Wet chemistry route for the decoration of carbon nanotubes with iron oxide nanoparticles for gas sensing

• Hussam M. Elnabawy,
• Juan Casanova-Chafer,
• Badawi Anis,
• Mostafa Fedawy,
• Mattia Scardamaglia,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Ahmed S. G. Khalil,
• Eduard Llobet and
• Xavier Vilanova

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 105–118, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.10

• chemical environment [2][3][4][5]. CNT gas sensors often exhibit fair sensitivity to gases even when operated at room temperature. Since their electrical conductivity is affected upon the adsorption of gases, their response is often measured as a change in resistance of a CNT film. The fact that CNT gas

• sensors can be intrinsically low-power devices make them very attractive for their integration in ubiquitous, unattended mobile sensing nodes running on small batteries or on energy harvested from their environment [4]. Among the wide range of functionalization strategies that can be envisaged for

• chemical composition of the iron oxide decorated carbon nanotube samples were investigated employing transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The differently decorated CNT samples were used to make gas sensors for detecting nitrogen dioxide. A

Pull-off and friction forces of micropatterned elastomers on soft substrates: the effects of pattern length scale and stiffness

• Peter van Assenbergh,
• Marike Fokker,
• Julian Langowski,
• Jan van Esch,
• Marleen Kamperman and
• Dimitra Dodou

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 79–94, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.8

A comparison of tarsal morphology and traction force in the two burying beetles Nicrophorus nepalensis and Nicrophorus vespilloides (Coleoptera, Silphidae)

• Liesa Schnee,
• Benjamin Sampalla,
• Josef K. Müller and
• Oliver Betz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 47–61, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.5

• resolution of 30 nN. Friction forces were detected by two independent high-resolution capacitive sensors, whereas a piezo actuator provided smooth and steady motion at a slow pace. The actual measuring head consisted of a metal pin, which had an aluminum oxide (Al2O3) surface at its tip (6.3 mm2). All

Bidirectional biomimetic flow sensing with antiparallel and curved artificial hair sensors

• Claudio Abels,
• Antonio Qualtieri,
• Toni Lober,
• Alessandro Mariotti,
• Lily D. Chambers,
• Massimo De Vittorio,
• William M. Megill and
• Francesco Rizzi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 32–46, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.4

• sensor; biomimetics; flow direction; flow sensing; robotics; Introduction Biological lateral line organ Flow sensors in nature often have a morphological polarity, such as the hair cell sensors in the lateral line of fish [1], in jellyfish [2], arthropods [3][4] and crickets [5][6][7][8], as well as the

• hair cells in audition of humans [9]. The lateral line of a fish is an intricate flow sensing network of individual sensors, called neuromasts, which are located on the surface and subsurface on the body of the fish. Over millions of years, two different types of neuromasts have evolved, canal and

• orientation. This is overcome in nature so that an oscillatory flow imposed in addition to a steady flow can be sensed using two sensory cells with opposite excitatory stimulus best directions [16]. The fish lateral line then further deploys these sensors to decouple multiple flow stimuli by using an array of

Zn/F-doped tin oxide nanoparticles synthesized by laser pyrolysis: structural and optical properties

• Florian Dumitrache,
• Iuliana P. Morjan,
• Elena Dutu,
• Ion Morjan,
• Claudiu Teodor Fleaca,
• Monica Scarisoreanu,
• Alina Ilie,
• Marius Dumitru,
• Cristian Mihailescu,
• Adriana Smarandache and
• Gabriel Prodan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 9–21, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.2

• case, the bandgap values decreased with increasing metal dopant content, down to 3.93 eV for 4 atom % Nd [24]. The FTO films were also successfully tested for other applications such as anticorrosive coatings on steel for fuel cell bipolar plates [25], sensors for liquefied petroleum gas [26

• ], photocatalysts for rhodamine 6G dye degradation in aqueous solution [27] and were proposed as a thermal UV sensor for high-radiation environments [4]. Moreover, the ZTO materials were also employed as volatile organic compound (VOC) (such as methanol, ethanol or acetone vapors) sensors [28], as an anode for Li

A new bioinspired method for pressure and flow sensing based on the underwater air-retaining surface of the backswimmer Notonecta

• Matthias Mail,
• Adrian Klein,
• Horst Bleckmann,
• Anke Schmitz,
• Torsten Scherer,
• Peter T. Rühr,
• Goran Lovric,
• Robin Fröhlingsdorf,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Wilhelm Barthlott

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 3039–3047, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.282

• underwater sensors. Experimental Animals Adult Notonecta glauca and N. maculata, caught between 2011 and 2017 in a semi-natural pond (“Melbweiher”) in the Botanical Garden of the University of Bonn, have been studied. For our experiments, the hemelytra of Notonecta were either fresh, fixed for electron

