Identifying the nature of surface chemical modification for directed self-assembly of block copolymers

• Laura Evangelio,
• Federico Gramazio,
• Matteo Lorenzoni,
• Michaela Gorgoi,
• Francisco Miguel Espinosa,
• Ricardo García,
• Francesc Pérez-Murano and
• Jordi Fraxedas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1972–1981, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.198

• the brush surface while applying a voltage under high humidity conditions. Details on the preparation methods can be found in the Experimental section. Results and Discussion Two-step electron beam and oxygen plasma modification Figure 2 shows SEM images of directed self-assembled films of PS-b-PMMA

• affinity of the PS–OH brush layer (see middle of Figure 1) [12]. The third method (PON) [18], shown in the bottom of Figure 1, is performed by contacting a conductive mold with the PS–OH surface while applying a voltage under conditions of high humidity. The stamp consists of a 1 cm2 piece of a DVD replica

• ranging between 40 and 180 s was applied while the stamp was gently (50 kPa) pressed upon the substrate. Relative humidity was kept above 70%. These parameters are similar to the parameters used to perform an oxidation scanning probe lithography (SPL) experiment [29]. The authors have already demonstrated

Imidazolium-based ionic liquids used as additives in the nanolubrication of silicon surfaces

• Patrícia M. Amorim,
• Ana M. Ferraria,
• Rogério Colaço,
• Luís C. Branco and
• Benilde Saramago

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1961–1971, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.197

• , it mainly hydrated the substrate surface. However, in both cases, ambient humidity was found to disturb the ion-pair coordination, which resulted in an increase in friction [31]. Tests carried out at macroscale showed the same effect when using hydrophobic imidazolium-based ILs to lubricate silica

• ]. Recently, the same group reported somewhat different results when studying the tribological behavior of silica/silicon pairs lubricated with [EMIM][EtSO4] with a pin-on-disk tribometer at high load (4.5 N) [32]. They studied the effect of ambient humidity and found a decrease in friction and wear of both

Uptake and intracellular accumulation of diamond nanoparticles – a metabolic and cytotoxic study

• Antonín Brož,
• Lucie Bačáková,
• Pavla Štenclová,
• Alexander Kromka and
• Štěpán Potocký

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1649–1657, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.165

• , Japan) with phase contrast installed. The microscope was equipped with a cell incubation chamber (Solent Scientific, UK) with humidity regulation (95%), controlled temperature (37 °C) and CO2 concentration (5%). The cells were photographed for 72 h at 2 min intervals for the first 6 h and thereafter at

Light-induced magnetoresistance in solution-processed planar hybrid devices measured under ambient conditions

• Sreetama Banerjee,
• Daniel Bülz,
• Danny Reuter,
• Karla Hiller,
• Dietrich R. T. Zahn and
• Georgeta Salvan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1502–1507, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.150

• diode (LED), with an emission ranging from 400 to 700 nm for the measurements of the photocurrent and of the magnetoresistance. The measurements were performed at room temperature (ca. 25 °C) and the ambient humidity was maintained at (20 ± 5)%. The electrical measurements were conducted using a

Miniemulsion copolymerization of (meth)acrylates in the presence of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes for reinforced coating applications

• Bertha T. Pérez-Martínez,
• Lorena Farías-Cepeda,
• Víctor M. Ovando-Medina,
• José M. Asua,
• Lucero Rosales-Marines and
• Radmila Tomovska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1328–1337, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.134

• hybrid latexes MMA/BA/HEMA/MWCNT and from the blends were cast on Teflon molds and dried in a constant climate chamber (Espec Bench SH-641) at 25 °C and 80% of relative humidity for 3 days. Table 1 presents the nomenclature and characteristics of all the samples investigated throughout this study

• between the clamps of 2 mm. The mechanical properties of the films were determined by tensile test measurement. The films with an average thickness of 450 µm were prepared by drying in Teflon molds at 25 °C and 80% humidity for 3 days. The measurements were performed in an MTS Insight 10 instrument at a

Nano-engineered skin mesenchymal stem cells: potential vehicles for tumour-targeted quantum-dot delivery

• Liga Saulite,
• Dominyka Dapkute,
• Karlis Pleiko,
• Ineta Popena,
• Simona Steponkiene,
• Ricardas Rotomskis and
• Una Riekstina

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1218–1230, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.123

• 100%. After incubation, 10 µL of CCK-8 reagent was added to each well and incubated for 2 h at 37 °C in 5% CO2 at 90% humidity. The change in the medium colour corresponds to the amount of dye produced in the sample and is directly proportional to the number of viable cells. The optical density was

