Single-crystalline FeCo nanoparticle-filled carbon nanotubes: synthesis, structural characterization and magnetic properties

• Rasha Ghunaim,
• Maik Scholz,
• Christine Damm,
• Bernd Rellinghaus,
• Rüdiger Klingeler,
• Bernd Büchner,
• Michael Mertig and
• Silke Hampel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1024–1034, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.95

• nanomaterials. At the same time, this ratio constitutes a major challenge, as a large surface area can trigger rapid oxidation, especially in metallic nanoscale objects [5]. The possibility to fabricate nanomaterials and nanocomposites opens the door to numerous applications in multidisciplinary fields, such as

• via capillary force [38][39][40]. Due to the attractive properties of Fe–Co nanoparticles, this work is directed towards the synthesis of CNT-based nanocomposites of Fe–Co based on a post-synthesis method, in which prefabricated multiwalled CNTs (MWCNTs) are used as templates. Two facile filling

Nanoscale mapping of dielectric properties based on surface adhesion force measurements

• Ying Wang,
• Yue Shen,
• Xingya Wang,
• Zhiwei Shen,
• Bin Li,
• Jun Hu and
• Yi Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 900–906, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.84

• : adhesion; atomic force microscopy (AFM); graphene oxide (GO); nanoscale dielectric properties; reduced graphene oxide (RGO); Introduction The local dielectric distribution is a key factor that influences the physical properties and functionalities of various materials such as polymer nanocomposites [1][2

Facile synthesis of a ZnO–BiOI p–n nano-heterojunction with excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity

• Mengyuan Zhang,
• Jiaqian Qin,
• Pengfei Yu,
• Bing Zhang,
• Mingzhen Ma,
• Xinyu Zhang and
• Riping Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 789–800, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.72

• Zn/Bi, the morphology varies from nanoplates, flowers to nanoparticles. The heterojunction formed between ZnO and BiOI decreases the recombination rate of photogenerated carriers and enhances the photocatalytic activity of ZnO/BiOI composites. The obtained ZnO/BiOI heterostructured nanocomposites

• indicated that the ZnO/BiOI heterostructured nanocomposites not only exhibit remarkably enhanced and sustainable photocatalytic activity, but also show good recyclability. The excellent photocatalytic activity could be attributed to the high separation efficiency of the photoinduced electron–hole pairs as

• NH4HCO3 can homogenize the constituent in a relatively smaller range of pH. By tuning the ratio of Zn/Bi, the morphology, which also plays a vital role in photocatalytic dye degradation, varied from nanoplates, to flowers to nanoparticles. The obtained ZnO/BiOI heterostructured nanocomposites showed a

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

• heterojunctions are of great interest in the photocatalysis domain for achieving environmental sustainability [10][11]. These nanocomposites are known for their greater photogenerated electron–hole mobility across the heterojunction interface, which reduces the distance and time of charge transport to impede

• 2D–2D nanocomposites could effectively improve the specific surface area and provide abundant reaction sites to adsorb reactant species on their surface, which can significantly enhance the photocatalytic activity [15][16]. Recently, graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4), which is a metal-free polymeric

Facile phase transfer of gold nanorods and nanospheres stabilized with block copolymers

• Yaroslav I. Derikov,
• Georgiy A. Shandryuk,
• Raisa V. Talroze,
• Alexander A. Ezhov and
• Yaroslav V. Kudryavtsev

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 616–627, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.58

• toluene. Thermostability is known to be one of the critical issues for gold-containing nanocomposites. As reported in [53], polyvinylpyrrolidone-stabilized Au nanorods of 73 ± 4 nm length and 3.3 ± 0.3 aspect ratio are gradually transformed into spheres in the temperature range of 100–250 °C. At 150 °C

Anchoring Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles in a reduced graphene oxide aerogel matrix via polydopamine coating

• Błażej Scheibe,
• Radosław Mrówczyński,
• Natalia Michalak,
• Karol Załęski,
• Michał Matczak,
• Mateusz Kempiński,
• Zuzanna Pietralik,
• Mikołaj Lewandowski,
• Stefan Jurga and
• Feliks Stobiecki

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 591–601, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.55