Ternary nanocomposites of reduced graphene oxide, polyaniline and hexaniobate: hierarchical architecture and high polaron formation

• Claudio H. B. Silva,
• Maria Iliut,
• Christopher Muryn,
• Christian Berger,
• Zachary Coldrick,
• Vera R. L. Constantino,
• Marcia L. A. Temperini and
• Aravind Vijayaraghavan

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2936–2946, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.272

• Nanostructured systems, such as nanocomposites, are potential materials for usage as electrochemical (bio)sensors for analytical purposes, electronics, energy storage devices and corrosion protection because the synergistic effects of their components at the nanoscale range may improve physical/chemical

In situ characterization of nanoscale contaminations adsorbed in air using atomic force microscopy

• Jesús S. Lacasa,
• Lisa Almonte and
• Jaime Colchero

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2925–2935, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.271

• -side) silicon probes (Budget Sensors AIOAl-TL) were utilized. All the experiments have been performed at room temperature under ambient conditions. To clean the cantilevers the RCA process has been used [32]. In our experiments the two steps of the process are implemented as follows: The first step

Time-resolved universal temperature measurements using NaYF₄:Er³⁺,Yb³⁺ upconverting nanoparticles in an electrospray jet

• Kristina Shrestha,
• Arwa A. Alaulamie,
• Ali Rafiei Miandashti and
• Hugh H. Richardson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2916–2924, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.270

• , using UCNPs as thermal sensors, is shown in Figure 8. A 980 nm laser is reflected off a dichroic mirror onto the electrospray region (using 50× (NA 0.55) objective) and the sample is illuminated from underneath by white light. The intensity of 980 nm laser is held constant throughout the experiment. A

Graphene-enhanced metal oxide gas sensors at room temperature: a review

• Dongjin Sun,
• Yifan Luo,
• Marc Debliquy and
• Chao Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2832–2844, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.264

• semiconductors (MOS) are widely used as materials for gas sensing. Usually, MOS gas sensors have some common shortages, such as relatively poor selectivity and high operating temperature. Graphene has drawn much attention as a gas sensing material in recent years because it can even work at room temperature

• , which reduces power consumption. However, the low sensitivity and long recovery time of the graphene-based sensors limit its further development. The combination of metal-oxide semiconductors and graphene may significantly improve the sensing performance, especially the selectivity and response/recovery

• rate at room temperature. In this review, we have summarized the latest progress of graphene/metal-oxide gas sensors for the detection of NO2, NH3, CO and some volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at room temperature. Meanwhile, the sensing performance and sensing mechanism of the sensors are discussed

Magnetic and luminescent coordination networks based on imidazolium salts and lanthanides for sensitive ratiometric thermometry

• Pierre Farger,
• Cédric Leuvrey,
• Mathieu Gallart,
• Pierre Gilliot,
• Guillaume Rogez,
• João Rocha,
• Duarte Ananias,
• Pierre Rabu and
• Emilie Delahaye

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2775–2787, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.259

• )pyridine] with Sm = 1.39%·K−1 at 328 K [70] and [(Eu0.231Tb0.769(adipate)0.5(phthalate)(H2O)2] with Sm = 1.21%·K−1 at 303 K [71]. These systems are, thus, appealing for potential application as biological sensors [63][72]. The Tb3+-to-Eu3+ energy transfer plays an important role in the higher sensitivity

Accurate control of the covalent functionalization of single-walled carbon nanotubes for the electro-enzymatically controlled oxidation of biomolecules

• Naoual Allali,
• Veronika Urbanova,
• Mathieu Etienne,
• Xavier Devaux,
• Martine Mallet,
• Brigitte Vigolo,
• Jean-Joseph Adjizian,
• Chris P. Ewels,
• Sven Oberg,
• Alexander V. Soldatov,
• Edward McRae,
• Yves Fort,
• Manuel Dossot and
• Victor Mamane

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2750–2762, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.257

• activity is not jeopardized. Keywords: biosensing; carbon nanotubes; covalent functionalization; electrocatalysis; ferrocene; Introduction Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been recognized as interesting candidates for developing electrochemical sensors for almost two decades [1][2][3]. They have been used to

• the solvent used for doing electrochemistry. The results of the present study therefore lead us to claim that, while many people are now working with graphene, CNTs are indeed useful for well-designed electrocatalytic devices, thus being a viable alternative to graphene-based sensors provided that the

Oriented zinc oxide nanorods: A novel saturable absorber for lasers in the near-infrared

• Pavel Loiko,
• Tanujjal Bora,
• Josep Maria Serres,
• Haohai Yu,
• Magdalena Aguiló,
• Francesc Díaz,
• Uwe Griebner,
• Valentin Petrov,
• Xavier Mateos and
• Joydeep Dutta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2730–2740, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.255