• samples were propagated in complete medium for 21 days. For the chondrogenic differentiation assay, 5 µL of a cell suspension with a density of 1.6 × 107 cells/mL in complete medium was seeded onto 96-well plates and incubated for 2 h under high-humidity conditions at 37 °C and 5% CO2. Chondrogenic

• × 104 cells per well were seeded on 8-well chamber slides (Nunc, Sigma-Aldrich, USA) in complete medium and left to adhere overnight at 37 °C, 5% CO2 and more than 90% humidity. 16 nM QDs diluted in complete medium were added, and samples were incubated from 15 min to 24 h. Control wells contained

Metal oxide nanostructures: preparation, characterization and functional applications as chemical sensors

• Dario Zappa,
• Angela Bertuna,
• Elisabetta Comini,
• Navpreet Kaur,
• Nicola Poli,
• Veronica Sberveglieri and
• Giorgio Sberveglieri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1205–1217, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.122

• dry air [15]: The role of water vapour also needs to be taken into account [16][17][18], but its effect on the sensing mechanism strongly depends on the used material. For example, it has been demonstrated that for SnO2, humidity competes with reducing gases for the same reactive oxygen species, and

• it has a site blocking effect when interacting with the surface [16][17]. For this reason, in presence of humidity the concentration of adsorbed oxygen is lower, and the response of the SnO2 sensor to CO is lower than under dry conditions. On the contrary, the lattice of WO3 is oxidized by humidity

• compounds (SIAD, Italy) were injected inside the chamber for 30 min, followed by 1 h of recovery using synthetic air. The relative humidity was kept constant at 50%. Small sensor system The device we used in this work is a “Small Sensor System” (S3). The sensor array is located in a thermally controlled

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy of cell lysates mixed with silver nanoparticles for tumor classification

• Mohamed Hassoun,
• Iwan W.Schie,
• Tatiana Tolstik,
• Sarmiza E. Stanca,
• Christoph Krafft and
• Juergen Popp

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1183–1190, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.120

• % humidity and 5% carbon dioxide in air. 75 cm2 cell culture flasks (658170; Greiner Bio-One GmbH, Germany) were used for cultivation of the cell lines. Every two or three days the medium was changed until approximately 100% confluence was reached. Cells were detached from the substrate by a 0.05% of trypsin

Growth, structure and stability of sputter-deposited MoS₂ thin films

• Reinhard Kaindl,
• Bernhard C. Bayer,
• Roland Resel,
• Thomas Müller,
• Viera Skakalova,
• Gerlinde Habler,
• Rainer Abart,
• Alexey S. Cherevan,
• Dominik Eder,
• Maxime Blatter,
• Fabian Fischer,
• Jannik C. Meyer,
• Dmitry K. Polyushkin and
• Wolfgang Waldhauser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1115–1126, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.113

• . The laser power was selected by neutral density filters and calibrated using a power-meter. The laser spot diameter is estimated to ≈2 µm. The in situ annealing Raman experiments were conducted in ambient atmosphere (23 °C, 30% humidity). X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and specular diffraction (XRD) X-ray

The integration of graphene into microelectronic devices

• Guenther Ruhl,
• Sebastian Wittmann,
• Matthias Koenig and
• Daniel Neumaier

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1056–1064, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.107

• a diffusion barrier against humidity, chemicals and gases during further processing. In addition, it has to be deposited using a process with minimal influence on graphene, e.g., high-temperature or plasma-CVD processes are to avoided. Encapsulation with exfoliated single-crystalline h-BN layers

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

• °C), the relative humidity (RH = 50%) and under controlled nitrogen environment at atmospheric pressure, by keeping the flow constant at 500 sccm. All devices, biased at 1 V, have been analyzed through a measurement protocol consisting of an exposure towards the analyte for 10 min, preceded and

CVD transfer-free graphene for sensing applications

• Chiara Schiattarella,
• Sten Vollebregt,
• Tiziana Polichetti,
• Brigida Alfano,
• Ettore Massera,
• Maria Lucia Miglietta,
• Girolamo Di Francia and
• Pasqualina Maria Sarro

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1015–1022, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.102

• , setting the flow rate at 500 sccm, the temperature at 25 °C and the relative humidity (RH) at 50%. An increase of the conductance response has been recorded upon exposure towards NO2, whereas a decrease of the signal has been detected towards NH3. The material appears totally insensitive towards CO

• testing chamber (V = 0.4 dm3), placed in a thermostatic box. Precise amounts of analyte were let into the chamber via a system of programmable mass flow controllers (MKS) and electro-pneumatic valves. Relative humidity can be adjusted as required through a water bubbler placed in a thermostatic bath. The

• gas flow (recovery). The measurements have been carried out in inert N2 environment, keeping the total flow at 500 sccm, at atmospheric pressure, relative humidity set at 50%, T = 25 °C. The devices have been kept at 1 V DC bias voltage. The sampling rate for the acquisition of the conductance values

