Self-standing heterostructured NiC_x-NiFe-NC/biochar as a highly efficient cathode for lithium–oxygen batteries

• Shengyu Jing,
• Xu Gong,
• Shan Ji,
• Linhui Jia,
• Bruno G. Pollet,
• Sheng Yan and
• Huagen Liang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1809–1821, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.163

• of NiFe-PBA (inset, black curve). (a–c) HR-TEM images and (d,e) element mappings of NiFe-PBA/PP-900. High-resolution XPS spectra of NiFe-PBA/PP-T calcined at 700 (top panels) and 900 °C (bottom panels) for (a) C 1s, (b) N 1s, (c) Ni 2p, and (d) Fe 2p. (a) In situ cyclic voltammetry curves of Li–O2

Mapping of integrated PIN diodes with a 3D architecture by scanning microwave impedance microscopy and dynamic spectroscopy

• Rosine Coq Germanicus,
• Peter De Wolf,
• Florent Lallemand,
• Catherine Bunel,
• Serge Bardy,
• Hugues Murray and
• Ulrike Lüders

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1764–1775, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.159

• second area of interest was the bottom of a deep trench (area 2 in Figure 2). Deep trenches were fabricated by dry etching pores with a high aspect ratio and a diameter of 1 µm. During the FEOL processing, trenches were filled with a dielectric layer, followed by an in situ highly phosphorus-doped

Helium ion microscope – secondary ion mass spectrometry for geological materials

• Matthew R. Ball,
• Richard J. M. Taylor,
• Joshua F. Einsle,
• Fouzia Khanom,
• Christelle Guillermier and
• Richard J. Harrison

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1504–1515, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.133

• , reaches a plateau at relatively low Z values of around 50 [7], limiting its use to lighter elements only. SIMS, however, opens the entire range of mass numbers, from a few atomic mass units up to several hundred atomic mass units, whilst also leaving open the possibility of in situ isotopic measurements

Wafer-level integration of self-aligned high aspect ratio silicon 3D structures using the MACE method with Au, Pd, Pt, Cu, and Ir

• Mathias Franz,
• Romy Junghans,
• Paul Schmitt,
• Adriana Szeghalmi and
• Stefan E. Schulz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1439–1449, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.128

• by an in situ micro quartz crystal sensor. The particle formation has been done by thermal annealing under vacuum conditions. The wafers with Cu and Pt have been annealed in vacuo, while the wafers with Au and Pd were annealed ex situ. Each annealing consists of a heating phase, 30 min of annealing

Protruding hydrogen atoms as markers for the molecular orientation of a metallocene

• Linda Laflör,
• Michael Reichling and
• Philipp Rahe

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1432–1438, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.127

• /CaF1/Si(111) thin film samples under ultrahigh vacuum conditions (p < 5 × 10−10 mbar) in two separate systems equipped with appropriate facilities for in situ sample preparation. Bulk CaF2 crystals (Korth Kristalle, Altenholz, Germany) were cleaved in vacuum [24] after degassing the crystal and sample

One-step synthesis of carbon-supported electrocatalysts

• Sebastian Tigges,
• Nicolas Wöhrl,
• Ivan Radev,
• Ulrich Hagemann,
• Markus Heidelmann,
• Thai Binh Nguyen,
• Stanislav Gorelkov,
• Stephan Schulz and
• Axel Lorke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1419–1431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.126

• ionic species from the plasma onto the substrate. The chamber pressure, argon carrier gas flow rate, substrate temperature, and gas composition were adjusted, as stated in the Results and Discussion section. The plasma properties were monitored in situ by optical emission spectroscopy (see Supporting

Impact of fluorination on interface energetics and growth of pentacene on Ag(111)

• Qi Wang,
• Meng-Ting Chen,
• Antoni Franco-Cañellas,
• Bin Shen,
• Thomas Geiger,
• Holger F. Bettinger,
• Frank Schreiber,
• Ingo Salzmann,
• Alexander Gerlach and
• Steffen Duhm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1361–1370, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.120

