Colloidal particle aggregation: mechanism of assembly studied via constructal theory modeling

• Scott C. Bukosky,
• Sukrith Dev,
• Monica S. Allen and
• Jeffery W. Allen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 413–423, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.33

• consideration. The pairwise interactions between these particles are often described by traditional colloidal Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) theory [14]. Here, electrolyte ions in solution rearrange to form electric double layers near the charged surface of a particle. Although overlapping double

• layers result in repulsion between two particles, this force is constantly opposed by the attractive van der Waals force. The balance between these interparticle forces gives the total DLVO force and highly depends on system parameters, such as the electrolyte concentration and fluid dielectric constant

A stretchable triboelectric nanogenerator made of silver-coated glass microspheres for human motion energy harvesting and self-powered sensing applications

• Hui Li,
• Yaju Zhang,
• Yonghui Wu,
• Hui Zhao,
• Weichao Wang,
• Xu He and
• Haiwu Zheng

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 402–412, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.32

• systems. The distinct advantages of the S-TENG indicate broad application prospects in wearable electronics and smart sensing systems. Results and Discussion Figure 1a is the schematic of the structural design of the S-TENG. The device is composed of three layers, that is, the top layer and the bottom

• and stretchable single-electrode mode S-TENG was designed and fabricated, of which the electrode was made of a conductive fabric. The top and bottom layers of the sandwich structure are silicone rubber and the middle layer are SCGMs both as conducting layer and frictional layer. The peak values of VOC

The impact of molecular tumor profiling on the design strategies for targeting myeloid leukemia and EGFR/CD44-positive solid tumors

• Nikola Geskovski,
• Nadica Matevska-Geshkovska,
• Simona Dimchevska Sazdovska,
• Marija Glavas Dodov,
• Kristina Mladenovska and
• Katerina Goracinova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 375–401, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.31

Spontaneous shape transition of Mn_xGe_1−x islands to long nanowires

• S. Javad Rezvani,
• Luc Favre,
• Gabriele Giuli,
• Yiming Wubulikasimu,
• Isabelle Berbezier,
• Augusto Marcelli,
• Luca Boarino and
• Nicola Pinto

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 366–374, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.30

• our experimental conditions (i.e., high-temperature annealing of Mn wetting layers). While several works have been published so far on the seeded VLS growth of Mn-rich Ge–Mn NWs [7][39][40] or on the eutectoid growth of Mn-rich MnxGe1−x nanocolumns with strongly inhomogeneous Mn distribution [25], to

• final growth of the NWs, considering that strained heteroepitaxial layers are inherently unstable [33]. During the heteroepitaxial growth of GeMn alloys, Mn-rich precipitates have been detected in MnxGe1−x DMS films on moderately heated Ge wafers [19][21][23][25][27][37][41]. However, islands of Mn-rich

• epilayer and the substrate as detected in several heteroepitaxial systems, such as Ge on Si [42][43][44], InAs on GaAs [45], Co silicide [36], and silicides with different metals [35]. Such a mechanism is expected to occur in our Mn layers deposited on Ge(111) substrates, due to the large lattice mismatch

Structural and optical characteristics determined by the sputtering deposition conditions of oxide thin films

• Petronela Prepelita,
• Florin Garoi and
• Valentin Craciun

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 354–365, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.29

• others. Among the important applications of these oxides are materials with dielectric properties used in the fabrication of metasurface structures, transparent conductive oxides and buffer layers used in solar cells, and materials used in sensor technology [6][8][17][18][19][20][21]. Materials with

• dielectric interfaces in the structure of a metamaterial. This paper reports the experimental conditions for deposition of ZnO and SiO2 films as an improvement of the rfMS vacuum deposition technique for dielectric layers (e.g., ZnO and SiO2) onto quartz substrates. Here we investigated SiO2 and ZnO thin

• highlight the innovative applications of ZnO due to its dielectric features (Figure 12) in the form of thin films, but also as thin layers of ZnO nanoparticles synthesized in the gaseous phase as gate dielectrics. Our results show a similar value when compared, for example, with the properties obtained for