• linked covalently [40]. Recently, scientific attention was turned to PDA nanocomposites, including those with GO and magnetite [41]. However, there are no reports related to the formation of hybrid aerogels based on the aforementioned compounds. In this work, GO-based aerogels with embedded PDA-coated

Ultralight super-hydrophobic carbon aerogels based on cellulose nanofibers/poly(vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide (CNFs/PVA/GO) for highly effective oil–water separation

• Zhaoyang Xu,
• Huan Zhou,
• Sicong Tan,
• Xiangdong Jiang,
• Weibing Wu,
• Jiangtao Shi and
• Peng Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 508–519, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.49

• ]. Therefore, CNFs can potentially be an excellent nanofiber for high-performance polymer nanocomposites, thereby presenting unprecedented opportunities for the development of durable engineering materials from a renewable resource for structural, consumer, and medical applications [11][12]. There is a long

Engineering of oriented carbon nanotubes in composite materials

• Razieh Beigmoradi,
• Abdolreza Samimi and
• Davod Mohebbi-Kalhori

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 415–435, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.41

• results of these studies and similar reports indicate that methods by which the arrangement of CNTs can be controlled and adjusted are of great importance. In fact, if nanocomposites with an adjusted arrangement and desired distribution of CNTs could be produced, then our expectations about the properties

• of CNT nanocomposites could be fulfilled [14][27][28][29][30]. In terms of processing techniques, the arrangement and alignment of CNTs in a matrix of composite materials are divided in two categories. In the first category alignment is arranged during growth, where the regular placement of catalyst

• viscosity of the fluid are two important factors affecting the final result of deposition on the substrate. In Figure 6a, a schematic of a designed tool for this purpose is shown [42]. Carbon nanotube/fibrous composites Over the last century, fibrous structure nanocomposites have been extensively considered

Design of polar self-assembling lactic acid derivatives possessing submicrometre helical pitch

• Alexej Bubnov,
• Cyril Vacek,
• Michał Czerwiński,
• Terezia Vojtylová,
• Wiktor Piecek and
• Věra Hamplová

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 333–341, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.33

• mixtures or LC nanocomposites. Chiral self-assembling materials possessing smectic phases with ferroelectric properties on the nanoscale, specifically the lactic acid derivatives [9][10][11][12][13][14][15], attract considerable attention [16][17][18][19]. There are several considerable advantages of the

Synthesis and characterization of electrospun molybdenum dioxide–carbon nanofibers as sulfur matrix additives for rechargeable lithium–sulfur battery applications

• Ruiyuan Zhuang,
• Shanshan Yao,
• Maoxiang Jing,
• Xiangqian Shen,
• Jun Xiang,
• Tianbao Li,
• Kesong Xiao and
• Shibiao Qin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 262–270, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.28

• (1D) MoO2–CNFs nanocomposites, especially with secondary MoO2 nanostructures, are difficult to achieve due to lack of appropriate and generalized synthetic methodologies. Recently, hierarchical MoO2/C microspheres and hierarchical MoO2/Mo2C/C hybrid nanowires were fabricated using organic–inorganic

Bombyx mori silk/titania/gold hybrid materials for photocatalytic water splitting: combining renewable raw materials with clean fuels

• Stefanie Krüger,
• Michael Schwarze,
• Otto Baumann,
• Christina Günter,
• Michael Bruns,
• Christian Kübel,
• Dorothée Vinga Szabó,
• Rafael Meinusch,
• Verónica de Zea Bermudez and
• Andreas Taubert

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 187–204, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.21

• ][15]) TiO2-based water splitting catalysts are among the most popular materials for visible light water splitting [16][17][18][19][20]. Among these, TiO2/Au nanocomposites have attracted special interest because of their synergistic mode of action between the Au nanoparticle (AuNP) plasmons and the

Electron-driven and thermal chemistry during water-assisted purification of platinum nanomaterials generated by electron beam induced deposition

• Ziyan Warneke,
• Markus Rohdenburg,
• Jonas Warneke,
• Janina Kopyra and
• Petra Swiderek

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 77–90, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.10

• MeCpPtMe3 have a nanogranular structure, i.e., they consist of nanoscale Pt particles embedded in a carbonaceous matrix [12]. While FEBID-based PtC metal-matrix nanocomposites can serve, for instance, as transducing elements for humidity sensing [13], other applications call for high electrical conductivity