• in situ under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. The analysis chamber (base pressure: 3 × 10−10 mbar) contained a VG Scienta EW4000 HAXPES hemispherical photoelectron analyzer, which was mounted at 90° relative to the incident X-ray beam. The reflectivity and photoelectron core level spectra of all

Atomic defect classification of the H–Si(100) surface through multi-mode scanning probe microscopy

• Jeremiah Croshaw,
• Thomas Dienel,
• Taleana Huff and
• Robert Wolkow

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1346–1360, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.119

• platform for the development of atom scale devices, with recent work showing their creation through precise desorption or placement of surface hydrogen atoms. While samples with relatively large areas of the H–Si surface are routinely created using an in situ methodology, surface defects are inevitably

• electronic and structural behaviour of the Si(100) surface [18]. The addition of hydrogen to surface silicon atoms saturates all available bonds [19] and three surface reconstructions are commonly observed. The 2 × 1 phase – frequently used in hydrogen lithography, and can be prepared in situ resulting in

• using a field ion microscope (FIM) [90]. AFM tips used the third-generation Giessibl tuning forks with a FIB mounted tungsten tip (f0 ≈ 28 kHz, Q-factor ≈ 16k–22k) [91]. The tip was cleaned and sharpened in vacuum using a FIM [90]. In situ tip conditioning was done by executing controlled contact on a

An atomic force microscope integrated with a helium ion microscope for correlative nanoscale characterization

• Santiago H. Andany,
• Gregor Hlawacek,
• Stefan Hummel,
• Charlène Brillard,
• Mustafa Kangül and
• Georg E. Fantner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1272–1279, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.111

• machining of nanoscale structures with sub-nanometer resolution, while the AFM is a well-established versatile tool for multiparametric nanoscale characterization. Combining the two techniques opens the way for unprecedented in situ correlative analysis at the nanoscale. Nanomachining and analysis can be

• technique with electron beam and ion beam techniques for correlative nanoscale characterization and nanoscale fabrication. The motivation was driven by the new opportunity to investigate and transform features in situ with complementary techniques, thus revealing maximum information without breaking the

• used, in situ, in between exposures to assess the shrinkage, stiffness change or sputtering of the resist. More applications such as conductive AFM, piezo-force microscopy or magnetic force microscopy are within reach of the presented technology and would make AFM–HIM appealing to the microelectronics

Proximity effect in [Nb(1.5 nm)/Fe(x)]₁₀/Nb(50 nm) superconductor/ferromagnet heterostructures

• Yury Khaydukov,
• Sabine Pütter,
• Laura Guasco,
• Roman Morari,
• Gideok Kim,
• Thomas Keller,
• Anatolie Sidorenko and
• Bernhard Keimer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1254–1263, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.109

• thermal evaporation from an effusion cell while Nb and Pt were grown by electron beam evaporation. Reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) was measured in situ during deposition to trace the structure of the atomic layer being deposited. For the RHEED experiment, an electron beam of 15 keV

High permittivity, breakdown strength, and energy storage density of polythiophene-encapsulated BaTiO₃ nanoparticles

• Adnanullah Khan,
• Amir Habib and
• Adeel Afzal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1190–1197, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.103

• . This article presents the synthesis of polythiophene-encapsulated BaTiO3 (BTO-PTh) nanoparticles via an in situ Cu(II)-catalyzed chemical oxidative polymerization of thiophene monomer on hydrothermally obtained tetragonal BTO nanocrystals. The formed core–shell-type BTO-PTh nanoparticles exhibit

• to dissolve and remove impurities and is dried in an oven at 120 °C. The obtained dried product is pulverized to get BTO nanoparticles. In the next step, core–shell BTO-PTh nanoparticles are synthesized via in situ chemical oxidative polymerization of thiophene on hydrothermally produced BTO

