The rational design of a Au(I) precursor for focused electron beam induced deposition

• Ali Marashdeh,
• Thiadrik Tiesma,
• Niels J. C. van Velzen,
• Sjoerd Harder,
• Remco W. A. Havenith,
• Jeff T. M. De Hosson and
• Willem F. van Dorp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2753–2765, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.274

• distance. The complexes ClAuPMe3 and ClAuPF3 (shown in Figure 4) show aurophilic interactions over a similar distance [68][69]. It was claimed that hardness/softness of ligands could have an effect on aurophilicity [70], but this was later rejected by Schmidbaur and co-workers [68]. The complex ClAuCO

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 normal load and the sliding distance and the inverse of the hardness of the material [11]. Exploring wear at the nanoscale becomes more and more mandatory with the development of the nanotechnology and its applications [12]. In addition, emerging numerical simulations of nanowear mechanisms are

Synthesis of [{AgO₂CCH₂OMe(PPh₃)}_n] and theoretical study of its use in focused electron beam induced deposition

• Jelena Tamuliene,
• Julian Noll,
• Peter Frenzel,
• Tobias Rüffer,
• Alexander Jakob,
• Bernhard Walfort and
• Heinrich Lang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2615–2624, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.262

• electronegativity, chemical hardness and chemical softness were calculated as follows: where I and A are the ionization potential and the electron affinity, respectively. The ionization potential and affinity were determined as difference of energies of ionized and neutral [AgO2CCH2OMe(PPh3)]. Processes, where

• hardness and softness of monomeric 2 are equal to 3.35 eV and 0.15 eV, respectively. For comparison, silver(I) complex [Ag(hfac)(PMe3)] (hfac = (1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoropentanedionate), which was successfully used as CVD precursor for the deposition of silver, possesses values of 3.65 eV and 0.13 eV [18

• ]. Values of the hardness >3 eV and softness <0.1 eV indicate high chemical stability and hence 2 can be considered as such, indicating reliability of the approach applied. This nicely corresponds with the experimentally observed properties of 2 (see above). The electronic structure of monomeric 2 is

Fabrication of gold-coated PDMS surfaces with arrayed triangular micro/nanopyramids for use as SERS substrates

• Jingran Zhang,
• Yongda Yan,
• Peng Miao and
• Jianxiong Cai

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2271–2282, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.227

• mechanical properties such as hardness, elastic modulus and friction coefficient. The fabrication of micro/nanostructures using the nanoindenter method can be also achieved. The shortcomings of this technique include low machining speed, small machining area and high cost, and thus the nanoindentation method

Ta₂N₃ nanocrystals grown in Al₂O₃ thin layers

• Krešimir Salamon,
• Maja Buljan,
• Iva Šarić,
• Mladen Petravić and
• Sigrid Bernstorff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2162–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.215

• longer wavelengths, high temperature durability, chemical stability, corrosion resistance, low cost or mechanical hardness, there is an increasing interest in various alternative materials that could optimize the device performance for specific plasmonic applications [8][9][10]. One promising group of

In situ controlled rapid growth of novel high activity TiB₂/(TiB₂–TiN) hierarchical/heterostructured nanocomposites

• Jilin Wang,
• Hejie Liao,
• Yuchun Ji,
• Fei Long,
• Yunle Gu,
• Zhengguang Zou,
• Weimin Wang and
• Zhengyi Fu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2116–2125, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.211

• and carbides have attracted great attention for advanced engineering applications due to their exceptional hardness, thermal and chemical stability at high temperatures [1][2][3]. For example, titanium diboride (TiB2) processes high hardness and a high melting point, good chemical and metallurgical

• stability, as well as excellent electrical and thermal conductivity [4][5][6]. On the other hand, titanium nitride (TiN) has some attractive properties, such as high hardness, low electrical resistivity, excellent wear and corrosion resistance [1][2][7]. Therefore, it is expected that these unique

Nanotribological behavior of deep cryogenically treated martensitic stainless steel

• Germán Prieto,
• Konstantinos D. Bakoglidis,
• Walter R. Tuckart and
• Esteban Broitman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1760–1768, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.177

