Low-temperature synthesis of carbon nanotubes on indium tin oxide electrodes for organic solar cells

• Andrea Capasso,
• Luigi Salamandra,
• Aldo Di Carlo,
• John M. Bell and
• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 524–532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.60

• defective and residual allotropes of carbon, such as diamond-like and amorphous carbon, are found around the nanotube walls (confirmed also by Raman spectroscopy, not shown). In our context, the presence of defects in the tubular structure could be an advantage in terms of conductivity, because it can

• thin film of Fe catalyst on ITO-coated glass. By investigating the effect of the growth temperature on the nanotube yield and on the ITO layer, we have selected the optimal CVD conditions for the use of such substrates as anodes for P3HT:PCBM solar cells. These process conditions address three of the

• nanotube density obtained with an ultrathin (2 nm) layer of catalyst; and (iii) the occurrence of short circuits with the counter electrode is limited by the short length of the CNTs. By using this set of parameters, we built a 3D nanostructured electrode that improved the performance of the cell both in

Conducting composite materials from the biopolymer kappa-carrageenan and carbon nanotubes

• Ali Aldalbahi,
• Jin Chu,
• Peter Feng and
• Marc in het Panhuis

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 415–427, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.48

• these CNT networks are contingent on the CNT/dispersant ratio. Increasing the nanotube concentration usually leads to an increase in the electrical conductivity and to mechanical reinforcement [31][32]. Vacuum filtration of dispersions usually results in films, which are generally referred to as

• film prepared by the evaporative-casting method decreased from 7.4 S/cm to 2.9 S/cm through the addition of glycerin. This lowering of the conductivity suggests that glycerin may affect the number of conducting pathways or junctions in the nanotube network. Mechanical properties of films The mechanical

Structural, electronic and photovoltaic characterization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes grown directly on stainless steel

• Luca Camilli,
• Manuela Scarselli,
• Silvano Del Gobbo,
• Paola Castrucci,
• Eric Gautron and
• Maurizio De Crescenzi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 360–367, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.42

• , dependent on the number of walls in the nanotube structure [14]. Figure 7 shows a 10 × 10 μm2 atomic force microscopy (AFM) image of the as-exfoliated HOPG sample used for spectroscopic characterization. Figure 8 shows the scheme of the two different architectures used to build and test the photovoltaic

Modeling noncontact atomic force microscopy resolution on corrugated surfaces

• Kristen M. Burson,
• Mahito Yamamoto and
• William G. Cullen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 230–237, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.26

• ], and its anomalous frictional behavior [16]. Beyond graphene, the use of SiO2 is commonplace as a substrate in electronic-device research (carbon-nanotube devices, organic electronics, etc.). While one may readily obtain atomic resolution on certain flat surfaces, such as the well-studied (7 × 7

Current-induced forces in mesoscopic systems: A scattering-matrix approach

• Niels Bode,
• Silvia Viola Kusminskiy,
• Reinhold Egger and
• Felix von Oppen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 144–162, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.15

• model can be seen to be inspired by a double dot on a suspended carbon nanotube, or an H2 molecule in a break junction. The model is depicted schematically in Figure 2. The bare dot Hamiltonian corresponds to degenerate electronic states ε0, localized on the left and right atoms or quantum dots, with

Surface functionalization of aluminosilicate nanotubes with organic molecules

• Wei Ma,
• Weng On Yah,
• Hideyuki Otsuka and
• Atsushi Takahara

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 82–100, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.10

• great research interest due to their one-dimensional structure and reactive surfaces. In this review paper, recent developments in surface functionalization of an aluminosilicate nanotube, “imogolite”, are introduced. The functionalization processes are based on the robust affinity between phosphate

• groups of organic molecules and the aluminol (AlOH) surface of imogolite nanotubes. An aqueous modification process employing a water soluble ammonium salt of alkyl phosphate led to chemisorption of molecules on imogolite at the nanotube level. Polymer-chain-grafted imogolite nanotubes were prepared

• through surface-initiated polymerization. In addition, the assembly of conjugated molecules, 2-(5’’-hexyl-2,2’:5’,2’’-terthiophen-5-yl)ethylphosphonic acid (HT3P) and 2-(5’’-hexyl-2,2’:5’,2’’-terthiophen-5-yl)ethylphosphonic acid 1,1-dioxide (HT3OP), on the imogolite nanotube surface was achieved by

