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

• , which is now showing slowing-down and failure signs [2]. It is evident that a radical reduction in energy consumption through efficiency improvement is needed and has become one of the main goals in the development of new supercomputers. For example, the powerful modern supercomputer TIANHE-2, a massive

• problems concerning increasing energy demands, a revolutionary solution is needed with two goals to be simultaneously reached: energy saving and increase in the capability of novel computers. The future of high-performance computing with low energy consumption is clearly associated with technologies with

• drastically lower energy dissipation. А logical solution and the most promising candidate for radical reduction in energy consumption is the superconducting digital technology (SDT) based on Josephson junctions. The intrinsic Josephson effect, which was first reported by Reinhold Kleiner, Paul Müller, and co

Liquid phase exfoliation of talc: effect of the medium on flake size and shape

• Samuel M. Sousa,
• Helane L. O. Morais,
• Joyce C. C. Santos,
• Ana Paula M. Barboza,
• Bernardo R. A. Neves,
• Elisângela S. Pinto and
• Mariana C. Prado

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 68–78, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.8

• ). Regarding this, it is imperative to characterize the obtained materials to tailor parameters such as exfoliation medium, duration, and mechanical energy source to the desired applications. This work presents results of statistical analyses of talc flakes obtained by LPE in four different media. Talc is a

• challenge that needs to be addressed to integrate 2D materials into industrial applications. One approach to producing large quantities of few-layer flakes of a broad range of exfoliatable materials is liquid-phase exfoliation (LPE) [2][3][4][5]. This method relies on mechanical energy to exfoliate

• materials in an appropriate liquid medium. To exfoliate a material of interest, it must be reduced to a fine powder and mixed with a liquid that serves as an exfoliation medium. The solution is exposed to a mechanical energy source that leads to the delamination of the material, resulting in a suspension of

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

• the energy gap inside the superconductor, see Figure 1b. Unlike CAR, EC does not produce entangled electrons. In the zero-temperature limit, CAR and EC contributions to the low-bias non-local conductance of an NSN device cancel each other in the limit of low-transparency barriers [4]. In contrast, at

• conducting channel in both junctions introduced the function and employed Fermi distribution functions for electrons and holes in the normal leads Equation 11 defines the low-energy cross-correlated current noise in the presence of a temperature gradient and represents the main general result of the present

• the importance of CAR processes in this limit, see also Figure 4. Yet another important physical limit is realized provided the contact has the form of a short diffusive wire with the corresponding Thouless energy exceeding the superconducting gap Δ. In this diffusive limit the transmission

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

• between nanoparticles due to negatively charged silanolate groups at their surface and also the solvent quality for the PS macromolecules. Minimization of the free surface energy of the system thus corresponds to the formation of physical bonds between the nanoparticles [34][35], which behave as sticky

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

• . Accordingly, paramagnetic pair-breaking effects are absent in spin-triplet superconductors. The Pauli limiting field is given by , where Δ(0) is the superconducting energy gap at zero temperature and μB is the Bohr magneton [15]. For weakly coupled BCS superconductors it is Hp(0) [T] ≈ 1.84Tc [K]. In the

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

• materials [7][8], in which heat storage and accumulation occur due to phase transformations. The functioning of such storage media is based on energy fluctuations in the process of crystallization or melting of the media. In contrast to traditional media, thermal storage does not require sealing of the

• working volume during change of aggregate states, and is actively implemented as a highly efficient and energy-saving technology in the field of construction [9] and solar energy [10]. Phase transformations occupy an important position in the theories of superconductivity and ferromagnetic alloys. These

• lattice structure and an increase in electrical conductivity. The material is promising for applied research and development of new spintronics devices, energy management sensors, and magnetic recording media. Research focused on specific application devices based on phase-transition memory state is

Atmospheric water harvesting using functionalized carbon nanocones

• Fernanda R. Leivas and
• Marcia C. Barbosa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2023, 14, 1–10, doi:10.3762/bjnano.14.1

• super flow in nanostructures has been explored in processes of separating water from salt or from other contaminants. This high mobility of water under nanoconfinement requires huge pressure and, consequently, a lot of energy [27][28]. In order to help water entrance and decrease the amount of required

