Imaging the surface potential at the steps on the rutile TiO₂(110) surface by Kelvin probe force microscopy

• Masato Miyazaki,
• Huan Fei Wen,
• Quanzhen Zhang,
• Yuuki Adachi,
• Jan Brndiar,
• Ivan Štich,
• Yan Jun Li and
• Yasuhiro Sugawara

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1228–1236, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.122

• preparation. The steps showed a higher photodegradation activity than the steps for aqueous solutions of methylene blue [23], indicating that the different step structures have different catalytic activities. KPFM measures the contact potential difference (CPD), corresponding to the difference in work

A highly efficient porous rod-like Ce-doped ZnO photocatalyst for the degradation of dye contaminants in water

• Binjing Hu,
• Qiang Sun,
• Chengyi Zuo,
• Yunxin Pei,
• Siwei Yang,
• Hui Zheng and
• Fangming Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1157–1165, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.115

• to improve its photocatalytic activity by modifying its surface morphology [10][11]. Wang et al. [12] prepared Ce-doped ZnO with different doping levels by using a one-step solution method, using methylene blue as the target pollutant for photodegradation. After exposure to light for 200 minutes, the

• their study, Ce-doped ZnO (Ce/Zn 5%) has an average decolorization rate of 361.57 µg/h towards methylene blue, far outweighing the rate of 142.9 µg/h using ZnO. Also, the concentration of Zn and Ce in the CZO-4 was analyzed by ICP-MS and the results are shown in Table 3. From the results in Table 3, we

Photoactive nanoarchitectures based on clays incorporating TiO₂ and ZnO nanoparticles

• Eduardo Ruiz-Hitzky,
• Pilar Aranda,
• Marwa Akkari,
• Nithima Khaorapapong and
• Makoto Ogawa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 1140–1156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.114

• photodegradation of diverse organic compounds, including the photodecolorization of dyes such as methylene blue (MB), methyl green (MG), acid red G, acid yellow 11, acid orange 11, and Congo red, in water, as well as other photo-applications, for instance, water splitting under UV or visible/solar light

• as starting reagents. Interestingly, they reported a considerable increase of the photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methylene blue (MB) in water solution under UV irradiation for Pd–ZnO@kaolinite compared to Pd@ZnO, ZnO@kaolinite, and pure ZnO under equivalent experimental conditions. Pd

Deposition of metal particles onto semiconductor nanorods using an ionic liquid

• Michael D. Ballentine,
• Elizabeth G. Embry,
• Marco A. Garcia and
• Lawrence J. Hill

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 718–724, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.71

• using the methods reported here. Keywords: catalyst; ionic liquid; methylene blue; platinum; semiconductor nanorod; Introduction Core@shell semiconductor nanorods with attached noble metal particles have been widely studied as photocatalysts, and any improvement on the synthesis of these materials has

• methylene blue. This hybrid approach using traditional organic ligands for the synthesis of well-defined nanorods followed by [bmim][Tf2N] for metal deposition was found to be applicable to other noble metals in addition to platinum. Gold and silver nanoparticles were also deposited onto CdSe@CdS nanorods

• heterostructured nanoparticles. With two nearly identical samples in hand, we were able to compare the performance of two catalysts where the only notable difference was the synthetic history of the sample (Figure 2). We used photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue to compare catalyst performance since this

New micro/mesoporous nanocomposite material from low-cost sources for the efficient removal of aromatic and pathogenic pollutants from water

• Emmanuel I. Unuabonah,
• Robert Nöske,
• Jens Weber,
• Christina Günter and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 119–131, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.11

• bed of the 2Z-HYCA adsorbent, and effluent samples were collected at specified time intervals. To test for the presence of E. coli in the effluent, 1 mL of the effluent solution samples were inoculated in eosin methylene blue (EMB) agar plates, incubated at 37 °C for 24 h, and E. coli colonies (as

• +, Ni2+ [1], and methylene blue [4] from an aqueous solution. However, this material fails when attempting to remove anionic pollutants such as 4-nitrophenol (with a pKa of 7.2 [45]), methyl orange dye, or phosphate. The data demonstrate that the 2Z-HYCA nanocomposite is able to overcome the limitations

Low cost tips for tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy fabricated by two-step electrochemical etching of 125 µm diameter gold wires

• Antonino Foti,
• Francesco Barreca,
• Enza Fazio,
• Cristiano D’Andrea,
• Paolo Matteini,
• Onofrio Maria Maragò and
• Pietro Giuseppe Gucciardi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2718–2729, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.254

• on the shaft (red line). Typical laser powers are 1.0–2.5 mW and integration times are 0.5–1.0 s per pixel. TERS spectra of dyes, pigments and biomolecules The tips have been applied to evaluate the spectra of analyze standard dye molecules such as rhodamine 6G (R6G), crystal violet (CV), methylene