• two phases prevent the free-charge accumulation at the interface and, therefore, improve the breakdown strength. Furthermore, in situ oxidative polymerization of PTh on BTO surfaces allows for the inclusion of 90 wt % BTO, which results in a high dielectric constant. This means that the tremendous

Hybridization vs decoupling: influence of an h-BN interlayer on the physical properties of a lander-type molecule on Ni(111)

• Maximilian Schaal,
• Takumi Aihara,
• Marco Gruenewald,
• Felix Otto,
• Jari Domke,
• Roman Forker,
• Hiroyuki Yoshida and
• Torsten Fritz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1168–1177, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.101

• atomically thin h-BN interlayer to investigate its possible decoupling effect. To this end, we use in situ differential reflectance spectroscopy as an established method to distinguish between hybridized and decoupled molecules. By inserting an h-BN interlayer we fabricate a buried interface and show that

• . Experimental methods All experiments were performed in ultrahigh vacuum with a base pressure in the range of 10−10 mbar. The adsorption of the DBP molecules was monitored by in situ DRS utilizing a 100 W halogen tungsten lamp, a blazed-grating monochromator (Acton Research SpectraPro SP2156), and a

Photothermally active nanoparticles as a promising tool for eliminating bacteria and biofilms

• Mykola Borzenkov,
• Piersandro Pallavicini,
• Angelo Taglietti,
• Laura D’Alfonso,
• Maddalena Collini and
• Giuseppe Chirico

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1134–1146, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.98

• ) region, are receiving great attention as they are can, upon irradiation, increase the local temperature in the surrounding medium and consequently thermally inactivate different types of bacteria [2][33]. This approach can provide an alternative and direct in situ sterilization as opposed to the

• least if used under given irradiance limits, e.g., 0.32 W/cm2 at 800 nm) [2][34]. Moreover, stable and reproducible photothermal properties will bring additional advantages for efficient in situ sterilization. Therefore, in this review we focus on the application of photothermally active nanoparticles

• gold nanoparticle aggregation was implemented [54]. According to this strategy, the spherical nanoparticles, with a typical localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption at 520 nm, aggregated in situ at the surface of the bacterial membrane. The gold nanoparticle aggregation induced a change in

Monolayers of MoS₂ on Ag(111) as decoupling layers for organic molecules: resolution of electronic and vibronic states of TCNQ

• Asieh Yousofnejad,
• Gaël Reecht,
• Nils Krane,
• Christian Lotze and
• Katharina J. Franke

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1062–1071, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.91

• of decoupling layers made use of the in situ fabrication of single layers of transition metal dichalcogenides on metal surfaces. A monolayer of MoS2 on Au(111) provided very narrow molecular resonances, close to the thermal resolution limit at 4.6 K [26]. The exquisite decoupling efficiency has been

• and K′ by circularly polarized light [32]. The potential as decoupling layer for molecules may become even more appealing by the fact that monolayers of transition metal dichalcogenides can be grown in situ on different metal surfaces, where the precise hybridization and band alignment depend on the

Highly sensitive detection of estradiol by a SERS sensor based on TiO₂ covered with gold nanoparticles

• Andrea Brognara,
• Ili F. Mohamad Ali Nasri,
• Beatrice R. Bricchi,
• Andrea Li Bassi,
• Caroline Gauchotte-Lindsay,
• Matteo Ghidelli and
• Nathalie Lidgi-Guigui

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1026–1035, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.87

• functionalized with aptamers (a biorecognition element), specific to the natural estrogen 17β-estradiol (E2) [17] for SERS detection. The all-solid configuration of the TiO2/Au surface makes it a good candidate for in situ detection. Surface functionalization with aptamers is gathering interest because they

• established [26]. They are very specific and very sensitive, however, they are also time-consuming and expensive [27]. SERS sensors are therefore investigated as an alternative as they present the potential for in situ near-real-time analysis. In the following we will present the possibilities of TiO2 porous

