Near-field surface plasmon field enhancement induced by rippled surfaces

• Mario D’Acunto,
• Francesco Fuso,
• Ruggero Micheletto,
• Makoto Naruse,
• Francesco Tantussi and
• Maria Allegrini

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 956–967, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.97

• the optical excitation of SPPs, which are ultimately collective optical electromagnetic modes strongly connected to the nanostructure geometry and size [12]. This is because at a metal–dielectric interface, large electric field fluctuations can occur for a plasmon resonance frequency, ωr, that in a

• two-dimensional system corresponds to the condition Re(εm(ωr)) = −εd, where εm(ωr) is the dielectric function of the metal at the resonant frequency and εd is the effective dielectric constant. In a randomly organized nanostructure, collective plasmon oscillations are deeply influenced by the locally

• role, in particular whenever the nanostructure morphology shows anisotropy at the local scale. Polarization can induce strong confinement of plasmons in the resonance region in close correlation with the local surface morphology, characterized by a pattern of hills and valleys. As a consequence, an

Selective detection of Mg²⁺ ions via enhanced fluorescence emission using Au–DNA nanocomposites

• Tanushree Basu,
• Khyati Rana,
• Niranjan Das and
• Bonamali Pal

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 762–771, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.79

• nanostructure. Keywords: Au–DNA nanocomposites; enhanced fluorescence emission; metal-ion detection; Mg2+ ion detection; Introduction The interactions between Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) and DNA are essential to classify and expand upon, given the potential applications for NP–DNA complexes such as gene therapy

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

• having improved photocatalytic properties due to the effective charge anti-recombination of graphene and the high catalytic activity of the facets [88]. An anionic surfactant-mediated growth of the self-assembled TiO2–graphene hybrid nanostructure synthesis was introduced by Wang et al., which shows

• three dimensional (3D) nanostructure was fabricated by Hu et al. with nanometre-sized TiO2 intercalated between graphene layers as pillars which provide a 3D open space with distinct advantages when used as LIB anode materials [96]. (3-Aminopropyl)trithoxysilane was used to functionalise TiO2 NPs, and

• lithium storage upon cycling contribute to an enhanced specific capacity [142]. N-doped MnO–graphene prepared by a simple hydrothermal method followed by a heat treatment under ammonia atmosphere, shows a higher capacity and cycle life due to the unique N-doped nanostructure and the efficient mixing with

Diffusion and surface alloying of gradient nanostructured metals

• Zhenbo Wang and
• Ke Lu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 547–560, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.59

• ; interface; surface alloying; Introduction A gradient nanostructure is a unique architecture in which a layer of nanoscale-grained structure adheres to a ductile coarse-grained (CG) substrate of the same material; a transition layer with graded grain sizes is positioned between them. This architecture with

Self-assembly of silicon nanowires studied by advanced transmission electron microscopy

• Marta Agati,
• Guillaume Amiard,
• Vincent Le Borgne,
• Paola Castrucci,
• Richard Dolbec,
• Maurizio De Crescenzi,
• My Alì El Khakani and
• Simona Boninelli

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 440–445, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.47

• of the sequential steps required to achieve the desired nanostructure and to the scaling up of such procedures. On the other hand, bottom-up approaches, founded on the aggregation of atoms or molecules as elementary components for the synthesis of nanomaterials, seem to be a good strategy to

• fabricate ultra-small structures. This concept encompasses the physics and the chemistry of nanostructure formation via a “self-assembly” route. Such ultra-low dimensional systems require appropriate characterization tools, which may lead to further insight in the comprehension of the dynamics of

• nanostructure formation. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been the principal imaging and analytical technique for the characterization of materials at the nanoscale. Quite recently, subangstrom resolution has been reached in scanning TEM (STEM) mode, thanks also to the improvements in aberration

Fabrication of black-gold coatings by glancing angle deposition with sputtering

• Alan Vitrey,
• Rafael Alvarez,
• Alberto Palmero,
• María Ujué González and
• José Miguel García-Martín

