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

Straight roads into nowhere – obvious and not-so-obvious biological models for ferrophobic surfaces

• Wilfried Konrad,
• Christoph Neinhuis and
• Anita Roth-Nebelsick

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1345–1360, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.111

• open longitudinally. Panel (b) shows a scanning electron microscope image of two adjacent conduits (denoted “1” and “2”). The conduits are connected by pits (some are highlighted by the green area) containing the pit membrane, which is a special nanoporous membrane. (c) Detailed image showing a pit

Near-infrared photoactive Ag-Zn-Ga-S-Se quantum dots for high-performance quantum dot-sensitized solar cells

• Roopakala Kottayi,
• Ilangovan Veerappan and
• Ramadasse Sittaramane

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1337–1344, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.110

• QDSCs. Physical characterization The crystalline structure and size of the synthesized QDs were examined by X-ray diffraction (Riganku Ultima IV XRD spectrometer with nickel-filtered Cu Kα radiation with a step width of 0.02°) High-resolution transmission electron microscopy was carried out on a JEOL

• efficient photoanode for QDSCs and it produces more electron–hole pairs, which helps to improve the photocurrent density. Time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) studies were carried out to evaluate the electrons decay time of AZGSSe/TiO2. The decay curve was fitted with a biexponential function [33] and it

• is shown in Figure 6b. From this, the average lifetime (τs) of AZGSSe/TiO2 was found to be 18.92 ns. Then the rate constant (Keff) of the electron transfer is calculated to be 2.9 × 107 s−1 from the equation: where τ(AZGSSe/TiO2) is the average electron lifetime of AZGSSe/TiO2 and τ(AZGSSe QDs) is

Recent trends in Bi-based nanomaterials: challenges, fabrication, enhancement techniques, and environmental applications

• Vishal Dutta,
• Ankush Chauhan,
• Ritesh Verma,
• C. Gopalkrishnan and
• Van-Huy Nguyen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1316–1336, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.109

• oxides, and binary Bi sulfides. Bismuth oxyhalides are indirect bandgap semiconductors in which photogenerated electrons and holes rarely recombine. BiOX is an excellent photocatalyst, and it is widely applied due to its small bandgap and high electron density, which are easily adjustable by changing the

• photocatalytic effectiveness of those semiconductors is inadequate for practical environmental and energy conservation applications because of substantial electron–hole recombination and a low capacity for the absorption of visible light. Numerous attempts have been made, with an emphasis on doping, the creation

• degradation, antibiotic treatment, and sterilization [38]. The term “advanced oxidation processes” has become more common recently. In this process, many oxidizing agents (∙OH) are created. Electron–hole pairs are formed in AOPs when the VB electrons of semiconductor photocatalysts are driven into the

Enhanced electronic transport properties of Te roll-like nanostructures

• E. R. Viana,
• N. Cifuentes and
• J. C. González

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1284–1291, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.106

• by a facile synthesis and extensively studied by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The nanostructures are made of pure and crystalline Tellurium with trigonal structure (t-Te), and exhibit p-type conductivity with enhanced field-effect hole mobility between 273 cm2/Vs at 320 K and 881

• under mild conditions. A large quantity of these polycrystalline nanostructures with a diameter between 100 and 900 nm and a wall thickness around 50 nm were synthesized and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy

• (TEM), and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). Individual Te roll-like nanobelts were connected in back-gate FETs and measured to characterize the electronic transport as a function of temperature. Methods Growth of Te roll-like one-dimensional nanostructures Te nanostructures were grown via an

Laser-processed antiadhesive bionic combs for handling nanofibers inspired by nanostructures on the legs of cribellate spiders

• Sebastian Lifka,
• Kristóf Harsányi,
• Erich Baumgartner,
• Lukas Pichler,
• Dariya Baiko,
• Karsten Wasmuth,
• Johannes Heitz,
• Marco Meyer,
• Anna-Christin Joel,
• Jörn Bonse and
• Werner Baumgartner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1268–1283, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.105

• nonwoven from the surface, was measured for the LIPSS-covered samples, for polished surfaces, that is, flat samples as control, and for randomly rough surfaces produced by means of facing and grinding (sandpaper with grit size 80 and P240). Scanning electron micrographs of all samples can be found in