• epitaxy, metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, pulsed laser deposition), or by wet-chemical processes (e.g., the hydrothermal method, electrochemical deposition) [4]. The hydrothermal growth of ZnO NRs is a relatively simple, versatile and low temperature process [5]. ZnO NRs are used in gas sensors

• excellent sensing properties of the ZnO NRs, such composite structures can be of interest for the development of bio-molecule and gas sensors based on pulsed waveguide lasers. Experimental Growth of ZnO NRs ZnO NRs were directly grown on microscope glass slides (thickness: 1 mm, double-side polished) using

Silicene, germanene and other group IV 2D materials

• Patrick Vogt

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2665–2667, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.248

• two-dimensional (2D) honeycomb materials with potentially similar exotic properties, as predicted by theoretical investigations. These properties may allow the application of these layered structures in novel electronic devices, including ultrafast electronics, spintronics, sensors, and novel device

Polarization-dependent strong coupling between silver nanorods and photochromic molecules

• Gwénaëlle Lamri,
• Alessandro Veltri,
• Jean Aubard,
• Pierre-Michel Adam,
• Nordin Felidj and
• Anne-Laure Baudrion

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2657–2664, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.247

• ; Introduction For decades, plasmonic systems have been extensively studied for their potential applications in many research fields. Due to their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), metallic nanoparticles have been used to enhance the sensitivity of bio- or chemo-sensors [1], enhance and direct the

Nanostructured liquid crystal systems and applications

• Alexei R. Khokhlov and
• Alexander V. Emelyanenko

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2644–2645, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.245

• Alexei R. Khokhlov Alexander V. Emelyanenko Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Physics, Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119991, Russia 10.3762/bjnano.9.245 Keywords: artificial muscles; displays; energy saving; liquid crystals; photoinduction; sensors; Liquid crystals are smart materials

• having numerous applications in liquid crystal displays, modulators, sensors, solar cells, etc. Liquid crystals are used in both large and small devices. They surround us everywhere: in our house, on the street, and at our job. Liquid crystals are applied in biology and medicine, and for oil recovery as

Au–Si plasmonic platforms: synthesis, structure and FDTD simulations

• Anna Gapska,
• Marcin Łapiński,
• Paweł Syty,
• Wojciech Sadowski,
• Józef E. Sienkiewicz and
• Barbara Kościelska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2599–2608, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.241

• different properties of the time envelope of the incident pulse, and different positions of the sensors (virtual, rectangular devices recording flux of the electromagnetic field through their surfaces). In the first simulation, the FDTD method was used for determining the electromagnetic field distribution

• rectangle – outer border of the sensors; brown circles – gold nanoparticles. Right: Side view, xy-plane; vellow line – light source, wave propagation in upward direction; red and brown lines – sensors for FDTD and FDTD/DFT simulation sets, respectively; light-blue area – air; yellow area – silicon; brown

Effective sensor properties and sensitivity considerations of a dynamic co-resonantly coupled cantilever sensor

• Julia Körner

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2546–2560, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.237

• Julia Korner University of Utah, 50 S. Central Campus Dr #2110, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84112, USA 10.3762/bjnano.9.237 Abstract Background: Co-resonant coupling of a micro- and a nanocantilever can be introduced to significantly enhance the sensitivity of dynamic-mode cantilever sensors while

• subsystem’s characteristics. These effective properties give insight into the amount of sensitivity of the nanocantilever that can be accessed and, consequently, into the sensitivity gain associated with the co-resonance. In order to design sensors based on the co-resonant principle and predict their

• Dynamic-mode cantilever sensors are used for many different applications which include the detection of smallest masses [1][2], in situ observation of the growth of biological films [3], detection of trace analytes in gases (”artificial nose”) [4] and the investigation of properties of novel (nano

ZnO-nanostructure-based electrochemical sensor: Effect of nanostructure morphology on the sensing of heavy metal ions

• Marina Krasovska,
• Vjaceslavs Gerbreders,
• Irena Mihailova,
• Andrejs Ogurcovs,
• Eriks Sledevskis,
• Andrejs Gerbreders and
• Pavels Sarajevs

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2421–2431, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.227

• nanostructures are promising candidates for use in sensors, especially in electrochemical sensors and biosensors, due to their unique physical and chemical properties, as well as sensitivity and selectivity to several types of contamination, including heavy metal ions. In this work, using the hydrothermal method

• , using aqueous solutions of Pb(NO3)2 and Cd(NO3)2 as analytes with different concentrations. It was found that the sensitivity of the resulting electrochemical sensors depends on the morphology of the ZnO nanostructures: the best results were achieved in the case of porous nanostructures (nanotubes and