• [34]. Also, it is the nanocone that achieves the highest values of water flux compared with the other apex angles. It also presents a lower energy barrier when compared with carbon nanotubes [39]. The smaller side of the nanocone ends in a hydrophilic surface, which has the same structure as the

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

• AFM analysis shows that grain size and RMS roughness increased from 16.02 to 36.19 nm and 0.4 to 2.6 nm, respectively, when the laser energy was increased to 120 mJ. The as-deposited sample has an optical transmittance of nearly 80% in the 300–800 nm range. The laser annealing yielded a higher

• transmittance of 94% and increased the bandgap energy from 2.76 to 2.88 eV at 120 mJ. The annealing treatment decreased the resistivity from 15.63 × 10−4 to 1.73 × 10−4 Ω/cm−1. Additionally, the figure of merit of the ITO/Mo structure improved significantly from 6.63 × 10−4 Ω−1 of the as-deposited sample to

• roughness. In this work, we investigate the effect of laser annealing treatment on ITO/Mo (IM) bilayer thin films as transparent conducting material for solar cell applications. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of the IM structure were examined as functions of the laser energy

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

• indicates that also in the PC phase, the energy level straddling the Fermi level has shifted to higher energies and that, in the PC island, CuPc acts as a donor. To investigate the spatial dependence of the spectral features indicated in Figure 2b, we acquired dI/dV images at 0.5 V and at 0.78 V, as shown

• orientation of the PTCDA molecules can be verified by acquiring dI/dV spectra at −0.39 V, which is an energy level corresponding to the localized LUMO level [27], which we refer to as the F-LUMO. The F-LUMO state (although not obviously present in Figure 2b as a local maximum in the spectrum) can be clearly

• helpful discussions and O. Gretz for determining the preparation procedure for the mixed phase. Funding We would like to thank the German Research Foundation (”Locally mapping conductance and potential energy of a donor-acceptor system”, project number 397771090) for funding.

Single-step extraction of small-diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes in the presence of riboflavin

• Polina M. Kalachikova,
• Anastasia E. Goldt,
• Eldar M. Khabushev,
• Timofei V. Eremin,
• Timofei S. Zatsepin,
• Elena D. Obraztsova,
• Konstantin V. Larionov,
• Liubov Yu. Antipina,
• Pavel B. Sorokin and
• Albert G. Nasibulin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1564–1571, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.130

• adjacent riboflavin molecules (Figure 5b). As the riboflavin–dextran complex was relaxed, the binding energy between the riboflavin assembly and the dextran molecule was calculated. It was found that in the case of dextran in the top position (Figure 5a), weak van der Waals interactions do not depend

• , although they have a diameter close to that of (6,5)-SWCNTs and have similar riboflavin wrapping patterns, do not display significant extraction. In contrast, (7,6)-SWCNTs feature a lower riboflavin packing density. They have lower energy of adsorption to Sephacryl, so their elution is hindered

• difference in diameter distribution of CoMoCat and Tuball SWCNTs. According to computational results, riboflavin-wrapped (6,5)-SWCNTs have a minimal interaction energy with Sephacryl’s dextran sites of −10 meV/atom; thus, they are easily extracted in one step without the addition of any typical surfactants

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

• 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

• interface are completely or partially elongated. Also, film formation at such low concentrations strongly depends on the energy interaction of macromolecules with the substrate surface, which explains the weak dependence of the film thickness on the solution concentration. With an increase in concentration

• thickness, the current decreases. Therefore, they were measured over a wide voltage range. The shape of the I–V characteristics depends on the energy spectrum. Several regimes could be distinguished on the I–V plots: (a) ohmic mode at low voltages: thermally generated charge carriers prevail; (b) mode with

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

• . The stability of the MoS2/TNAs heterojunction is higher than that of g-C3N4/TNAs. Keywords: band structure; g-C3N4/TiO2; MoS2/TiO2; photoelectrochemical; water splitting; Introduction Hydrogen energy has become a target pursued in the energy development strategies of many countries and regions