• gold-sputtered (S150B, Edwards). The metatarsi were examined using a focused ion beam scanning electron microscope (FIB-SEM) tomography (Strata 400 STEM, FEI Company, Oregon, USA) at the Central Facility for Electron Microscopy at the RWTH Aachen University. Measurements were performed using the

• [16]). (b) Photography of the cosmopolitan feather-legged lace weaver Uloborus plumipes (body size up to 0.6 cm [17]). (c) Scanning electron micrograph of the calamistrum of Jamberoo johnnoblei (body size up to 0.8 cm [18]). (d) FIB-cut high resolution SEM image through the nanoripples on the

Studies of probe tip materials by atomic force microscopy: a review

• Ke Xu and
• Yuzhe Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1256–1267, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.104

• target nanotubes to Si tips under scanning electron microscopy; and attaching nanotubes to Si tips by carbon deposition. The strong adhesion of carbon deposition produces nanotube tips capable of surviving multiple surface collisions. The ability to image the fine structure of double-stranded DNA

• electric field. The nanotube tips produced by this method have strong adhesion and mechanical stability. Since the above methods require scanning electron microscopy (SEM) monitoring throughout the transfer process, the process is relatively time-consuming. Hafner et al. [40] proposed a new method to

• average diameter of the tip generated under this method is 10 ± 5 nm. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that this tip type is a multi-walled nanotube (MWNT) formed by ordered graphene walls. In any case, however, the pore growth method does not allow the growth of a single carbon nanotube at the

Role of titanium and organic precursors in molecular layer deposition of “titanicone” hybrid materials

• Arbresha Muriqi and
• Michael Nolan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1240–1255, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.103

• )titanium (Ti(DMA)4) inorganic precursors and then ethylene glycol (EG) and glycerol (GL) organic co-reactants. The valence electron–core electron interactions are described by projector augmented wave potentials (PAW) [52] and the valance electron configurations are: Ti: 3d34s1, Al: 3s23p1, O: 2s22p4, Cl

Roll-to-roll fabrication of superhydrophobic pads covered with nanofur for the efficient clean-up of oil spills

• Patrick Weiser,
• Robin Kietz,
• Marc Schneider,
• Matthias Worgull and
• Hendrik Hölscher

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1228–1239, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.102

• , too [7]. Multiple techniques exist to prepare self-cleaning surfaces. Direct laser writing and electron beam lithography have been employed successfully to create superhydrophobic surfaces. However, due to low writing speeds these approaches are not viable for surface areas larger than a few square

Design of surface nanostructures for chirality sensing based on quartz crystal microbalance

• Yinglin Ma,
• Xiangyun Xiao and
• Qingmin Ji

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1201–1219, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.100

• typical hydrogen bonds with the amino acid residues of SA molecules. Based on the QCM responses of naproxen (Nap) recognition on the BSA selector layer, Guo et al. studied the chiral adsorption forces by cyclic voltammograms (CVs) [33]. The result showed the formation of a larger electron transfer

• of novel chiral sensing systems from the viewpoints of structural features and functionalities. The induced changes of the electron spin orientation in metals may cause charge redistribution in chiral molecules and manifest an enantiospecific preference. Paltiel and Naaman et al. first elucidated

Application of nanoarchitectonics in moist-electric generation

• Jia-Cheng Feng and
• Hong Xia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1185–1200, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.99

• Wang et al. also provides a valuable explanation and deeper understanding of solid–liquid interactions. Compared to the traditional model, Wang’s model suggests that electron transfer between liquid molecules and solid surface atoms is the initial step and is followed by ion transfer due to electronic

• have superior electrical conductivity and provide better electron transfer properties. Organic nanomaterials are complementary to inorganic nanomaterials in terms of physical properties. Although organic nanomaterials are usually poor in electrical conductivity, they have better properties in terms of

• can be easily grown on substrates to form nanoscale networks and perform well in MEGs due to their unique electron transport properties [2][47][48]. This includes Al2O3 [49], MoS2 [50][51], Ni–Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) [52], MoS2/SiO2 composites [53], TiO2 [54], and Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets