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 434–439, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.46

• point of view, sputtering is the best choice. From the pioneering work of GLAD sputtering [8], the importance of “low-pressure, long-throw” deposition was stated, i.e., a collimated flux of sputtered atoms was needed to obtain nanostructure formation. In the last few years, we have followed a systematic

Role of oxygen in wetting of copper nanoparticles on silicon surfaces at elevated temperature

• Tapas Ghosh and
• Biswarup Satpati

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 425–433, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.45

• nanostructure fabrication have been carried out. CuO is a p-type semiconductor with a band gap of 1.4 eV [1][2]. Higher conductivity has been observed in CuO as compared to Cu2O, although higher carrier mobility has been observed in Cu2O [3]. However, the higher stability of CuO makes it more applicable. In the

• recent years, several CuO nanostructure syntheses and their applications have been reported. Different shaped CuO nanostructures such as nanowires, nanoplatelets, nanorods, and nanoflowers have been employed as the anode material for lithium ion batteries [4][5][6][7], and improved performance has also

Phosphorus-doped silicon nanorod anodes for high power lithium-ion batteries

• Chao Yan,
• Qianru Liu,
• Jianzhi Gao,
• Zhibo Yang and
• Deyan He

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 222–228, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.24

• polarization of the electrode materials, which is a common phenomenon for anode materials of LIBs [16][17]. The improved lithium storage performance can be ascribed to the unique nanostructure of the as-prepared Si anode. The morphology of the prepared Si anode and the precursors were investigated by SEM

Flexible photonic crystal membranes with nanoparticle high refractive index layers

• Torben Karrock,
• Moritz Paulsen and
• Martina Gerken

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 203–209, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.22

• replication of a 400 nm period linear grating nanostructure into a ≈60 µm thick polydimethylsiloxane membrane and subsequent spin coating of a high refractive index titanium dioxide nanoparticle layer. Samples are prepared with different nanoparticle concentrations. Guided-mode resonances with a quality

• ; flexible membrane; nanostructure; photonic crystal; resonance shift; Introduction Photonic crystal slabs (also called resonance waveguide gratings) consist of a guiding layer with high refractive index on a nanostructured substrate. A subwavelength grating gives the incident light a lateral momentum and

• highly flexible photonic crystal slabs by utilizing nanoreplication of a linear grating nanostructure with a period of 400 nm into a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane and subsequent spin coating of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles. Investigations with 300 nm and 500 nm gratings lead to similar

Laser irradiation in water for the novel, scalable synthesis of black TiO_x photocatalyst for environmental remediation

• Massimo Zimbone,
• Giuseppe Cacciato,
• Mohamed Boutinguiza,
• Vittorio Privitera and
• Maria Grazia Grimaldi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 196–202, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.21

• surface morphology, as reported by SEM, reveals that after irradiation, the black surface is uniformly covered by small structures (Figure 2 centre). A high magnification image (Figure 2 right) shows that they consist of cavities and grain boundaries. It is worth noting that the nanostructure of the film

Studying friction while playing the violin: exploring the stick–slip phenomenon

• Santiago Casado

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 159–166, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.16

• range. Therefore, only those topographical structures observed when characterizing regions tens of micrometers wide are directly involved. The nanostructure differences depicted in Figure 4 may also play a role, but likely related to the ability to store rosin particles. Conclusion The ultimate causes

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

• [6][7], the addition of a noble metal [8] or oxide catalysts [9], surface modification [10][11], manipulation of the nanostructure [12], the use of multicomponent (or composite) sensing films [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22], electronic noses, advanced signal processing techniques

A novel electrochemical nanobiosensor for the ultrasensitive and specific detection of femtomolar-level gastric cancer biomarker miRNA-106a

• Maryam Daneshpour,
• Kobra Omidfar and
• Hossein Ghanbarian

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2023–2036, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.193