• . Hydrogen is often synthesized via hydrocarbon compounds or water electrolysis [1]. Methods to produce hydrogen via electrochemical or photo-electrochemical (PEC) water splitting are considered a future direction of renewable fuel development [2][3][4]. The use of solar energy to activate catalytic

• could replace noble metals are a research interest. Photocatalytic technology uses semiconductors for effective approaches to the degradation of dyes and antibiotics, the removal of pollutant gases, and water splitting to produce hydrogen using solar energy [12][13][14][15][16][17]. Among such

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

• solar radiation as an energy source [11]. The photocatalysts are activated by radiation and produce highly reactive photo-induced charge carriers, which can react with the contaminants adsorbed on the surface of the catalyst. Understanding the properties of the photocatalyst material is critical to

• 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

• igneous and metamorphic rocks [12]. It is also found in sediments and soils. Magnetite has the smallest energy gap, the highest conductivity, and one of the lowest reduction potentials among natural minerals. It is an important reducer of heavy metals and organic pollutants in aquatic environments. Due to

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

• the photocatalytic performance [4][5]. Because TiO2 only exhibits photochemical activity under UV excitation, which accounts for a small fraction (ca. 4%) of the solar energy, numerous modification methods such as doping with nonmetals, coupling with other catalysts, and attaching to supports have

• a potential below −0.3 V, which could be due to the electron trap energy [32]. Moreover, the width of the CV for the MWCNTs electrode is more larger than that for TiO2 and TiO2@MWCNTs electrodes, indicating that the MWCNTs electrode possesses a porous surface and high capacitance derived from a

• :00 PM, respectively, while identical sunlight spectra are revealed in the morning and in the afternoon [47]. The observation suggests that the photoactivity of the photoelectrochemical water splitting catalyst depends on photon energy and luminous emittance [9][46]. Furthermore, illumination higher

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

• pineapple peel extracts and their behavior on the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 is shown. Bioreactions were monitored at different temperatures. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy

• crystallites at 100 °C. On the other hand, the different contents of Ag and AgCl depend on the presence of chloride ions in the extract and their ability to form AgCl instead of metallic Ag. The qualitative and quantitative energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) chemical analysis of Ag/AgCl products at different

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

• special cleaning process for 6 min in a nitrogen plasma jet in a FISCHONE Plasma Cleaner. A FEI QUANTA INSPECT S SEM was used to observe structure and morphology of the samples after their treatment in simulated body fluid, as well as to acquire the energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectra and the elemental

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

• ]. One of the main advantages of the cobalt-based battery is its high theoretical capacity of 274 mAh·g−1, the high working potential of 4.0 V vs Li/Li+, and the high energy density of approximately 500 Wh·kg−1 [5][6][7][8][9]. The complete removal of lithium ions from the LiCoO2 structure is prevented

• discussion below), (ii) the substitution of Co ions with other metal ions, such as Mg, Al, Fe, Ni, Mn, V [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], or (iii) the surface modification by carbon, metal, or oxide coatings [15][16]. Nanomaterials are preferred for the use in energy storage and

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

• with graphene. The spectrum of Gr in Figure 2c obtained by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) clearly demonstrates the presence of a high amount of carbon with a minimum amount of oxygen, indicating the purity of Gr. Figure 2d clearly shows the presence of carbon, oxygen, and AuNPs in the

• Oxford Instrument energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. UV–vis was performed on a Libra S80 Biochrom spectrophotometer and FTIR was performed on a Spectrum 400 PerkinElmer spectrometer (U.S.). Electrochemical studies of the electrodes The electrochemical behaviour of different modified SPCE surfaces was

Coherent amplification of radiation from two phase-locked Josephson junction arrays

• Mikhail A. Galin,
• Vladimir M. Krasnov,
• Ilya A. Shereshevsky,
• Nadezhda K. Vdovicheva and
• Vladislav V. Kurin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1445–1457, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.119

• , that is causing the emission. The role of the JJs is just to excite and pump energy into the mode. We have observed similar coherent gains for the on-chip case with small, 4 μm (sample-1), and significantly larger, 238 μm (sample-2), separation between the arrays as well as for off-chip measurements on