Microneedle-based ocular drug delivery systems – recent advances and challenges

• Piotr Gadziński,
• Anna Froelich,
• Monika Wojtyłko,
• Antoni Białek,
• Julia Krysztofiak and
• Tomasz Osmałek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1167–1184, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.98

• 2020 ASME. This content is not subject to CC BY 4.0. The physical appearance of 20.06% GAN + 5% HA + 1% FS under (A) digital microscope and (B) scanning electron microscope (×131). Figure 7 was reprinted from [180], Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, vol. 61, by P. Suriyaamporn; P

Rapid fabrication of MgO@g-C₃N₄ heterojunctions for photocatalytic nitric oxide removal

• Minh-Thuan Pham,
• Duyen P. H. Tran,
• Xuan-Thanh Bui and
• Sheng-Jie You

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1141–1154, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.96

• spectroscopy (DRS) was used to determine the optical properties and bandgap energies of the material. The bandgap of the material decreases with increasing amounts of MgO. The photoluminescence spectra indicate that the recombination of electron–hole pairs is hindered by doping MgO onto g-C3N4. Also, NO

• conversion, DeNOx index, apparent quantum efficiency, trapping tests, and electron spin resonance measurements were carried out to understand the photocatalytic mechanism of the materials. The high reusability of the MgO@g-C3N4 heterojunction was shown by a five-cycle recycling test. This study provides a

• absorbs visible light due to its small bandgap below 2.7 eV. Because of this, it has been consistently regarded as a catalyst with excellent optical properties [14][15]. Unfortunately, its narrow bandgap leads to rapid recombination of electron–hole (e−–h+) pairs, and the valence band potential of g-C3N4

A cantilever-based, ultrahigh-vacuum, low-temperature scanning probe instrument for multidimensional scanning force microscopy

• Hao Liu,
• Zuned Ahmed,
• Sasa Vranjkovic,
• Manfred Parschau,
• Andrada-Oana Mandru and
• Hans J. Hug

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1120–1140, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.95

• modulus of silicon, respectively; L, w, and t are the length, width, and thickness of the cantilever, respectively. While the first two geometrical dimensions are well-defined by the fabrication process and can easily be measured by electron microscopy, the thickness t of the cantilever is best obtained

Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles toward highly efficient photocatalysis and antibacterial application

• Vo Thi Thu Nhu,
• Nguyen Duy Dat,
• Le-Minh Tam and
• Nguyen Hoang Phuong

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1108–1119, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.94

• electron microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The fabricated ZnO NP samples are crystalline with a grain size of 30–100 nm. The ZnO NPs were used as catalysts for the photodegradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) under visible and UV light. The results indicate

• (XRD) using a Bruker D8 advanced X-ray diffractometer equipped with Cu Kα radiation (λ = 1.5418 Å). The morphology and size of the synthesized material were determined by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) on a Hitachi S-4800 at 15 kV and high-resolution transmission electron

Recent advances in green carbon dots (2015–2022): synthesis, metal ion sensing, and biological applications

• Aisha Kanwal,
• Naheed Bibi,
• Sajjad Hyder,
• Arif Muhammad,
• Hao Ren,
• Jiangtao Liu and
• Zhongli Lei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1068–1107, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.93

• medicinal plant Calotropis gigantea, also known as crown flower was developed. The resulting CDs were applied as a fluorescent probe for bioimaging [80]. With surface-passivating agents: To obtain CDs with increased electron density, fluorescent properties, and QY, researchers are focusing on synthesizing

• electron microscopy [21]. Cassava peels as a natural carbon precursor and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as a surface passivizing agent was used by Putro et al. to prepare CDs via the hydrothermal method [99]. Tu et al. used non-toxic fungal biomass Ganoderma lucidum along with EDA and diammonium hydrogen

• and were investigated to be used as a nanoscale thermometer for determining the intracellular temperature [16]. Numerous research groups have been actively examining co-doped N,S-CDs. Because the sulfur atom can supply energy or emissive trap states for photostimulated electron capture, which alters

Biomimetic chitosan with biocomposite nanomaterials for bone tissue repair and regeneration