BTEX detection with composites of ethylenevinyl acetate and nanostructured carbon

• Santa Stepina,
• Astrida Berzina,
• Gita Sakale and
• Maris Knite

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 982–988, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.100

• sensing measurement increases when the layer thickness of EVA–CB is decreased or the vinyl acetate (VA) content in the copolymer is increased. In addition, the environmental conditions can also influence the sensing effect. In particular, it was determined that relative humidity affects the sensing

• measurements [21]. In near 100% relative humidity proton conductivity dominates over the tunnelling current conduction mechanism typical for polymer–carbon nano-filler composites. This proves that sensing measurements do not increase with increased humidity, but the full mechanism is still unknown. The aim of

Functional dependence of resonant harmonics on nanomechanical parameters in dynamic mode atomic force microscopy

• Federico Gramazio,
• Matteo Lorenzoni,
• Francesc Pérez-Murano,
• Enrique Rull Trinidad,
• Urs Staufer and
• Jordi Fraxedas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 883–891, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.90

• performed with a Bruker DIMENSION ICON instrument hosted in a homemade controlled humidity environment with Nanoscope V control electronics. Commercial rectangular microfabricated silicon cantilevers with ultrasharp silicon tips (R < 10 nm) have been used with the following nominal values: OTESPA (Bruker

• about 100 nm/V, as determined from force curves. Humidity was kept below 20%. The z motion of the piezoscanner has been calibrated using virtual standards [30]. Due to the value of the fundamental resonance frequency of the employed cantilevers, we have focused in the resonance of the 2nd flexural mode

Synthesis of coaxial nanotubes of polyaniline and poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) by oxidative/initiated chemical vapor deposition

• Alper Balkan,
• Efe Armagan and
• Gozde Ozaydin Ince

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 872–882, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.89

• techniques allowed for fine-tuning of the thickness of the individual layers, keeping the functionalities of the polymers intact. The response of the single components and the coaxial nanotubes to changes in humidity was investigated for potential humidity sensor applications. For single-component conductive

• PANI nanotubes, the resistance changed parabolically with relative humidity because of competing effects of doping and swelling of the PANI polymer under humid conditions. Introducing a hydrogel inner layer increased the overall resistance, and enhanced swelling, which caused the resistance to

• continuously increase with relative humidity. Keywords: coaxial nanotubes; humidity sensors; initiated chemical vapor deposition; oxidative chemical vapor deposition; polyaniline; Introduction In recent years, with the advances in nanotechnology, the use of nanostructured materials has become widespread in

Measuring adhesion on rough surfaces using atomic force microscopy with a liquid probe

• Juan V. Escobar,
• Cristina Garza and
• Rolando Castillo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 813–825, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.84

• be able to compare the value with published data. In this case, we obtain Fadh = 48.5 ± 0.1 nN (kc = 0.346 N/m). The measured Fadh in air is close to the value measured in vacuum, revealing the low humidity of our ambient conditions because forces of capillary origin seem to be negligible. Leite et

• al. [33] measured Fadh = 26.6 ± 0.4 nN in air at a relative humidity of (46 ± 3)% (kc = 0.11 ± 0.02 N/m) with a tip curvature radius of 30 ± 5 nm. Eastman et al. [34] measured Fadh = 51 nN with commercial tips and Lomboy et al. [28] measured 50.7 ± 0.7 nN in air with a tip curvature radius of 35 nm

• . Because mica is a natural product the samples of which are not strictly the same, plus considering the contribution of humidity of other studies, we consider our results reasonably and close to those previously measured in air, under ambient conditions. Multi-scaled rough diamond surface–Si3N4 tip: Using

Phospholipid arrays on porous polymer coatings generated by micro-contact spotting

• Sylwia Sekula-Neuner,
• Monica de Freitas,
• Lea-Marie Tröster,
• Tobias Jochum,
• Pavel A. Levkin,
• Michael Hirtz and
• Harald Fuchs

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 715–722, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.75

• of ink fluidity under humidity controlled conditions [11][12]. Using quill-like pens (SPTs, short for surface patterning tool [13]) for lipid ink deposition permitted the reduction of the volume of phospholipids needed for array generation, as compared to other spotting techniques like ink jet

• ) support (HEMA). Spotting was performed at 55–65% relative humidity. All patterning procedures were carried out with the sample stage tilted by 8° with respect to the SPT tip to minimize the probability of a contact between the ink reservoir and the sample surface. For all patterns, except the ones used