• blue (MB), pigments of cultural heritage interest (alizarin-s, AZ-s) [58] and highly toxic protein oligomers [59]. Tests are carried out in gap-mode, absorbing the probe molecules on gold films with side-illumination at an excitation wavelength of 638 nm. Molecular solutions at different concentrations

Impact of the anodization time on the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ nanotubes

• Jesús A. Díaz-Real,
• Geyla C. Dubed-Bandomo,
• Juan Galindo-de-la-Rosa,
• Luis G. Arriaga,
• Janet Ledesma-García and
• Nicolas Alonso-Vante

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2628–2643, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.244

• photooxidation of methylene blue. Keywords: fluorine doping; nanotubes; photocatalytic activity; photoelectrochemistry; titanium(IV) oxide (TiO2); Introduction TiO2 started to attract great interest after Fujishima and Honda reported [1] on its photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties in 1972. Numerous features

• systematically studied the influence of the anodization time on the morphological, structural, surface-chemical, photo-electrical, and opto-electronic properties in order to explain their PCA in the degradation of methylene blue (MB). Results and Discussion SEM/EDS The morphology of the samples prepared for each

• applications. Photocatalytic activity of the TNTs In order to investigate the PCA of the samples, the degradation of methylene blue (MB) was studied under UV irradiation. Ions are found in the waste waters from the textile industry resulting from the dyeing and bleaching processes, thus allowing the use of an

Nanocellulose: Recent advances and its prospects in environmental remediation

• Katrina Pui Yee Shak,
• Yean Ling Pang and
• Shee Keat Mah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2479–2498, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.232

• displayed high uptake adsorption capacity for several cationic dyes such as methylene blue, basic fuchsin, crystal violet and malachite green [101]. Carboxylated CNC, with a high COOH content of 2.1 mmol/g, showed a significant uptake of about 769 mg/g for methylene blue as compared to CNC with surface

Block copolymers for designing nanostructured porous coatings

• Roberto Nisticò

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2332–2344, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.218

• )molecules were selected as target probes: methylene blue (a dye of 0.5 nm in width) and the protein RNAse (3.8 nm), respectively. The results evidenced that the diffusion of the protein is more restricted as compared to the dye, suggesting a steric selectivity of the depth-filtering system analyzed. In

The structural and chemical basis of temporary adhesion in the sea star Asterina gibbosa

• Birgit Lengerer,
• Marie Bonneel,
• Mathilde Lefevre,
• Elise Hennebert,
• Philippe Leclère,
• Emmanuel Gosselin,
• Peter Ladurner and
• Patrick Flammang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2071–2086, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.196

• solution of methylene blue in 1% sodium tetraborate and 1% aqueous solution of azur II. Ultrathin sections (80 nm) were cut with a Leica Ultracut UCT ultramicrotome equipped with a diamond knife. They were contrasted with uranyl acetate and lead citrate and observed with a Zeiss LEO 906E transmission

Biomimetic and biodegradable cellulose acetate scaffolds loaded with dexamethasone for bone implants

• Aikaterini-Rafailia Tsiapla,
• Varvara Karagkiozaki,
• Veroniki Bakola,
• Foteini Pappa,
• Panagiota Gkertsiou,
• Eleni Pavlidou and
• Stergios Logothetidis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1986–1994, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.189

• . Cytotoxicity studies were performed by using MTT assay, methylene-blue staining and SEM fixation and showed very good cell adhesion and proliferation, indicating the cytocompatibility of these fibrous scaffolds. Drug-release kinetics was measured for the evaluation of a controllable and sustained release of

• through electrospinning, in order to prevent the inflammation that can occur after a total hip replacement surgery. Experimental Materials and methods Materials Cellulose acetate (CA, Mw = 30,000 g/mol), dexamethasone (≥97%), acetone (≥99.8%), trypsin and methylene blue were all purchased from Sigma

• was measured at the absorption wavelength of the drug, using a 96-well plate reader (Luminometer Promega Glomax multi detection system). After that, the remaining samples were placed back in the incubator until the next measurement. In vitro cytotoxicity assays MTT assay direct test and methylene blue

Synthesis of a MnO₂/Fe₃O₄/diatomite nanocomposite as an efficient heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst for methylene blue degradation

• Zishun Li,
• Xuekun Tang,
• Kun Liu,
• Jing Huang,
• Yueyang Xu,
• Qian Peng and
• Minlin Ao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1940–1950, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.185

• nanocomposite is synthesized and then used as heterogeneous Fenton-like catalyst to degrade the organic pollutant methylene blue (MB) with the activation of PMS. The characterization results show that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles and nanoflower-like MnO2 are evenly distributed layer-by-layer on the surface of