• Se-Kwon Kim,
• Sesha Subramanian Murugan,
• Pandurang Appana Dalavi,
• Sebanti Gupta,
• Sukumaran Anil,
• Gi Hun Seong and
• Jayachandran Venkatesan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1051–1067, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.92

• -hydroxybutyrate) chitosan/multiwalled carbon nanotube scaffold coated with a nanobioglass–titania scaffold on bone cell regeneration was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examination verified the porosity of the scaffolds in the 300–700 µm range. The incorporation of chitosan into poly(3

Spindle-like MIL101(Fe) decorated with Bi₂O₃ nanoparticles for enhanced degradation of chlortetracycline under visible-light irradiation

• Chen-chen Hao,
• Fang-yan Chen,
• Kun Bian,
• Yu-bin Tang and
• Wei-long Shi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1038–1050, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.91

• Bi2O3 and MIL101(Fe), respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity is attributed to the formation of a Z-scheme heterojunction between Bi2O3 and MIL101(Fe), which is conducive to the rapid separation of photogenerated carriers and the enhancement of photogenerated electron and hole redox capacity

• ][21][35]. However, pure phase MIL101(Fe), like most semiconductor photocatalysts, has inherent defects, such as low conductivity and high recombination efficiency of photogenerated electron–hole pairs [26][36]. To overcome these shortcomings, several strategies have been developed. One approach is to

• separation of electron–hole pairs, thus improving the photocatalytic activity of MIL101(Fe) to a certain extent. Nevertheless, the redox ability of the catalyst is weakened due to the fact that the reduction and oxidation processes on the catalyst surface occur at lower oxidation and reduction potentials

Electrocatalytic oxygen reduction activity of AgCoCu oxides on reduced graphene oxide in alkaline media

• Iyyappan Madakannu,
• Indrajit Patil,
• Bhalchandra Kakade and
• Kasibhatta Kumara Ramanatha Datta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1020–1029, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.89

• slow reaction rates of the electrode processes impede the efficiency and, thus, require innovative catalyst designs. The ORR is an irreversible, complex (involving multiple steps and intermediates O, OH−, O2−, HO2− and H2O2) and kinetically slow process (via two- or four-electron transfer) dominating

• attributes include high electrical conductivity, cost-effectiveness (50 times lower than Pt), and the ability to execute the ORR via a single step (four-electron transfer). Thus, Ag and its bi- and trimetallic alloys, with and without supporting matrices, have been extensively researched as potential ORR

• electrodeposition. Among the combinations, the Ag–Cu (3:1) alloy showed the better electrode catalytic activity and the highest onset (0.85 V vs RHE) and half-wave potential (0.76 V vs RHE) with a limiting current density of 4.19 mA·cm−2, along with an electron transfer value of 3.86 in 0.1 M KOH [21]. Linic and co

Numerical study on all-optical modulation characteristics of quantum cascade lasers

• Biao Wei,
• Haijun Zhou,
• Guangxiang Li and
• Bin Tang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1011–1019, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.88

• physics in QCL’s gain medium which consists of multiple of dielectric nanostructures with high refractive index under light injection, we modified the 1½-period model to calculate values of electron population and lifetime in each subband which is separated by the nanostructures, optical gain, current and

• number of photons in the cavity of a mid-infrared QCL modulated with near-infrared optical injection. The results were consistent with an experiment, where the injected light increases the electron population and lifetime, but does not affect the optical gain obviously. Our study can be helpful for

• equations (FRE) [18] as Equations 1–4 shows, where n0 is the cavity index, gc is the gain cross section, c is the speed of light. ΓP is the optical confinement factor per stage, α is the laser total loss. NP the total number of stages, 1/τk,i is the rate of electron scattered from subband k to subband i, 1

Effects of focused electron beam irradiation parameters on direct nanostructure formation on Ag surfaces

• Jānis Sniķeris,
• Vjačeslavs Gerbreders,
• Andrejs Bulanovs and
• Ēriks Sļedevskis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1004–1010, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.87