Magnetic field induced orientational transitions in liquid crystals doped with carbon nanotubes

• Danil A. Petrov,
• Pavel K. Skokov and
• Alexander N. Zakhlevnykh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2807–2817, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.280

• shape (aspect ratios of 102 to 103) and anomalously high anisotropy of the diamagnetic susceptibility ( ≈ 10−5 to 10−4) [8][9][10][11], CNTs are very attractive for the creation of nanocomposites based on LCs with high magneto-orientational response. From experimental data [12][13][14][15][16], it is

Material discrimination and mixture ratio estimation in nanocomposites via harmonic atomic force microscopy

• Weijie Zhang,
• Yuhang Chen,
• Xicheng Xia and
• Jiaru Chu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2771–2780, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.276

• materials and to estimate the mixture ratio of the constituent components in nanocomposites. The major influencing factors, namely amplitude feedback set-point, drive frequency and laser spot position along the cantilever beam, were systematically investigated. Employing different set-points induces

• applications in various fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Keywords: atomic force microscopy; harmonic imaging; material discrimination; mixture ratio; nanocomposites; Introduction Because of its extreme importance and widespread applications, nanocomposites have received more and more attention [1

• ]. Nanocomposites are usually composed of a bulk matrix and some nanofillers. The fillers can be nanoparticles (NPs), nanotubes, nanorods, nanosheets and so on. The physical and chemical properties of nanocomposites will often differ from their component materials and show remarkable added functionalities [2]. The

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

• and erratic, their related trends regarding Cu/Al2O3 nanocomposites at the nanoscale may be obtained. Experimental The investigated copper-based nanocomposite was produced by powder metallurgy technology and contained approximately 4.7 wt % of nanometer-sized Al2O3 particles (the average diameter was

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

• generic procedure to realize highly tunable and designable optical properties of thin films containing transition-metal nitride nanocrystals. Keywords: nanocomposites; multilayers; refractory plasmonics; self-assembly; Ta2N3 nanoparticles; Introduction Metallic nanoparticles (NPs) can confine visible

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

• -temperature synthesis (RC-SHS) method was developed for the in situ controlled synthesis of novel, high activity TiB2/(TiB2–TiN) hierarchical/heterostructured nanocomposites using TiO2, Mg, B2O3, KBH4 and NH4NO3 as raw materials. The as-synthesized samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD

• ), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), transition electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED). The obtained TiB2/TiN hierarchical/heterostructured nanocomposites demonstrated an average particle size of 100

• the proposed growth mechanism of the TiB2/(TiB2–TiN) hierarchical/heterostructured nanocomposites were further discussed. Keywords: chemical activity; hierarchical/heterostructures; self-propagating high-temperature synthesis; TiB2; TiN; Introduction Refractory materials such as borides, nitrides

High-stress study of bioinspired multifunctional PEDOT:PSS/nanoclay nanocomposites using AFM, SEM and numerical simulation

• Alfredo J. Diaz,
• Hanaul Noh,
• Tobias Meier and
• Santiago D. Solares

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2069–2082, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.207

• Alfredo J. Diaz Hanaul Noh Tobias Meier Santiago D. Solares Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, United States 10.3762/bjnano.8.207 Abstract Bioinspired design has been central in the development of hierarchical nanocomposites

• the AFM probe diameter. No pressure-induced changes in conductivity were observed in the clay-free polymer either. Keywords: biomimetics; conductive AFM; conductive nanocomposites; contact-resonance force microscopy; multifrequency AFM; transparent coatings; Introduction Bioinspired material designs

• structure [9][10]. Although the mechanical properties of the nanoclay/polymer nanocomposites have not matched those of nacre [8], other interesting properties have been reported besides being lightweight and potentially transparent [11]. Gas permeability experiments have shown that the brick-and-mortar

Preparation and characterization of polycarbonate/multiwalled carbon nanotube nanocomposites

• Claudio Larosa,
• Niranjan Patra,
• Marco Salerno,
• Lara Mikac,
• Remo Merijs Meri and
• Mile Ivanda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2026–2031, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.203