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

• Arpita Jana,
• Elke Scheer and
• Sebastian Polarz

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

• hybrids by a rapid, facile microwave-assisted hydrothermal method for LIB applications [218]. CuO–graphene nanostructures were used as nonenzymatic glucose sensors [219], humidity sensors [220], for CO2 mineralisation [221], as supercapacitors [222], and as pseudo-capacitor electrode materials [223]. Zinc

Graphene functionalised by laser-ablated V₂O₅ for a highly sensitive NH₃ sensor

• Margus Kodu,
• Artjom Berholts,
• Tauno Kahro,
• Mati Kook,
• Peeter Ritslaid,
• Helina Seemen,
• Tea Avarmaa,
• Harry Alles and
• Raivo Jaaniso

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 571–578, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.61

• concentration of N2 and O2 gases was held constant during measurements. The gas flow through the sample chamber was kept constant at 200 sccm while the concentration of the test gas was regulated by the ratio of the flow rates of individual gas components. The nominal relative humidity of the testing gas was 20

Impact of air exposure and annealing on the chemical and electronic properties of the surface of SnO₂ nanolayers deposited by rheotaxial growth and vacuum oxidation

• Monika Kwoka and
• Maciej Krzywiecki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 514–521, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.55

• 2 h. In order to improve their stoichiometry, an additional in situ vacuum oxidation was performed at a chosen optimal partial pressure of 10−2 mbar for the next 2 h (108 L). The samples were then examined by using XPS. At the next step the samples were exposed to dry air with a relative humidity of

Biological and biomimetic materials and surfaces

• Stanislav Gorb and
• Thomas Speck

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 403–407, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.42

• smooth vertical surfaces and ceilings. The functioning of the pads depends on various environmental factors. Heepe et al. showed that the attachment performance of the beetle Coccinella septempunctata depends on the relative humidity. The authors demonstrated that both low (15%) and high (99

• %) environmental humidity leads to a decrease of attachment forces generated by beetles [18]. The paper by England et al. systematically investigated beetle attachment ability on eight different surfaces having different structural and physico-chemical properties. The results show that chemical surface properties

Nanocrystalline TiO₂/SnO₂ heterostructures for gas sensing

• Barbara Lyson-Sypien,
• Anna Kusior,
• Mieczylaw Rekas,
• Jan Zukrowski,
• Marta Gajewska,
• Katarzyna Michalow-Mauke,
• Thomas Graule,
• Marta Radecka and
• Katarzyna Zakrzewska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 108–122, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.12

• were carried out in dry atmosphere. The synthetic air contained less than 1 ppm of water vapor while that of hydrogen + argon mixture had less than 10 ppm of contaminants. The relative humidity level was verified to be of about 0–1% RH at room temperature. Dynamic changes in the electrical resistance

Nanostructured SnO₂–ZnO composite gas sensors for selective detection of carbon monoxide

• Paul Chesler,
• Cristian Hornoiu,
• Susana Mihaiu,
• Cristina Vladut,
• Jose Maria Calderon Moreno,
• Mihai Anastasescu,
• Carmen Moldovan,
• Bogdan Firtat,
• Costin Brasoveanu,
• George Muscalu,
• Ion Stan and
• Mariuca Gartner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2045–2056, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.195

• materials, using XRD). The identification of these phases was not possible in the present case as the thin films were amorphous, but as mentioned before, the presence of the crystallites in an amorphous matrix was not ruled out. Sensor response to humidity In real life applications, environmental humidity

• is an important factor which influences sensor response. In Figure 12 different sensors were tested in an atmosphere containing 62% relative humidity. It can be observed that the sensor having the highest response to CO (S2) is only slightly influenced by humidity at its optimum working temperature

• . The response to water vapor is very low when compared to the S4 composite sensor which has a very high response to humidity even at room temperature. This sensor is being considered for the further development of a humidity sensor. Sensor cross-response measurements To avoid false positives, gas

“Sticky invasion” – the physical properties of Plantago lanceolata L. seed mucilage

• Agnieszka Kreitschitz,
• Alexander Kovalev and
• Stanislav N. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1918–1927, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.183

• humidity were continuously recorded using a Tinytag TGP-4500 (Gemini Data Loggers Ltd, United Kingdom). The measured temperature was 22–23 °C, the relative humidity was 30–37%. Pull-off force measurements of the mucilage For the pull-off force measurements five sets of measurements were made on five

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

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

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

• world of biology meets the dry world of electronics, the technical challenge arises to build a package for the LoCMOS device that is able to withstand the hostile biological environment, which may include high temperature, humidity, and corrosive liquids (mammalian cells typically require 37 °C, >95

• % humidity, and a salt-containing medium for growth). Low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) technology in combination with flip-chip bonding is one method of producing durable, biocompatible packaging for LoCMOS devices. The advantage of the LTCC technology is the possibility of fast and simple 3D