• cryogenic treatments increased both hardness and elastic limit of a low-carbon martensitic stainless steel, while its tribological performance was enhanced marginally. Keywords: carbide refinement; cryogenic treatments; friction; nanoindentation; nanoscratch; wear-resistance improvement; Introduction AISI

• . According to [26], hardness (H) is defined as: where P is the maximum normal load and A is the contact area between the tip and the specimen. The contact area can be related to the contact stiffness by using Sneddon’s law [27]: Nanoindentation tests were performed using a Berkovich diamond tip, with an apex

• of calculated hardness and elastic modulus from their real values. The formation of pile-ups during nanoindentation of steels has been studied by several researchers [29][30][31]. Our approach was to compare the conventional O&P method with the one proposed by Joslin and Oliver (J&O) [32]. The J&O

Two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites for photocatalytic energy generation and environmental remediation applications

• Suneel Kumar,
• Ashish Kumar,
• Ashish Bahuguna,
• Vipul Sharma and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1571–1600, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.159

• -heptazine and g-o-triazine, which exhibit the band gaps of 5.49, 4.85, 4.30, 4.13, 2.97, 2.88 and 0.93 eV, respectively [62]. Among these seven phases, the β-C3N4 crystalline phase possess similar hardness as compared to that of diamond, and the pseudocubic-C3N4 and g-h-triazine-C3N4 possess direct band gap

Assembly of metallic nanoparticle arrays on glass via nanoimprinting and thin-film dewetting

• Sun-Kyu Lee,
• Sori Hwang,
• Yoon-Kee Kim and
• Yong-Jun Oh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1049–1055, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.106

• examine the effect of the annealing temperatures on the mechanical stability of the structure, nanoindentation measurements were conducted for the resists on glass annealed at ≈400–600 °C. Figure 4a,b shows the changes in the composite hardness and elastic modulus of the thin resist–glass substrate as a

• sharply increase the contact area (A) at the beginning of indentation and decrease the modulus [33]. Nonetheless, both the modulus and the hardness of all annealed resists, with the exception of the modulus behavior at extremely small indentation depths, increased as the indentation depth increased. This

• hardness increased with increasing annealing temperature, reaching the maximum at 550 °C. The composite hardness and modulus of the resist–glass system annealed at 550 °C were 5.6 and 58 GPa, respectively, at the indentation depth of tf/2. Considering the properties of the Pyrex glass substrate, which has

Treatment of fly ash from power plants using thermal plasma

• Sulaiman Al-Mayman,
• Ibrahim AlShunaifi,
• Abdullah Albeladi,
• Imed Ghiloufi and
• Saud Binjuwair

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1043–1048, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.105

• slag. The produced slag is amorphous and glassy. The hardness and the density of the slag are 5 GPa and 1.69 g/cm3, respectively. In order to evaluate the release of heavy metals under harsh environmental conditions, a prolonged leaching test (14 days) was used to investigate the leaching

Study of the correlation between sensing performance and surface morphology of inkjet-printed aqueous graphene-based chemiresistors for NO₂ detection

• F. Villani,
• C. Schiattarella,
• T. Polichetti,
• R. Di Capua,
• F. Loffredo,
• B. Alfano,
• M. L. Miglietta,
• E. Massera,
• L. Verdoliva and
• G. Di Francia

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1023–1031, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.103

• temperature and under ambient conditions. Sensor-device fabrication Different substrates, paper (Epson, premium glossy photo paper), alumina (purity 96%, Rockwell hardness = 82, resistivity > 1014 Ω·cm, roughness = 12–20 microinches) and Si/SiO2 (thermal oxide 300 nm, Silicon Valley), with gold electrodes

Selective detection of Mg²⁺ ions via enhanced fluorescence emission using Au–DNA nanocomposites

• Tanushree Basu,
• Khyati Rana,
• Niranjan Das and
• Bonamali Pal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 762–771, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.79

• the known concentration (50–120 ppm) of Mg2+ ions in synthetic tap water and a real life sample of Gelusil (300–360 ppm Mg2+), a widely used antacid medicine. Therefore, this method could be a sensitive tool for the estimation of water hardness after careful preparation of a suitably designed Au–DNA

Diffusion and surface alloying of gradient nanostructured metals

• Zhenbo Wang and
• Ke Lu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 547–560, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.59