• , and a silver pseudo-reference electrode. Synthesis and characterization of gold–magnetic NPs Gold–magnetic NPs were synthesized as a three-layer nanostructure (gold@TMC@Fe3O4) according to the protocol described elsewhere [36]. In short, all the components (gold and magnetic NPs, and TMC polymer) were

Effect of Anderson localization on light emission from gold nanoparticle aggregates

• Mohamed H. Abdellatif,
• Marco Salerno,
• Gaser N. Abdelrasoul,
• Ioannis Liakos,
• Alice Scarpellini,
• Sergio Marras and
• Alberto Diaspro

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 2013–2022, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.192

• nanoparticle metal, and εm is the dielectric constant of the medium. However, the plasmon frequency of the arbitrarily shaped particle can be determined by solving the Maxwell equations for any arbitrarily complex nanostructure geometry, as in the case of the AuNP aggregates investigated here. In Figure 1a,b

“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

• wall that is rich in pectins form elastic, gel-like mucilage envelope after hydration [14][17]. Other components of the mucilage envelope such as cellulose fibrils also influence its properties and consequently its function. Seed mucilage possesses a clearly defined nanostructure. Cellulose is a linear

Nanostructured TiO₂-based gas sensors with enhanced sensitivity to reducing gases

• Wojciech Maziarz,
• Anna Kusior and
• Anita Trenczek-Zajac

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1718–1726, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.164

• on the hierarchical TiO2 nanostructure. The response is not only dependent on the type of gas and its concentration but also on the sensor working temperature. The comparison of sensitivity vs working temperature for T30, NS0 and NS1 samples for all investigated gases is shown in Figure 7. For the

Thickness-modulated tungsten–carbon superconducting nanostructures grown by focused ion beam induced deposition for vortex pinning up to high magnetic fields

• Ismael García Serrano,
• Javier Sesé,
• Isabel Guillamón,
• Hermann Suderow,
• Sebastián Vieira,
• Manuel Ricardo Ibarra and
• José María De Teresa

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1698–1708, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.162

• ), our approach permits a superconducting nanostructure to be obtained in a single step with the designed pinning landscape through the thickness modulation. This gives rise to a clean model system for the investigation of the influence of artificial vortex pinning landscapes in the superconducting

• scanned inside the nanostructure and parallel to the sample surface, as shown in Figure 3. The total collected high-angle annular-dark-field (HAADF) intensity, which is higher when heavier elements are present, is periodic, indicating a periodic slight variation of the composition. This is expected due to

Nano- and microstructured materials for in vitro studies of the physiology of vascular cells

• Alexandra M. Greiner,
• Adria Sales,
• Hao Chen,
• Sarah A. Biela,
• Dieter Kaufmann and
• Ralf Kemkemer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1620–1641, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.155

• deposition). Then, a second epoxy block is cured on top of the deposited metal layer and the molding of this second epoxy layer represents the underlying nanostructure. Thus, thin sections (ca. 30 nm) can be obtained by ultramicrotomy, which are then transferred to a silicon substrate used as a master to

• previously found a relation between actin-mediated cell stiffness and nucleus deformation [279]. Conclusion In this review article, we have presented the state of the art of the most commonly used materials and methods to micro- and nanostructure surfaces for vascular cell investigations. Moreover, vascular

Graphene-enhanced plasmonic nanohole arrays for environmental sensing in aqueous samples

• Christa Genslein,
• Peter Hausler,
• Eva-Maria Kirchner,
• Rudolf Bierl,
• Antje J. Baeumner and
• Thomas Hirsch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1564–1573, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.150

• layer as it serves two purposes. On the one hand, it improves the sensing performance as its high surface-to-volume ratio leads to more efficient adsorption of molecules together with local plasmonic enhancement effects [35][36]. Thus, systems consisting of a plasmonic nanostructure and graphene are