• methylene blue (MB) as the target pollutant, because MB is a typical organic dye with well-known toxicity and a threat to water environments [19]. The structural characterization and recyclability of the nanocomposite are also investigated. To the best of our knowledge, there are no reports about the

• ) was obtained from the Xilong Chemicals Reagent Company (Shantou, China). Methylene blue trihydrate (MB, the chemical structure is shown in Figure S1, Supporting Information File 1) and triethylene glycol (TREG) were obtained from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Company (Shanghai, China). HCl and NaOH were

Uniform cobalt nanoparticles embedded in hexagonal mesoporous nanoplates as a magnetically separable, recyclable adsorbent

• Can Zhao,
• Yuexiao Song,
• Tianyu Xiang,
• Wenxiu Qu,
• Shuo Lou,
• Xiaohong Yin and
• Feng Xin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1770–1781, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.168

• ) has proved to be one of the most effective strategies for enhancing their adsorption performance in aqueous solutions [10][11][12]. Torad et al. [13] reported the high adsorption capacity of porous carbon particles with magnetic Co nanoparticles towards methylene blue (MB) dye. They attributed this to

Cr(VI) remediation from aqueous environment through modified-TiO₂-mediated photocatalytic reduction

• Rashmi Acharya,
• Brundabana Naik and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1448–1470, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.137

Perovskite-structured CaTiO₃ coupled with g-C₃N₄ as a heterojunction photocatalyst for organic pollutant degradation

• Ashish Kumar,
• Christian Schuerings,
• Suneel Kumar,
• Ajay Kumar and
• Venkata Krishnan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 671–685, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.62

• methylene blue (MB) and thiabendazole (TBZ) under visible light irradiation. Another attractive strategy for enhancement of photocatalytic performance is the coupling of a wide band gap material with a low band gap material, which allows the charge transfer via suitably arranged band edge positions in both

Optimisation of purification techniques for the preparation of large-volume aqueous solar nanoparticle inks for organic photovoltaics

• Furqan Almyahi,
• Thomas R. Andersen,
• Nathan A. Cooling,
• Natalie P. Holmes,
• Matthew J. Griffith,
• Krishna Feron,
• Xiaojing Zhou,
• Warwick J. Belcher and
• Paul C. Dastoor

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 649–659, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.60

• determined for both ultrafiltration processes by a UV–vis spectrophotometric method as shown in Figure 2. Figure 2A shows the absorbance values of methylene blue (MB) at 664 nm for the filtrates of ASNP inks that were purified by the centrifugal and the crossflow ultrafiltration techniques with dilution

• ultraviolet–visible absorption spectrophotometer (UV–vis, Varian Cary 6000i) was used to determine the free SDS concentration. This method works by measuring the absorption of methylene blue (MB) and monitoring its reduced absorption after forming a complex with free SDS [29]. Measurements were conducted on

Facile synthesis of ZnFe₂O₄ photocatalysts for decolourization of organic dyes under solar irradiation

• Arjun Behera,
• Debasmita Kandi,
• Sanjit Manohar Majhi,
• Satyabadi Martha and
• Kulamani Parida

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 436–446, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.42

• the organic dyes (i.e., Congo red, Rh B, malachite green methylene blue) to CO2, H2O and the corresponding mineral acids [19][24]. Movahedi et al. have prepared ZnFe2O4 through precipitation tested the photocatalytic activity of ZnFe2O4 in the degradation of 5 ppm Congo red obtaining 64% degradation

Hyperthermic intracavitary nanoaerosol therapy (HINAT) as an improved approach for pressurised intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC): Technical description, experimental validation and first proof of concept

• Daniel Göhler,
• Stephan Große,
• Alexander Bellendorf,
• Thomas Albert Falkenstein,
• Mehdi Ouaissi,
• Jürgen Zieren,
• Michael Stintz and
• Urs Giger-Pabst

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2729–2740, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.272

• intra-abdominal temperature by means of a temperature/humidity probe (XA Lufft; Lufft Mess- und Regeltechnik GmbH, Fellbach, Germany). In order to visualise the droplet deposition, HINAT-LAU was operated with an undiluted aqueous methylene blue solution (Toluidinblau; Dr. Franz Köhler Chemie GmbH

• , Bensheim, Germany) at 3 bar system pressure based on pressurized carbon dioxide. The aqueous methylene blue solution was heated by a thermostat to reach an aerosol temperature of 41 °C. Aerosol charging was performed extracavitary as well as intracavitary by operating a brush electrode (IonwandTM, Alesi

• charging. As expected, the even more homogeneously deposited ultrafine droplets of the extracavitary-charged HINAT-LAU aerosol showed neither a local methylene blue staining nor a visible staining of the whole peritoneum. In the case of intracavitary aerosol change, which goes along with an increased