• Information about Numerical Simulations The numerical algorithm allows for calculating also the energy parameters for all JJs that can facilitate the study of synchronization of junctions in the arrays (Figure 6a). We can define the work of the n-th JJ under an EM field per unit time, or the generated power

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

• synergistic PTT in the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Keywords: BODIPY; gold nanoparticles; lipid nanoparticles; photothermal therapy; synergism; Introduction Photothermal therapy (PTT) relies on photothermal agents (PTAs) to convert light into heat energy to burn cancer cells. Due to its spatial

• heating above 43 °C could induce apoptosis in cancer cells [30]. AB-LNPs showed excellent photothermal effects and photothermal stability with a temperature increase beyond 58 °C (Figure 2). Both Au- and BDP-grafted on LNPs could absorb light and convert the light energy into heat to achieve synergized

• conversion efficiency by generating new cross-relaxation pathways between the ladder-like energy levels of Nd3+ ions and the continuous energy band of PB [10]. The strategy to generate new cross-relaxation pathways between different materials is applicable to design all kinds of enhanced photothermal agents

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

• Usadel equation has the following form [93]: Here, Ds is the diffusion coefficient in the superconductor, and Δ(x) is the superconducting order parameter (pair potential). From the Usadel equations, it can be shown that there is a symmetry relation between θ↑ and θ↓: θ↑(E) = (−E), where E is the energy

• dependence Δ(x) using the self-consistency equation (Equation 4) in the S layer. Then, by proceeding to the analytical continuation in Equation 2 and Equation 3 over the quasiparticle energy iω → E + i0 and using the Δ(x) dependence obtained in the previous step, we find the Green’s functions by repeating

• the quasiparticles at the SN interface due to a finite interface resistance [99]. As h increases, the DOS splits for the spin-up and spin-down electrons, which results in the mini-gap peak splitting. For a certain value of h, the mini-gap closes, resulting in the DOS enhancement at zero energy as seen

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

• imaginary parts of N, respectively. The ω indicates the resonant frequency, and the γ refers to the radiative leakage of the electromagnetic energy stored in the leaky mode [44]. It allows expressing the radiative Q-factor in the following form: The BIC induced based on the structure of the HCG gratings can

• completely disappear and the ideal BIC is obtained. Furthermore, the magnetic field distributions of the two modes under resonance are calculated as shown in Figure 3b and Figure 3c. The localized field energy of both modes decreases as α increases, and the magnetic field distributions of both modes

• artificial BIC region (the insets in Figure 5), which is the region of enhanced field effects at energy points close to the BIC with limited but high Q-factors (QBIC) [47]. The change in spacing between RDGs can tune the evolution of the two modes and achieve artificial BIC. Then we fixed α and investigated

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

• nitrogen vacancies and formation of energy sub-bands which help in overall reduction of the bandgap energy (Eg) [14]. At the same time, the incorporation of carbon into the HBN lattice results in the delocalization of electrons with simultaneous reduction in bandgap and is directly dependent upon the

• ) parameter. The AQE was evaluated by using Equation 3 [20]: The intensity of the incident radiant energy was determined through a radiometer and found to be 0.05 W/cm2. Results and Discussion Crystallographic information and morphological analysis The crystallographic information obtained for MBN is shown in

• of various gases (NH3, CO2, H2O) generated during the synthesis process [3][23]. Elemental characteristics and surface area The XPS binding energy (BE) survey spectrum for MBN and its constituent elements have been depicted in Figure 2a. The existence of B 1s, N 1s, and C 1s in the BE spectra clearly

Dry under water: air retaining properties of large-scale elastomer foils covered with mushroom-shaped surface microstructures

• Matthias Mail,
• Stefan Walheim,
• Thomas Schimmel,
• Wilhelm Barthlott,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Lars Heepe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2022, 13, 1370–1379, doi:10.3762/bjnano.13.113

• surface energy (see section 2). If they are submerged deeper than 2 cm, the air layer gets lost over time due to diffusion effects. To confirm the predicted persistence of the air layer in a water depth below 2 cm samples have been submerged in a depth of about 5 mm for two weeks. The analysis of these