Nickel nanoparticle-decorated reduced graphene oxide/WO₃ nanocomposite – a promising candidate for gas sensing

• Ilka Simon,
• Alexandr Savitsky,
• Rolf Mülhaupt,
• Vladimir Pankov and
• Christoph Janiak

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 343–353, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.28

• of conducting channels from graphene layers is also pointed out, which increase the efficiency of charge carrier transfer in composites [8]. Based on the known literature data and the results obtained, it is possible to provide potential reasons for an enhancement of the sensitivity in the case under

Intracranial recording in patients with aphasia using nanomaterial-based flexible electronics: promises and challenges

• Qingchun Wang and
• Wai Ting Siok

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 330–342, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.27

• µm PI layers. The bifurcated flap shape was used to achieve good penetration and attachment to the cortical surface and avoid injuring blood vessels on the brain midline (Figure 5c, left). The width of the Au lines was designed to be 100 µm to reach a low impedance value and enhance the signal-to

Exploring the fabrication and transfer mechanism of metallic nanostructures on carbon nanomembranes via focused electron beam induced processing

• Christian Preischl,
• Linh Hoang Le,
• Elif Bilgilisoy,
• Armin Gölzhäuser and
• Hubertus Marbach

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 319–329, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.26

• ) [13], thin layers of porphyrin molecules [14][15], and surface-anchored metal-organic frameworks (SURMOFs) [16][17]. For oxide surfaces it is known that the activation mechanism is based on reactive oxygen vacancies, which are locally created by electron-stimulated oxygen desorption [18][19]. Whereas

• substrate. Consequently, EBISA is feasible on a SAM of TPT molecules with Fe(CO)5 but fails on the same substrate with Co(CO)3NO. This type of chemical selectivity was reported before on other substrates such as SURMOFs [16][17]. In contrast, on thin layers of porphyrin molecules EBISA was successful with

The patterning toolbox FIB-o-mat: Exploiting the full potential of focused helium ions for nanofabrication

• Victor Deinhart,
• Lisa-Marie Kern,
• Jan N. Kirchhof,
• Sabrina Juergensen,
• Joris Sturm,
• Enno Krauss,
• Thorsten Feichtner,
• Sviatoslav Kovalchuk,
• Michael Schneider,
• Dieter Engel,
• Bastian Pfau,
• Bert Hecht,
• Kirill I. Bolotin,
• Stephanie Reich and
• Katja Höflich

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 304–318, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.25

• devices by design, that is, to tailor both material properties and device geometries according to a sophisticated blueprint. Thin layers and two-dimensional (2D) materials are especially interesting candidates for designer materials [1] as they are compatible with planar device geometries and may be

• by measuring the bright optical modes [59]. The target geometry for all fabrication techniques is a particle radius of 45 nm with a gap size of 35 nm. This is the geometry that can reliably fabricated by resist-based electron beam lithography on physically sputtered gold layers (cf. Figure 7a). Later

The nanomorphology of cell surfaces of adhered osteoblasts

• Christian Voelkner,
• Mirco Wendt,
• Regina Lange,
• Max Ulbrich,
• Martina Gruening,
• Susanne Staehlke,
• Barbara Nebe,
• Ingo Barke and
• Sylvia Speller

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 242–256, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.20

• ) layers. Nevertheless, the span of measured adhesion areas is large. This may indicate that either the PPAAm layers on our glass surfaces are heterogeneous or that cells do not always respond to it. Another origin of the large spreading may be that, depending on the stage in the cell cycle, the adhesion

• preparation such as critical point drying and deposition of thin Au layers. This enables the observation of cell surfaces containing membrane protrusion features; however, apart from [32], no clear ruffles as observed by SICM are recognizable. When no Au coating was applied on the cells of the same

• coating was measured online by a quartz crystal thickness monitor (Cressington MTM 10, UK) and the sputter process was stopped at a nominal value of approximately 10 nm. The Au layers were only applied to half of the glass area in order to create an in situ reference. Since we observed spread cells

Extended iron phthalocyanine islands self-assembled on a Ge(001):H surface

• Rafal Zuzak,
• Marek Szymonski and
• Szymon Godlewski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 232–241, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.19