Effect of triple junctions on deformation twinning in a nanostructured Cu–Zn alloy: A statistical study using transmission Kikuchi diffraction

• Silu Liu,
• Xiaolong Ma,
• Lingzhen Li,
• Liwen Zhang,
• Patrick W. Trimby,
• Xiaozhou Liao,
• Yusheng Li,
• Yonghao Zhao and
• Yuntian Zhu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1501–1506, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.143

• junctions, the statistical results obtained from this investigation suggest that triple junctions might have promoted the nucleation of deformation twins. Although TKD can only perform post-mortem characterization of nanostructure at this stage, it has the advantage of resolving grain boundaries, triple

Nanostructured germanium deposited on heated substrates with enhanced photoelectric properties

• Ionel Stavarache,
• Valentin Adrian Maraloiu,
• Petronela Prepelita and
• Gheorghe Iordache

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1492–1500, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.142

• [12], the amorphous or crystalline state of the nanostructure [13], the shape of the nanostructure and whether or not it is layered [14]. Taking into account the influence of all these factors, the conduction or light absorption mechanism in the nanostructures appear to be quite complex, and it cannot

• the high-quality material with high crystallinity, a low density of trap centers, and a quick separation of huge amounts of photogenerated carriers by the built-in electric field formed at the SiO2/Ge interface. Conclusion In summary, deposition parameters have been optimized to nanostructure Ge:SiO2

Polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) copolymers as templates for stacked, spherical large-mesopore silica coatings: dependence of silica pore size on the PS/PEO ratio

• Roberto Nisticò,
• Giuliana Magnacca,
• Sushilkumar A. Jadhav and
• Dominique Scalarone

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1454–1460, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.137

• ordered nanoporous network [19]. In order to have the same final porous nanostructure (i.e., stacked spherical pores), the weight ratio between the silica precursor and polymeric soft templates was fixed at 95/5 and 93/7. In fact, as reported by other authors [26][27] and in our previous works [19][25

A composite structure based on reduced graphene oxide and metal oxide nanomaterials for chemical sensors

• Vardan Galstyan,
• Elisabetta Comini,
• Iskandar Kholmanov,
• Andrea Ponzoni,
• Veronica Sberveglieri,
• Nicola Poli,
• Guido Faglia and
• Giorgio Sberveglieri

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1421–1427, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.133

• , Via Valotti 9, 25133 Brescia, Italy Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA 10.3762/bjnano.7.133 Abstract A hybrid nanostructure based on reduced graphene oxide and ZnO has been obtained for the detection of volatile organic compounds. The

• a reversible interaction between the analyte gases and the structure. We compared the sensing performance of the RGO–ZnO hybrid structure with a pristine ZnO nanostructure (Figure 6). The response of the nanohybrid towards both gases is much higher compared to the pristine ZnO. The response values

• potential barrier for electron tunneling acting as a highly conductive electrical path for the transport of electrons through the nanostructure [34]. Therefore, RGO improves the sensing performance of ZnO. Due to this reason, in our future investigations we will study the sensing properties of the composite

In situ characterization of hydrogen absorption in nanoporous palladium produced by dealloying

• Eva-Maria Steyskal,
• Christopher Wiednig,
• Norbert Enzinger and
• Roland Würschum

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1197–1201, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.110

• processes also a resistance contribution by actuation in the nanostructure was discussed. To give a brief outlook, the H absorption behavior of np-Pd should be studied systematically with regards to different master alloy compositions and dealloying parameters. Moreover the experiments might be extended to

Multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids as MRI contrast agents

• Nikodem Kuźnik and
• Mateusz M. Tomczyk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1086–1103, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.102

• onto the nanostructured bodies. However, only the magnetic centers (Gd, Fe, Co, Mn, and other lanthanides) are in fact the "active sites" for relaxation altering, and this assumption is consistent with expressing relaxivity with the use of molarity. Nevertheless, the total mass of the CA nanostructure