Self-assembled monolayers and titanium dioxide: From surface patterning to potential applications

• Yaron Paz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 845–861, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.94

• anodization of titanium in HF. Here, SAMs of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl-triethoxysilane were chemisorbed on selected areas in the nanotube array and served to selectively protect the nanotubes upon immersion in HF [84]. Electron transfer in SAMs connected to TiO2 Electron transfer through SAMs has been

Current-induced dynamics in carbon atomic contacts

• Jing-Tao Lü,
• Tue Gunst,
• Per Hedegård and
• Mads Brandbyge

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 814–823, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.90

• show how the current-induced effects could be investigated in molecular contacts connecting gated graphene or nanotube electrodes. Graphene is now being explored very extensively due to its outstanding electrical and thermal transport properties [10][11][12]. Besides being highly important in their own

• right, carbon nanotube- or graphene-based nanostructures may offer an interesting test bed for studies of current-induced effects at the atomic scale. For such systems, experiments with atomic resolution, employing for instance state-of-the-art electron microscopes, can be performed in the presence of

Approaches to nanostructure control and functionalizations of polymer@silica hybrid nanograss generated by biomimetic silica mineralization on a self-assembled polyamine layer

• Jian-Jun Yuan and
• Ren-Hua Jin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 760–773, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.84

• elemental nanoribbons (Figure 2c). A similar surface pattern has been observed for a carbon nanotube (CNT) film that was prepared by first depositing a CNT array on a silicon wafer and then performing PSS wrapping in water [35]. The formation of this CNT pyramidlike pattern was induced by the capillarity

Generation and agglomeration behaviour of size-selected sub-nm iron clusters as catalysts for the growth of carbon nanotubes

• Ravi Joshi,
• Benjamin Waldschmidt,
• Jörg Engstler,
• Rolf Schäfer and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 734–739, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.80

• into [Al@SiOx] surfaces at a low surface coverage corresponding to a few thousandths up to a few hundredths of a monolayer in order to avoid initial cluster agglomeration. These studies are aimed towards gaining an insight into the lower limit of the size regime of carbon nanotube (CNT) growth by

How to remove the influence of trace water from the absorption spectra of SWNTs dispersed in ionic liquids

• Juan Yang,
• Daqi Zhang and
• Yan Li

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 653–658, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.69

• where the water peaks lie. The well-resolved electronic absorption bands of SWNTs demonstrate good dispersion of nanotubes in this IL. The intensity of the water band at 1405 nm is even higher than that of the nanotube absorption bands, so the deconvolution of the two broad bands close to 1400 nm with

• respect to semiconducting nanotube chiralities will be affected significantly by this intense water band. In order to remove this effect as well as to quantify the amount of water taken up by the untreated sample, a spectral subtraction method was utilized. To obtain the best fit with the spectrum of the

• as the deconvoluted individual peaks corresponding to different chiralities of the semiconducting nanotubes, as indicated in the figure. Compared to surfactant SDS-dispersed HiPco SWNTs [23], an average of 30 meV red-shift in energy is observed in the semiconducting nanotube E11 region and this can

Dynamics of capillary infiltration of liquids into a highly aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube film

• Sławomir Boncel,
• Krzysztof Z. Walczak and
• Krzysztof K. K. Koziol

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 311–317, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.36

• , Cambridge CB2 3QZ, United Kingdom 10.3762/bjnano.2.36 Abstract The physical compatibility of a highly aligned carbon nanotube (HACNT) film with liquids was established using a fast and convenient experimental protocol. Two parameters were found to be decisive for the infiltration process. For a given

• density of nanotube packing, the thermodynamics of the infiltration process (wettability) were described by the contact angle between the nanotube wall and a liquid meniscus (θ). Once the wettability criterion (θ < 90°) was met, the HACNT film (of free volume equal to 91%) was penetrated gradually by the

• ; Introduction Wettability of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and highly aligned carbon nanotube (HACNT) films is an important aspect in numerous technologies including manufacture of composites [1], fabrication of constantly/interchangeably hydrophobic or hydrophilic materials [2][3], nanofluidic devices [4] or sponges