• of MWCNTs on the structure and properties of the composites. The nanocomposites were characterized by DSC, DTA, TGA, UV–vis, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy to evaluate the changes induced by the filler in the polymer matrix. UV–vis, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy measurements confirmed the presence of the

• dispersed phase in the composite films, while TGA and DSC analysis of the nanocomposites revealed enhanced thermal stability and decreased crystallinity, respectively, as compared to the neat polymer. The proposed composites can find application in a number of everyday products where polycarbonate is the

• base polymer. Keywords: multiwalled carbon nanotubes; nanocomposites; polycarbonate; thermal analysis; vibrational spectroscopy; Introduction Polycarbonate (PC) is a polymer with remarkable mechanical and optical properties, broadly used for water bottles, monitor screens and aircraft interiors but

Functional materials for environmental sensors and energy systems

• Michele Penza,
• Anita Lloyd Spetz,
• Albert Romano-Rodriguez and
• Meyya Meyyappan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2015–2016, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.201

• scientific community, policy makers and social networks. The topics of this Thematic Series, based on 23 peer-reviewed articles, includes works on advanced gas sensing semiconducting materials, hybrid materials and nanocomposites for chemical sensing, catalytic sensing materials, metal oxides for chemical

Freestanding graphene/MnO₂ cathodes for Li-ion batteries

• Şeyma Özcan,
• Aslıhan Güler,
• Tugrul Cetinkaya,
• Mehmet O. Guler and
• Hatem Akbulut

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1932–1938, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.193

• microwave hydrothermal synthesis, and graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets were prepared by oxidation of graphite using a modified Hummers’ method. Freestanding graphene/MnO2 cathodes were manufactured through a vacuum filtration process. The structure of the graphene/MnO2 nanocomposites was characterized using X

• diameter with very thin nanoneedles. The structure of graphene/MnO2 nanocomposites was also investigated. It can be seen from Figure 1d,e that α-MnO2 nanowires and β-MnO2 nanorods were homogeneously distributed on the surface and between the layers of graphene. Moreover, it also indicates that the urchin

Enhancement of mechanical and electrical properties of continuous-fiber-reinforced epoxy composites with stacked graphene

• Naum Naveh,
• Olga Shepelev and
• Samuel Kenig

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1909–1918, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.191

• , thus contributing to the mechanical properties and percolation threshold reduction of conductive polymer/graphite nanocomposites [11][12]. Graphite intercalation compounds (GIC) may provide a plausible high-yield source for polymer nanocomposites [8]. However, most of the methods described in the

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

• –shell nanoparticles; emulsion polymerization; polyacrylonitrile; Introduction Due to their high specific surface area, chemical inertness, good mechanical stability and unique electrical properties, carbon nanospheres have numerous potential applications in nanocomposites [1], gas storage [2], lithium

• nanomaterials, such as rattle-type magnetic carbon nanospheres (45.15 mg/g) [49], magnetic oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotube- κ-carrageenan-Fe3O4 nanocomposites (46.36 mg/g) [51], graphene (185.00 mg/g) [52], γ-Fe2O3 nanocrystal-anchored macro/mesoporous graphene (216.3 mg/g) [53], Fe3O4-graphene@mesoporous

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

• way by using two of the most abundant natural resources, namely sunlight and water. Over the past few years, carbon-based nanocomposites, particularly graphene and graphitic carbon nitride, have attracted much attention as interesting materials in this field. Due to their unique chemical and physical

• properties, carbon-based nanocomposites have made a substantial contribution towards the generation of clean, renewable and viable forms of energy from light-based water splitting and pollutant removal. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of the recent research progress in the field of

• energy generation and environmental remediation using two-dimensional carbon-based nanocomposites. It begins with a brief introduction to the field, basic principles of photocatalytic water splitting for energy generation and environmental remediation, followed by the properties of carbon-based

Low-temperature CO oxidation over Cu/Pt co-doped ZrO₂ nanoparticles synthesized by solution combustion

• Amit Singhania and
• Shipra Mital Gupta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1546–1552, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.156

• reported a high activity of Cu-containing ZrO2-based nanocomposites (T50 = 70 °C) for CO oxidation. So, the combination of Cu, Pt and ZrO2 appears to be very interesting and promising. In literature, different methods have been used for the synthesis of doped ZrO2 nanoparticles. These include sol–gel, ball