Wet-spinning of magneto-responsive helical chitosan microfibers

• Dorothea Brüggemann,
• Johanna Michel,
• Naiana Suter,
• Matheus Grande de Aguiar and
• Michael Maas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 991–999, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.83

• since it would require the winding of a magnetized feed solution. To confirm our hypothesis that different IOP concentrations may influence helix rupturing, further experiments, such as in situ SEM characterization of helix fracture, would be necessary. Similar values of Young’s modulus in the range of

A 3D-polyphenylalanine network inside porous alumina: Synthesis and characterization of an inorganic–organic composite membrane

• Jonathan Stott and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 938–951, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.78

• -grafted gel might be interesting in membrane separation technology or supported drug release/adsorption systems. We investigate the ability of polyphenylalanine to form organo-gels in situ within a porous inorganic environment with respect to different volume fractions of DCM in the solvent mixture. We

• therefore phenylalanine serves as an ideal and straightforward test bed. To the best of our knowledge, in situ formation and grafting of hydrophobic organo-gels within an inorganic porous environment has not been studied so far. As an inorganic substrate, sintered porous alumina membranes were

• applications. The influence of the volume fraction of DCM in the used solvent on the in situ formation of polyphenylalanine three-dimensional fibrillar networks within a macroporous environment could be demonstrated. The morphology of the observed polymer structures is strongly affected by the fraction of DCM

Epitaxial growth and superconducting properties of thin-film PdFe/VN and VN/PdFe bilayers on MgO(001) substrates

• Wael M. Mohammed,
• Igor V. Yanilkin,
• Amir I. Gumarov,
• Airat G. Kiiamov,
• Roman V. Yusupov and
• Lenar R. Tagirov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 807–813, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.65

• composition were controlled by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In situ low-energy electron diffraction and ex situ X-ray diffraction show that the 30 nm thick single-layer VN as well as the double-layer VN(30 nm)/Pd0.92Fe0.08(12 nm) and Pd0.96Fe0.04(20 nm)/VN(30 nm) structures have grown cube-on-cube

• back to the MBE chamber, and a 12 nm thick Pd0.92Fe0.08 layer was deposited to a half of both samples using the second shutter. The thicknesses of the Pd1−xFex layers were adjusted to possess identical magnetic moments. In situ tests of crystallinity, VN stoichiometry and resulting composition of Pd1

• VN/Pd0.92Fe0.08 (the first component in a stack being directly deposited to MgO) have been obtained with the identical properties of the VN layer in each sample. Crystallinity and epitaxial growth The crystallinity and the epitaxial growth of the thin films were examined in situ by using LEED (SPECS

Hexagonal boron nitride: a review of the emerging material platform for single-photon sources and the spin–photon interface

• Stefania Castelletto,
• Faraz A. Inam,
• Shin-ichiro Sato and
• Alberto Boretti

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 740–769, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.61

Quantitative determination of the interaction potential between two surfaces using frequency-modulated atomic force microscopy

• Nicholas Chan,
• Carrie Lin,
• Tevis Jacobs,
• Robert W. Carpick and
• Philip Egberts

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 729–739, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.60

• matching these F(z) curves to a set of LJ F(z) curves generated for the specific tip apex shape, as described in the following section. Determination of work and range of adhesion using in situ TEM adhesive experiments The method that will be discussed to determine LJ parameters from dynamic FM-AFM

• measurements is extended from the experimental method proposed by Jacobs et al. [35][47], which is based on static force–displacement measurements. The procedure is as follows: In situ force–separation measurements between an AFM probe and a nominally flat diamond punch are performed in a TEM, where the pull

• -off force and the snap-in distance are measured. The use of in situ TEM allows for a direct characterization of the AFM tip shape. Furthermore, TEM allows for measurements of probe deflection, which can be converted to the normal force using the calibrated normal force constant of the cantilever and