• molecules or molecular nanoarchitectures from the metallic substrate and, thus, helps to retain the originally designed properties. Different insulating films have already been applied, ranging from ionic salts such as NaCl [8][9], KCl [10][11], or KBr [12], through oxide [13] or nitride [14] layers to

• molecular wetting layers [15] and two-dimensional materials, such as graphene [16][17], hBN [11][18], or even organic layers [19]. Recently, it has been proposed that a monolayer of transition metal dichalcogenides, for example, MoS2, may play a similar role [4][20][21]. Similarly, it has been reported that

Scanning transmission helium ion microscopy on carbon nanomembranes

• Daniel Emmrich,
• Annalena Wolff,
• Nikolaus Meyerbröker,
• Jörg K. N. Lindner,
• André Beyer and
• Armin Gölzhäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 222–231, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.18

• at an acceptance angle of 11 mrad. Figure 4b shows a thicker membrane. The images show a single layer and a double layer of the membrane spanning over a hole in the Quantifoil support. Overall intensity and contrast between the different layers are similar to those of the thin membrane, but shifted

• -point detection, for example to drill small holes into thin foils. Thickness variations, caused by double layers or folds in membranes can be clearly visualized with the detector. In addition, thickness measurements with sub-nanometer precision are possible on thin foils or membranes when the contrast

• with line integration of 64 lines. The field of view was set to 10 µm for the thin carbon membrane and to 15 µm for the thick membrane. The carbon nanomembranes (CNMs) were formed by low-energy electron irradiation of aromatic self-assembled monolayers (thin CNMs) or spin coated layers of aromatic

TiO_x/Pt₃Ti(111) surface-directed formation of electronically responsive supramolecular assemblies of tungsten oxide clusters

• Marco Moors,
• Yun An,
• Agnieszka Kuc and
• Kirill Yu. Monakhov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 203–212, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.16

• titanium oxide layers grown on a Pt3Ti(111) surface. The given case study with the nanoscopic W3O9 clusters as the main components of tungsten trioxide vapor, which have been evidenced by mass spectrometric studies [9][10], showcases remarkable TiOx/Pt3Ti(111)-directed reactivity of W3O9 to hierarchical

Toward graphene textiles in wearable eye tracking systems for human–machine interaction

• Ata Jedari Golparvar and
• Murat Kaya Yapici

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 180–189, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.14

• technologies. Materials and Methods Synthesis of graphene textiles and electrode preparation The developed process to synthesize conductive graphene textiles is based on a low-cost and scalable, three-step approach in which conformal layers of graphene were formed on various fabrics including nylon, polyester

Paper-based triboelectric nanogenerators and their applications: a review

• Jing Han,
• Nuo Xu,
• Yuchen Liang,
• Mei Ding,
• Junyi Zhai,
• Qijun Sun and
• Zhong Lin Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 151–171, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.12

• layers. This kind of slippage is also common in a variety of rotation-induced sliding modes, which exhibit huge potential for application in high-output TENG devices. Compared with the vertical CS mode and the in-plane LS mode, the SE mode has only one electrode at the bottom, which is connected to

• negative charges) are induced by the same amount on the surfaces of the friction layers. As there is no electric potential at this stage, there is no electron transfer between the two conductive layers (Figure 2b-I). When the two friction layers start to separate along the vertical direction, opposite

• charges are induced in the upper and lower conductive electrodes owing to electrostatic induction (Figure 2b-II). As the distance between the two layers increases, the electric potential difference between the two layers enhances, driving the electrons to flow through the external load which generates an

Mapping the local dielectric constant of a biological nanostructured system

• Wescley Walison Valeriano,
• Rodrigo Ribeiro Andrade,
• Juan Pablo Vasco,
• Angelo Malachias,
• Bernardo Ruegger Almeida Neves,
• Paulo Sergio Soares Guimarães and
• Wagner Nunes Rodrigues

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 139–150, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.11

• pixel elements. Thus, solving the equation regarding the relative permittivity of each pixel, we construct a relative permittivity map as can be seen in Figure 5c and below in Figure 6. In the topographic map and the average profile, the different layers and their widths can be identified (Figure 5a