• diffusion zone with the thickness of ≈50 μm was observed. Thus, a much higher wear resistance was obtained due to the thicker nitride layer with increased hardness on the GNS sample. Similarly, preformed GNS surface layers have also been used to successfully lower the boronizing temperature of tool steel

• the same chromizing process. And the wear resistance of the GNS sample after the duplex chromizing was significantly enhanced due to the higher surface hardness, as well as the graded distribution of composition, structure, and hardness. In addition, a duplex aluminizing process including a packed

• [98][99]. They showed unique performance, for example, ultrahigh hardness accompanied by superior thermal stability. Studying the diffusion kinetics and relative behavior in GNS layers with such novel microstructures is expected to help understand their unique features and provide insights on

Anodization-based process for the fabrication of all niobium nitride Josephson junction structures

• Massimiliano Lucci,
• Ivano Ottaviani,
• Matteo Cirillo,
• Fabio De Matteis,
• Roberto Francini,
• Vittorio Merlo and
• Ivan Davoli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 539–546, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.58

• range of 300–1000 nm, connected to the vacuum chamber by means of an optical fibre pointing directly into the plasma. The measurements of hardness, reduced modulus and surface roughness have been performed by Nano Test Micro Materials Ltd., using a diamond Berkovich tip. Results and Discussion NbN films

• , performed at 1 mN as maximum load, we observed continuous and smooth load-vs-depth graphs. The absence of cracks and delaminations during the measurements reveals good adhesion between the film and the substrate. When the composition of the layer changes from NbN to NbxOy hardness and reduced modulus both

A new approach to grain boundary engineering for nanocrystalline materials

• Shigeaki Kobayashi,
• Sadahiro Tsurekawa and
• Tadao Watanabe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1829–1849, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.176

• , hardness, and the control of segregation-induced intergranular brittleness and intergranular fatigue fracture in electrodeposited nickel and nickel alloys with initial submicrometer-grained structure. A new approach to GBE based on fractal analysis of grain boundary connectivity is proposed to produce high

• properties such as hardness and on control of segregation-induced intergranular brittleness and fatigue fracture. Then we will introduce a new approach to GBE based on fractal analysis of grain boundary microstructure for development of nanocrystalline materials with high performance and desirable mechanical

• properties. Finally, our most recent work on GBE for the control of electrical resistivity in gold thin films is introduced as an example of a possible challenge toward GBE for high performance functional materials. Effect of grain boundary microstructure on hardness in electrodeposited nanocrystalline

Viability and proliferation of endothelial cells upon exposure to GaN nanoparticles

• Tudor Braniste,
• Ion Tiginyanu,
• Tibor Horvath,
• Simion Raevschi,
• Serghei Cebotari,
• Marco Lux,
• Axel Haverich and
• Andres Hilfiker

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1330–1337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.124

• semiconductor material, widely used in optoelectronics, in particular in industrial production of UV solid-state lasers and light-emitting diodes. This material has many remarkable characteristics, including piezoelectric properties, high thermal stability, radiation hardness, and excellent chemical inertness

Reasons and remedies for the agglomeration of multilayered graphene and carbon nanotubes in polymers

• Rasheed Atif and
• Fawad Inam

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1174–1196, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.109

• impact strength and hardness were also significantly improved by graphene in epoxy nanocomposites. For example, Ren et al. applied a combination of bath sonication, mechanical mixing, and shear mixing to disperse GO in cyanate ester–epoxy and produced nanocomposites using in situ polymerization [159

• –epoxy nanocomposites and reported an increase in impact strength up to 11% [162] and Bao et al. reported increase in hardness up to 35% [163]. The critical energy strain rate (G1C) also improved with the incorporation of graphene in epoxy nanocomposites. Meng et al. produced epoxy–graphene

Advanced atomic force microscopy techniques III

• Thilo Glatzel and
• Thomas Schimmel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1052–1054, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.98

• indentation in UHV to quantitatively determine the hardness and deformation mechanisms by Arnaud Caron and Roland Bennewitz [22]. Santiago Solares and Enrique A. López-Guerra presented different approaches to model such viscoelastic properties within AFM simulations [23]. Sliding contact properties like

Correlative infrared nanospectroscopic and nanomechanical imaging of block copolymer microdomains