Silver-decorated gel-shell nanobeads: physicochemical characterization and evaluation of antibacterial properties

• Marta Bartel,
• Katarzyna Markowska,
• Marcin Strawski,
• Krystyna Wolska and
• Maciej Mazur

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 620–630, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.49

• composite particles (the Ag nanoparticles are coordinated to thiol groups generated in situ during the synthesis), in a simple and relatively fast reaction. Antibacterial activity of PSSAg nanocomposite We were further interested whether the silver-modified beads show antibacterial effects. To determine the

Comparison of fresh and aged lithium iron phosphate cathodes using a tailored electrochemical strain microscopy technique

• Matthias Simolka,
• Hanno Kaess and
• Kaspar Andreas Friedrich

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 583–596, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.46

• additional mechanical (stiffness, elasticity), electrical (conductivity, surface potential), electrochemical (reactivity, mobility and activity), mechanoelectrical (piezoelectricity) and chemical (chemical bonding) material properties. In situ AFM imaging of the sample topography is often used to study the

• amplitude represents the electromechanical activity [62][63][64]. Similar to the ESM and PFM signal, digital volume correlation (DVC) in combination with in situ X-ray tomography microscopy (XTM) was used by Pietsch et al. [47] for graphite and silicon anodes and by Finegan et al. [48] for a LiMnO2 cathode

Multilayer capsules made of weak polyelectrolytes: a review on the preparation, functionalization and applications in drug delivery

• Varsha Sharma and
• Anandhakumar Sundaramurthy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 508–532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.41

• , small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) of hollow capsules could give a detailed illustration of the inner structure and their size distribution in in situ measurements. SAXS investigations of PAH and poly-ʟ-aspartic acid multilayers deposited on poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) brush modified PS templates

• crosslinking without the need of post treatment [55]. Stable multilayered hollow capsules of N-methyl-2-nitro-diphenylamine-4-diazoresin/m-methylphenol-formaldehyde resin (NDR/MPR) on a PS core based on in situ coupling were found to withstand solvent etching without further processing [55]. The reaction

• capsules incorporated with NPs. Although it resulted in stable capsules, the amount of adsorbed NPs is substantially less [80]. The third method involves the incorporation of preformed NPs into preformed hollow capsules by changing the wall permeability through several triggers [81]. Lastly, in situ

Evolution of Ag nanostructures created from thin films: UV–vis absorption and its theoretical predictions

• Robert Kozioł,
• Marcin Łapiński,
• Paweł Syty,
• Damian Koszelow,
• Wojciech Sadowski,
• Józef E. Sienkiewicz and
• Barbara Kościelska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 494–507, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.40

• measured in situ using a quartz crystal microbalance. To form nanostructures, the as-prepared films were put into a hot furnace and annealed in argon atmosphere at different temperatures for different periods of time. The surface morphology of the samples was analyzed using a FEI Quanta FEG 250 SEM

Preparation and in vivo evaluation of glyco-gold nanoparticles carrying synthetic mycobacterial hexaarabinofuranoside

• Gennady L. Burygin,
• Polina I. Abronina,
• Nikita M. Podvalnyy,
• Sergey A. Staroverov,
• Leonid O. Kononov and
• Lev A. Dykman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 480–493, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.39

• pre-formed citrate-stabilized GNPs [67] or during the in situ synthesis of glyco-GNPs [32][38][46]. It is also possible to conjugate suitably derivatized glycans [48] via additional functional groups of thiol-functionalized ligands attached to the surface of pre-formed GNPs. We, however, chose an

• studies [56][57][77][78][95]) were chosen for the experiments. This is because GNPs of this size, unlike much smaller GNPs (e.g., around 2 nm in diameter), which are often derivatized in situ [32][39][46][48], can be easily prepared in advance and kept for further conjugation with a desired ligand