• substrate [15]. The relative permittivity of the polymerized resin in which the wing is embedded (see Experimental section) is εr(resin) ≈ 4. The cross-sectional cut of the wing lies between the dashed lines, where the nanometric layers of the wing can be seen. The wax layers that cover both sides of the

• shown on the right, and the dorsal side on the left. On the left side of the red region, the blue region, and the yellow/green region, the width of each nanolayer is (200 ± 9) nm, (150 ± 5) nm, and (185 ± 11) nm, respectively, see Figure 2 and Figure 5a. In all regions, the layers on the right side are

Fusion of purple membranes triggered by immobilization on carbon nanomembranes

• René Riedel,
• Natalie Frese,
• Fang Yang,
• Martin Wortmann,
• Raphael Dalpke,
• Daniel Rhinow,
• Norbert Hampp and
• Armin Gölzhäuser

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 93–101, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.8

• Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Department of Structural Biology, Max-von-Laue-Str. 3, D-60438 Frankfurt, Germany 10.3762/bjnano.12.8 Abstract A freestanding ultrathin hybrid membrane was synthesized comprising two functional layers, that is, first, a carbon nanomembrane (CNM) produced by

Bulk chemical composition contrast from attractive forces in AFM force spectroscopy

• Dorothee Silbernagl,
• Media Ghasem Zadeh Khorasani,
• Natalia Cano Murillo,
• Anna Maria Elert and
• Heinz Sturm

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 58–71, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.5

• and an inorganic phase and is described in detail by Khorasani and coworkers [16]. A layer of boehmite is sandwiched between epoxy layers, as seen in Figure 5a–c which shows the cross section of the three layers. The layers were built from left to right, which means that the left-side epoxy was cured

ZnO and MXenes as electrode materials for supercapacitor devices

• Ameen Uddin Ammar,
• Ipek Deniz Yildirim,
• Feray Bakan and
• Emre Erdem

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 49–57, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.4

• accommodation of cations between the 2D MXene layers [38]. MXenes with a 2D lamellar structure also have good electric conductivity, hydrophilic surface properties, and they can intercalate different cations between their layers. There is still great room for further research on MXene-related energy storage

Effect of different silica coatings on the toxicity of upconversion nanoparticles on RAW 264.7 macrophage cells

• Cynthia Kembuan,
• Helena Oliveira and
• Christina Graf

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 35–48, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.3

• lipid peroxidation [29]. When UCNPs are applied in life sciences, it is usually necessary to modify their surfaces with hydrophilic ligands or layers [21][30][31]. These coatings can also prevent, to some extent, the interaction between UCNPs and the aqueous environment and, consequently, reduce their

• ± 1]:[25 ± 1]:[2 ± 0.5]. The XRD diffractogram shows a predominantly hexagonal crystal structure (JCPDS No. 00-028-1192), which is typical for such UCNPs (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S1) [47]. The core was coated with two different silica layers: 7 ± 1 nm for the thin-shelled silica layer

Atomic layer deposited films of Al₂O₃ on fluorine-doped tin oxide electrodes: stability and barrier properties

• Hana Krýsová,
• Michael Neumann-Spallart,
• Hana Tarábková,
• Pavel Janda,
• Ladislav Kavan and
• Josef Krýsa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2021, 12, 24–34, doi:10.3762/bjnano.12.2

• , Technická 5, 166 28 Prague 6, Czech Republic 10.3762/bjnano.12.2 Abstract Al2O3 layers were deposited onto electrodes by atomic layer deposition. Solubility and electron-transport blocking were tested. Films deposited onto fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO, F:SnO2/glass) substrates blocked electron transfer to

• [2][3][4]. Depending on the thickness of the protecting layer, the passage of electrical current was progressively hindered as the layer thickness was increased, such that tunnelling became impossible [5]. A similar protection by ALD-grown layers of Ta2O5 [6] or SiO2 [7] was used for other

• semiconducting electrodes, such as ZnO. Aluminium oxide is another promising candidate for this task. It is amphoteric but insoluble in aqueous media at a neutral pH value [8][9]. ALD oxide layers, including Al2O3, were used as barrier coatings on copper to protect against corrosion in 0.1 M NaCl [10]. As