• Benjamin Pollard and
• Markus B. Raschke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 605–612, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.53

• elasticity and the hardness of the sample [32]. Polymers, including syndiotactic PMMA, tend to pack in a semi-ordered way to minimize the total free energy, though this is highly dependent on tacticity and molecular weight distribution [35]. Crystallinity also creates varying mechanical properties, as

In situ observation of deformation processes in nanocrystalline face-centered cubic metals

• Aaron Kobler,
• Christian Brandl,
• Horst Hahn and
• Christian Kübel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 572–580, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.50

• mapping; quantitative crystallographic analysis; Introduction Nanocrystalline (NC) metals and alloys with grain size below 100 nm exhibit outstanding mechanical properties, in particular, superior hardness, strength and fatigue properties as compared to their coarse grained counterparts [1][2][3][4][5

Determination of Young’s modulus of Sb₂S₃ nanowires by in situ resonance and bending methods

• Liga Jasulaneca,
• Raimonds Meija,
• Alexander I. Livshits,
• Juris Prikulis,
• Subhajit Biswas,
• Justin D. Holmes and
• Donats Erts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 278–283, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.25

• mechanical [27][28] and thermal [29] resonance have all been successfully used to determine the mechanical properties. These techniques allow for the measurement of elastic parameters such as hardness and Young’s modulus, as well as for the investigation of the plasticity of individual NWs [30]. Three

Fabrication of hybrid nanocomposite scaffolds by incorporating ligand-free hydroxyapatite nanoparticles into biodegradable polymer scaffolds and release studies

• Balazs Farkas,
• Marina Rodio,
• Ilaria Romano,
• Alberto Diaspro,
• Romuald Intartaglia and
• Szabolcs Beke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2217–2223, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.227

• concentration. The MPExSL process yielded PPF thin films with a stable and homogenous dispersion of the embedded HA nanoparticles. Here, it was not possible to tune the stiffness and hardness of the scaffolds by varying the laser parameters, although this was observed for regular PPF scaffolds. Finally, the

Development of a novel nanoindentation technique by utilizing a dual-probe AFM system

• Eyup Cinar,
• Ferat Sahin and
• Dalia Yablon

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2015–2027, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.205

• constants below 500 N/m. Depending on the material hardness, the applied load could result in bending of the cantilever. With optical lever method, the displacement is measured by laser deflection, which includes laser deflection caused by both the indentation depth (motion in Z) and the cantilever bending

• references in the literature. The last section is devoted to the conclusions. Theoretical background on nanoindentation A widely used mechanical model in nanoindentation experiments is the Oliver–Pharr (OP) model [16]. Properties such as elastic modulus or hardness of materials can be extracted from force

Nanotechnology in the real world: Redeveloping the nanomaterial consumer products inventory

• Marina E. Vance,
• Todd Kuiken,
• Eric P. Vejerano,
• Sean P. McGinnis,
• Michael F. Hochella Jr.,
• David Rejeski and
• Matthew S. Hull

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1769–1780, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.181

• ., antimicrobial protection, hardness and strength, pigment). Potential exposure pathways Using methodology similar to that applied for the “nanomaterial functions” category, we investigated the CPI entries for possible exposure scenarios resulting from the expected normal use of each consumer product. Entries

Lower nanometer-scale size limit for the deformation of a metallic glass by shear transformations revealed by quantitative AFM indentation

• Arnaud Caron and
• Roland Bennewitz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1721–1732, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.176

• Abstract We combine non-contact atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging and AFM indentation in ultra-high vacuum to quantitatively and reproducibly determine the hardness and deformation mechanisms of Pt(111) and a Pt57.5Cu14.7Ni5.3P22.5 metallic glass with unprecedented spatial resolution. Our results on

• ; metallic glasses; metals; plasticity; shear transformation; Introduction Hardness testing has been widely applied by materials scientists and mechanical engineers to assess the mechanical properties of materials and to predict their behavior during machining processes or under tribological loading for the

• last 150 years. Most generally hardness testing describes the resistance of a material surface to the penetration of a harder indenter and thus relates in the case of metals to the resistance to plastic flow. Different types of indenter geometries have been employed, such as spherical, conical, and