• sensitivity in detecting lead ions compared to cadmium ions. Keywords: cadmium; electrochemical sensors; heavy metal ions; lead; one-dimensional nanostructures; ZnO; Introduction Today, due to the rapid growth of industry and transport, the issues of environmental pollution by heavy metals, particularly by

Magnetism and magnetoresistance of single Ni–Cu alloy nanowires

• Andreea Costas,
• Camelia Florica,
• Elena Matei,
• Maria Eugenia Toimil-Molares,
• Ionel Stavarache,
• Andrei Kuncser,
• Victor Kuncser and
• Ionut Enculescu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2345–2355, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.219

• electronic devices that exploit specific properties of nanostructures, the methods of controlled fabrication are in the spotlight of researchers. Metallic magnetic nanowires are a particular class of nanoobjects that can be used in a wide range of applications such as magnetoresistive sensors and data

• extremely low associated magnetic moment needing peculiar experimental configurations and specific ultra-sensitive magnetic sensors such as micro-SQUID (superconducting quantum interference device) detectors [26]. Arrays of such nanowires (thousands of single elements) can be investigated by usual SQUID

Electrospun one-dimensional nanostructures: a new horizon for gas sensing materials

• Muhammad Imran,
• Nunzio Motta and
• Mahnaz Shafiei

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2128–2170, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.202

• in everyday life. Herein, we review recent developments of gas sensors based on electrospun 1D nanostructures in different sensing platforms, including optical, conductometric and acoustic resonators. After explaining the principle of electrospinning, we classify sensors based on the type of

• benefits and limitations for every approach. Keywords: 1D nanostructures; conductometric devices; electrospinning; gas sensors; optical sensors; resonators; Review 1 Introduction The monitoring and control of air pollutants, toxic gases and explosives has become increasingly important for human wellness

• followed by death. Gas sensors are the primary devices used for the detection and monitoring of these pollutants. Employing nanotechnology in sensor applications has significantly improved the performance of such devices, providing enhanced sensitivity, selectivity, low power consumption and high

High-throughput synthesis of modified Fresnel zone plate arrays via ion beam lithography

• Kahraman Keskinbora,
• Umut Tunca Sanli,
• Margarita Baluktsian,
• Corinne Grévent,
• Markus Weigand and
• Gisela Schütz

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2049–2056, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.194

• FZP structure shown in Figure 2, as expected. These arrays can be useful in applications such as zone plate array lithography [8][9], one shot X-FEL focusing or in combination with a matching array of order-sorting apertures, they can be used to construct a Shack–Hartmann [47] wavefront sensors for

Self-assembled quasi-hexagonal arrays of gold nanoparticles with small gaps for surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy

• Emre Gürdal,
• Simon Dickreuter,
• Fatima Noureddine,
• Pascal Bieschke,
• Dieter P. Kern and
• Monika Fleischer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1977–1985, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.188

• Emre Gurdal Simon Dickreuter Fatima Noureddine Pascal Bieschke Dieter P. Kern Monika Fleischer Institute for Applied Physics, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany Center for Light-Matter-Interaction, Sensors and Analytics (LISA+), Eberhard Karls

Nonlinear effect of carrier drift on the performance of an n-type ZnO nanowire nanogenerator by coupling piezoelectric effect and semiconduction

• Yuxing Liang,
• Shuaiqi Fan,
• Xuedong Chen and
• Yuantai Hu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1917–1925, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.183

• piezoelectric semiconductors can be used to develop many new microelectronic devices with modern functions, for example piezoelectric field-effect transistors [6][7][8][9][10][11], piezoelectric charge-coupled devices [12][13][14][15], piezoelectric chemical sensors [16][17], and nanogenerators made of

Synthesis of carbon nanowalls from a single-source metal-organic precursor

• André Giese,
• Sebastian Schipporeit,
• Volker Buck and
• Nicolas Wöhrl

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1895–1905, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.181

• vapor deposition (ICP-PECVD) is investigated. The CNWs are electrically conducting and show a large specific surface area, which is a key characteristic to make them interesting for sensors, catalytic applications or energy-storage systems. It was recently discovered that CNW films can be deposited by

• batteries, electrochemical sensors or fuel cells [3][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Due to the high aspect ratio and the sharp top edges of the CNWs, a possible application could also be seen as electron field emitters [16]. Depending on the chosen deposition parameters, CNWs can have superhydrophobic or

• superhydrophilic properties, which has a significant effect on cell growth, making CNWs an interesting material for biotechnology (bio-sensors) and medical technology (implants, diagnostics) [13][17]. The growth of CNWs is often referred to as a three-stage process that was originally proposed by Kondo and co