Free and partially encapsulated manganese ferrite nanoparticles in multiwall carbon nanotubes

• Saja Al-Khabouri,
• Salim Al-Harthi,
• Toru Maekawa,
• Mohamed E. Elzain,
• Ashraf Al-Hinai,
• Ahmed D. Al-Rawas,
• Abbsher M. Gismelseed,
• Ali A. Yousif and
• Myo Tay Zar Myint

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1891–1904, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.170

• . The inner layers of MWCNTs tend to coat the ends of the particles, leading to damage (marked by arrows in Figure 4a and Figure 4b) at the inner walls of the tubes. As observed, MnFe2O4 nanoparticles can attach themselves to the outer surface of the tubes (Figure 4e–h). The majority of the MnFe2O4

• . Although it is anticipated that encapsulation will cause some changes in the electronic structure in the vicinity of the particles inside the tubes, if all MnFe2O4 particles are encapsulated, the outer layers of MWCNTs will be unaffected. As a result, it would be expected that the UPS spectrum of coated

• ) carbon, (e) manganese, (f) iron, (g) nickel (the source of Ni is the original MWCNTs used as catalyst), and (h) overlays of MnFe2O4/MWCNTs. The arrows in (a) and (b) are pointing at MWCNTs layers, which are coating the partially encapsulated nanoparticles. (i–l) The majority of the MnFe2O4 nanoparticles

Towards 3D self-assembled rolled multiwall carbon nanotube structures by spontaneous peel off

• Jonathan Quinson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1865–1872, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.168

• is observed, by the naked eye, that layers peel off from the MWCNT forests after synthesis. This is observed without the need to apply any mechanical stress. However, when this phenomenon occurs, it is not possible to identify an area without MWCNTs. In other words, despite the peeling off the

• [16][24][25]. It is also in agreement with the Raman characterization detailed below. The SEM analysis reveals that the peeled-off layers are C1/N2 sections detached from another supporting C3/N4 MWCNT layer. This implies that only a few layers of MWCNTs are disconnected from the forest. Such peeling

• [12][21][32]. (a) SEM micrograph of a C1/N2/C3/N4 structure in which a break between the N2 and C3 part leads to MWCNTs layers to peel off. (b) SEM micrograph of C1/N2/C3 structures in which the N2/C3 interface displays iron-based particles. The bright line between the two arrows in the image is

Piezotronic effect in AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterojunction nanowires used as a flexible strain sensor

• Jianqi Dong,
• Liang Chen,
• Yuqing Yang and
• Xingfu Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1847–1853, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.166

• spreading of the current. Next, 500 nm of an unintentionally doped GaN layer was deposited to protect the lower layer during the selective EC etching. A heavily doped GaN (N+-GaN) sacrificial layer, sandwiched by two thin N++-GaN layers was inserted under the AlGaN/AlN/GaN layer to enhance the conductivity

• substrate, followed by a 500 nm layer of Si-doped N-GaN (the doping concentration was 5 × 1018·cm−3). The thickness of the heavily doped GaN was 1.5 μm and the Si doping concentration was 1.0 × 1019·cm−3. The thickness of the two thin N++-GaN layers was only 10 nm each with a Si concentration of 4.5 × 1019

Unravelling the interfacial interaction in mesoporous SiO₂@nickel phyllosilicate/TiO₂ core–shell nanostructures for photocatalytic activity

• Bridget K. Mutuma,
• Xiluva Mathebula,
• Isaac Nongwe,
• Bonakele P. Mtolo,
• Boitumelo J. Matsoso,
• Rudolph Erasmus,
• Zikhona Tetana and
• Neil J. Coville

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 1834–1846, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.165

• °C, urea hydrolysis took place reducing the nickel precursor to nickel species, which diffused into the silica layers through the mesoporous shell. The nickel species reacted with the surface hydroxides to give nickel phyllosilicate via a Ni–O–Si polymerization reaction. TiO2 (dTiO2 = 30 ± 9 nm) was