L-Lysine-grafted graphene oxide as an effective adsorbent for the removal of methylene blue and metal ions

• Yan Yan,
• Jie Li,
• Fangbei Kong,
• Kuankuan Jia,
• Shiyu He and
• Baorong Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2680–2688, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.268

• properties of Lys-GO were characterized using infrared spectrometry, scanning electronic microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The as-prepared Lys-GO material was systematically investigated in a series of batch adsorption experiments for the removal of methylene blue (MB) and copper ions (Cu2

• promising adsorption material for the removal of environmental pollutants. Keywords: adsorption; copper (Cu) ions; graphene; isotherms; methylene blue; Introduction Graphene is a two-dimensional carbon material with honeycomb network and sp2 hybridization. Recently, graphene-based materials have drawn

• -GO. GO is an acidic material, and the basic L-lysine can adjust the acid–base properties of GO. Lys-GO showed excellent adsorption capability for the removal of methylene blue (MB) and Cu2+ from simulated wastewater. Results and Discussion Characterization of the Lys-GO hybrid Firstly, the obtained

Fabrication of carbon nanospheres by the pyrolysis of polyacrylonitrile–poly(methyl methacrylate) core–shell composite nanoparticles

• Dafu Wei,
• Youwei Zhang and
• Jinping Fu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1897–1908, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.190

• /g were obtained from the PAN–PMMA nanoparticles synthesized at an FVR of 1.6. The carbon nanospheres exhibited a large adsorption capacity of 190.0 mg/g for methylene blue, thus making them excellent adsorbents for the removal of organic pollutants from water. Keywords: carbon nanospheres; core

• exhibit a high BET specific surface area of 612.8 m2/g and a large adsorption capacity of 190.0 mg/g for methylene blue, thus making them excellent adsorbents for the removal of organic pollutants from water. Experimental Materials Acrylonitrile (AN) was distilled before use to remove the inhibitor

• . Methyl methacrylate (MMA) was distilled at a reduced pressure before use to remove the inhibitor. Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and methylene blue (MB) were used without further purification. 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) was used as the initiator and purified via recrystallization in methanol

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

Enhanced catalytic activity without the use of an external light source using microwave-synthesized CuO nanopetals

• Govinda Lakhotiya,
• Sonal Bajaj,
• Arpan Kumar Nayak,
• Debabrata Pradhan,
• Pradip Tekade and
• Abhimanyu Rana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1167–1173, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.118

• also under dark conditions for the degradation of the hazardous dye methylene blue. The CuO nanopetals showed significant catalytic activity for the fast degradation of methylene blue and rhodamine B (RhB) under dark conditions, without the application of an external light source. This increased

• catalytic activity was attributed to the co-operative role of H2O2 and the large specific surface area (≈40 m2·g−1) of the nanopetals. We propose a detail mechanism for this fast degradation. A separate study of the effect of different H2O2 concentrations for the degradation of methylene blue under dark

• application of an external light source and also under dark conditions for the degradation of hazardous dyes such as methylene blue and rhodamine B. We report enhanced catalytic activity of the synthesized CuO nanopetals, even without the use of an external light source (UV/visible light) for the degradation

ZnO nanoparticles sensitized by CuInZn_xS_2+x quantum dots as highly efficient solar light driven photocatalysts

• Florian Donat,
• Serge Corbel,
• Halima Alem,
• Steve Pontvianne,
• Lavinia Balan,
• Ghouti Medjahdi and
• Raphaël Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1080–1093, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.110

• both under solar and visible light illumination (light intensity = 5 mW/cm2) of all the ZnO/ZCIS composites prepared, we selected Orange II dye as a model contaminant because this dye is not a photosensitizer (in contrast to Methylene Blue or Rhodamine which promote photocatalytic degradation). Prior

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

• decomposition of methylene blue (MB) [127], for the catalytic decomposition of aqueous organics [128], for carbon dioxide adsorption [129], for ORR [130], for enhancing electrochemical performance for supercapacitors [131][132][133], and for catalytic oxidation and adsorption of elementary mercury [134]. Bag et

Photocatalysis applications of some hybrid polymeric composites incorporating TiO₂ nanoparticles and their combinations with SiO₂/Fe₂O₃

• Andreea Laura Chibac,
• Tinca Buruiana,
• Violeta Melinte and
• Emil C. Buruiana

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 272–286, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.30

• hybrid polymeric films in the degradation of other pollutants such as dyes (methylene blue, methyl orange, nile red) in a fashion similar to the above molecules should be tested. Conclusion Polymeric composites containing TiO2 NPs, pure or combined with Si–O–Si linkages and/or Fe2O3 NPs were prepared via