• plasmonics, due to their ability to absorb or emit light at frequencies which depend on their size and shape. It was recently shown that irradiation by a focused electron beam can promote the growth of nanostructures on metal surfaces and the height of these structures depends on the duration of the

• irradiation and the material of the surface. However, the effects on growth dynamics of numerous irradiation parameters, such as beam current or angle of incidence, have not yet been studied in detail. We explore the effects of focusing, angle of incidence, and current of the electron beam on the size and

• surfaces undergoing irradiation by a focused electron beam. Keywords: atomic force microscopy; electron beam; lithography; nanostructure; silver; sputtering; surface; Introduction Metallic nanostructures have various uses, including in nano-electro-mechanical systems [1], plasmonic biosensors [2], and

Influence of water contamination on the sputtering of silicon with low-energy argon ions investigated by molecular dynamics simulations

• Grégoire R. N. Defoort-Levkov,
• Alan Bahm and
• Patrick Philipp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 986–1003, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.86

• , Luxembourg Thermo Fisher Scientific, Hillsboro, OR, 97124, USA 10.3762/bjnano.13.86 Abstract Focused ion beams (FIB) are a common tool in nanotechnology for surface analysis, sample preparation for electron microscopy and atom probe tomography, surface patterning, nanolithography, nanomachining, and

• ; molecular dynamics; silicon; simulations; water; Introduction Focused ion beams (FIB) play an increasingly important role in materials research areas such as nanoanalysis (e.g., secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) [1][2][3] and sample preparation for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) [4], atom

Theoretical investigations of oxygen vacancy effects in nickel-doped zirconia from ab initio XANES spectroscopy at the oxygen K-edge

• Dick Hartmann Douma,
• Lodvert Tchibota Poaty,
• Alessio Lamperti,
• Stéphane Kenmoe,
• Abdulrafiu Tunde Raji,
• Alberto Debernardi and
• Bernard M’Passi-Mabiala

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 975–985, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.85

• stoichiometric concentration required to ensure overall charge neutrality can modify the presence of defect states in the electron bandgap [4][26][27]. In diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS), magnetic impurities such as the transition metals (TM) Fe or Ni are introduced to produce a magnetic ground state. The

• with increasing formal metal oxidation state and shows significant changes in spectral shape [30][31][32]. Accessing the oxidation state information via the calculation of L2,3-edge spectra for localized final states in systems such as transition metal elements, that is, with strong electron–electron

• interactions, using single-electron approaches based on density functional theory (DFT) may not be an easy task. In fact, the 2p hole and 3d hole radial wave functions in such systems overlap significantly and may render the reproduction of the experimental spectrum difficult [33]. However, it is possible to

Interaction between honeybee mandibles and propolis

• Leonie Saccardi,
• Franz Brümmer,
• Jonas Schiebl,
• Oliver Schwarz,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 958–974, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.84

• colony against pathogens. In spite of its stickiness, honeybees are able to handle and manipulate propolis with their mandibles. We wanted to know if beneficial anti-adhesive properties of bee mandibles reduce propolis adhesion. The anatomy of bee mandibles was studied in a (cryo-)scanning electron

• “propolis bees”. Imaging and structural studies Bee mandibles were prepared and subsequently examined with binoculars, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and a confocal 3D laser scanning microscope in order to identify anatomy and surface structure. Anatomy of the honeybee mandible Mandibles of all

Design of a biomimetic, small-scale artificial leaf surface for the study of environmental interactions

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

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 944–957, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.83

• electron microscopy, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, and by the determination of water contact angles, contact angle hysteresis, and tilting angles. Wheat leaves of different ages were covered exclusively with wax platelets. The extracted wheat wax was composed of alcohols, aldehydes, esters, and

• plate with the wax source and the samples to be coated was 4 cm. After wax deposition, samples were stored in an oven at 50 °C for 72 h. In the following, the artificial surfaces are named according to the amount of wax used for wax coating. Scanning electron microscopy of wax morphology The

• morphologies of the wax on the upper (adaxial) and lower (abaxial) leaf sides (leaf 2, 3, and 4, n = 3) as well as of recrystallized wax structures on glass (n = 3) were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM, Gemini Supra 40 VP, Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany). The middle part of fresh wheat leaves was cut