Studies towards synthesis, evolution and alignment characteristics of dense, millimeter long multiwalled carbon nanotube arrays

• Pitamber Mahanandia,
• Jörg J. Schneider,
• Martin Engel,
• Bernd Stühn,
• Somanahalli V. Subramanyam and
• Karuna Kar Nanda

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 293–301, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.34

Room temperature synthesis of indium tin oxide nanotubes with high precision wall thickness by electroless deposition

• Mario Boehme,
• Emanuel Ionescu,
• Ganhua Fu and
• Wolfgang Ensinger

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 119–126, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.14

• – with the removed template surface deposit sticking to the adhesive. As shown in Figure 1a the removed ITO layer from the template surface mostly contains round “nicks” following breaking up the nanotube/surface assembly and leaving the nanotubes in the template. In this work, both sides were removed

Manipulation of gold colloidal nanoparticles with atomic force microscopy in dynamic mode: influence of particle–substrate chemistry and morphology, and of operating conditions

• Samer Darwich,
• Karine Mougin,
• Akshata Rao,
• Enrico Gnecco,
• Shrisudersan Jayaraman and
• Hamidou Haidara

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 85–98, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.10

• , M.C. Strus et al. have manipulated carbon nanotubes and estimated the flexural strain energy distributions and static frictional force between a carbon nanotube and a SiO2 surface [16]. Nanometer scale antimony particles have been manipulated on an atomically flat graphite surface by atomic force

Single-pass Kelvin force microscopy and dC/dZ measurements in the intermittent contact: applications to polymer materials

• Sergei Magonov and
• John Alexander

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2011, 2, 15–27, doi:10.3762/bjnano.2.2

• diameter. The same width was 4–5 nm on imaging with a carbon nanotube probe due to its high aspect ratio. In compositional mapping, the visualization of individual components is more important than obtaining the correct values of local mechanical or electrical properties. Therefore, the spatial resolution

Electrochemical behavior of dye-linked L-proline dehydrogenase on glassy carbon electrodes modified by multi-walled carbon nanotubes

• Haitao Zheng,
• Leyi Lin,
• Yosuke Okezaki,
• Ryushi Kawakami,
• Haruhiko Sakuraba,
• Toshihisa Ohshima,
• Keiichi Takagi and
• Shin-ichiro Suye

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 135–141, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.16

• pair of redox peaks that resulted from the oxygen-containing functional groups on the nanotube surface. A recombinant thermostable dye-linked L-proline dehydrogenase (L-proDH) from hyperthermophilic archaeon (Thermococcus profundus) was further immobilized by physical adsorption. The modified electrode

• typical Michaelis–Menten catalytic response with lower apparent constant. Keywords: dye-linked L-proline dehydrogenase; electrocatalysis; electron transfer; multi-walled carbon nanotube; Introduction As an essential amino acid for the proper functioning of tendons and joints in the human body, the quick

• oxygen-containing functional groups on nanotube surface [31]. In the IR spectrum of the MWCNTs sample shown in Figure 4, the adsorption peaks at 1740 cm−1 and 1075 cm−1 are due to a carbonyl group and C–O bond, respectively. This also indicates the existence of oxygen-containing groups on nanotube

Low-temperature solution growth of ZnO nanotube arrays

• Ki-Woong Chae,
• Qifeng Zhang,
• Jeong Seog Kim,
• Yoon-Ha Jeong and
• Guozhong Cao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2010, 1, 128–134, doi:10.3762/bjnano.1.15

• National Center for Nanomaterials Technology, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, South Korea 10.3762/bjnano.1.15 Abstract Single crystal ZnO nanotube arrays were synthesized at low temperature in an aqueous solution containing zinc nitrate and hexamethylenetetramine. It was found that

• , the growth of the (001) plane of ZnO nanorods was limited and only occurred at the edge of the nanorods, eventually leading to the formation of a nanotube shape. In addition, it was demonstrated that the pH might impact the surface energy difference between the polar and non-polar faces of the ZnO

• -shaped ZnO structure is very sensitive to the growth conditions and it appears to be difficult to get reproducible results. It was also reported that ZnO nanotube arrays were grown on zinc foils via a hydrothermal process, attributed to the gradient in the concentrations of zinc precursors from Zn foil