytical approach

• Tairzhan Karabassov,
• Valeriia D. Pashkovskaia,
• Nikita A. Parkhomenko,
• Anastasia V. Guravova,
• Elena A. Kazakova,
• Boris G. Lvov,
• Alexander A. Golubov and
• Andrey S. Vasenko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1418–1431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.117

• , respectively. In terms of the electron fermionic operators ψ, the spin-up state corresponds to the anomalous Green’s function F↑ ∼ ⟨ψ↑ψ↓⟩, while the spin-down state corresponds to F↓ ∼ ⟨ψ↓ψ↑⟩. We use the Matsubara Green’s functions, hence, ω = 2 πT(n + 1/2) are the Matsubara frequencies [94]. The exchange

Double-layer symmetric gratings with bound states in the continuum for dual-band high-Q optical sensing

• Chaoying Shi,
• Jinhua Hu,
• Xiuhong Liu,
• Junfang Liang,
• Jijun Zhao,
• Haiyan Han and
• Qiaofen Zhu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1408–1417, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.116

• structure can be fabricated as follows [56]. At first, the gratings of the bottom layer are fabricated using electron beam lithography (EBL) and reactive ion etching (RIE) on a SOI chip with a single crystalline silicon device layer and a buried oxide (BOX), where this SOI chip serves as the receiving

Orally administered docetaxel-loaded chitosan-decorated cationic PLGA nanoparticles for intestinal tumors: formulation, comprehensive in vitro characterization, and release kinetics

• Sedat Ünal,
• Osman Doğan and
• Yeşim Aktaş

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1393–1407, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.115

• characterization of both coated and uncoated DCX-PLGA NPs was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As it can be seen in Figure 1, both formulations exhibit perfectly round spheres with smooth surfaces. No free DCX crystals were found in the SEM pictures of any formulation, confirming that DCX was

LED-light-activated photocatalytic performance of metal-free carbon-modified hexagonal boron nitride towards degradation of methylene blue and phenol

• Nirmalendu S. Mishra and
• Pichiah Saravanan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1380–1392, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.114

• crystallographic characterization. The morphology of the obtained nanostructures was captured by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM, Talos F200X G2, Thermo Scientific). The optical properties were characterized with a Shimadzu UV 2600 UV–vis spectrophotometer with an integrating sphere

• a Shimadzu TOC-L CSH analyser. The surface area and pore characteristics were characterized by a Micromeritics (3FLEX 3500) gas sorption analyser. The surface charge was analysed through a Zeta-Meter 4.0 (Zeta-Meter, Inc, USA). The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments were performed by

• attributed to the unpaired electrons. The MBN-80 sample shows the highest EPR spin intensity, meaning greater concentration of unpaired electrons along with higher electron delocalization which are highly favourable towards enhanced separation and generation of charge carriers [26][27]. Additionally, surface