Uniform Sb₂S₃ optical coatings by chemical spray method

• Jako S. Eensalu,
• Atanas Katerski,
• Erki Kärber,
• Ilona Oja Acik,
• Arvo Mere and
• Malle Krunks

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 198–210, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.18

• sulfide (Sb2S3), an environmentally benign material, has been prepared by various deposition methods for use as a solar absorber due to its direct band gap of ≈1.7 eV and high absorption coefficient in the visible light spectrum (1.8 × 105 cm−1 at 450 nm). Rapid, scalable, economically viable and

• chemical bath deposition (CBD) [3][4], spin coating [5], atomic layer deposition (ALD) [6] or chemical spray pyrolysis (CSP) [7] method, has been applied in extremely thin absorber (ETA) solar cells due to its excellent absorption coefficient in the visible light spectrum (1.8 × 105 cm−1 at 450 nm) [1][2

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

• valuable from a technological point of view are its electrical conductivity, which is strongly affected by the surface states and the presence of dopants, transparency in the visible light range, high reflectance in the infrared range, and its classification as not potentially toxic or harmful [2][3]. The

• introduction of defects in the crystal lattice acts to gradually decrease the bandgap of SnO2, which extends the emission spectra to the visible light range, making these nanoparticles technologically very important for optoelectronic devices and photovoltaic systems. Theoretically, the reported value of the

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

• GeV storage ring (ring current = 400 mA, top-up mode), were monochromated with a double-multilayer monochromator and tuned to an X-ray energy of 12 keV. A scientific CMOS detector (pco.Edge 5.5) was used in combination with 10× magnifying visible-light optics (UPLAPO10x) and a 20 µm thick scintillator

Co-intercalated layered double hydroxides as thermal and photo-oxidation stabilizers for polypropylene

• Qian Zhang,
• Qiyu Gu,
• Fabrice Leroux,
• Pinggui Tang,
• Dianqing Li and
• Yongjun Feng

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2980–2988, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.277

• HnMn′-Ca2Al-LDHs. Figure 7b demonstrates the visible-light transmittance of HnMn′-Ca2Al-LDH/PP composite films, which is one of crucial properties of the PP products. All the samples show a similar trend demonstrating that there is a good dispersion of Ca2Al-LDHs in the PP matrix without affecting its

• visible-light transmission. Figure 7c,d displays the surface morphology and element distribution of H1M1-Ca2Al/PP composites from SEM and element mapping. Consistent with PP free of filler, a spherical structure is observed for Ca2Al/PP composites and Al (left) and Ca (right) elements are homogenously

• , (e) H1M2-Ca2Al, (f) H1M3-Ca2Al. (a) TG and (b) DTA curves of Ca2Al-LDHs: HALS-Ca2Al, MP-Ca2Al, H2M1-Ca2Al, H1M1-Ca2Al, H1M2-Ca2Al, and H1M3-Ca2Al. Powder X-ray diffraction pattern of HnMn′-Ca2Al/PP composites. LDH reflection peaks were marked with “†”. (a) FTIR spectra and (b) visible-light

The nanoscaled metal-organic framework ICR-2 as a carrier of porphyrins for photodynamic therapy

• Jan Hynek,
• Sebastian Jurík,
• Martina Koncošová,
• Jaroslav Zelenka,
• Ivana Křížová,
• Tomáš Ruml,
• Kaplan Kirakci,
• Ivo Jakubec,
• František Kovanda,
• Kamil Lang and
• Jan Demel

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2960–2967, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.275

• porphyrin or chlorin linkers [19][20], or using Zr6-based SBUs with 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl)porphyrin (TCPP), named PCN-224 and PCN-222 [21][22]. Zeng et al. extended the π system of TCPP by employing tetracarboxyphenyl benzoporphyrin, which increased the absorption in the red region of visible

• light [23]. Alternatively, the antitumor activity of porphyrinic PCN-224 was increased by combining photodynamic and photothermal effects with chemotherapy; in this case the MOF was deposited onto gold nanorods and impregnated with a chemotherapeutic agent [24]. Strong phototoxic effects were reported

Near-infrared light harvesting of upconverting NaYF₄:Yb³⁺/Er³⁺-based amorphous silicon solar cells investigated by an optical filter

• Daiming Liu,
• Qingkang Wang and
• Qing Wang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2788–2793, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.260

• XRD results revealed the morphology and a phase transition from cubic to hexagonal NaYF4. Photoluminescence spectra indicated that the hexagonal NaYF4:Yb3+/Er3+ nanorods convert near-infrared light of 980 nm to the visible light with wavelength peaks at 654, 541 and 522 nm. Hence, the upconverting

• exhibited an 25% improved short-circuit current and an appreciable improvement of the near-infrared response of the external quantum efficiency. Moreover, because the size of the nanorods is comparable to the wavelength of visible light, the rods effectively scattered light, thus enhancing the visible light

• above-bandgap visible light. The photons generated during upconversion are then absorbed by photoactive semiconductors to generate electron–hole pairs. This means that UC can broaden the absorption spectrum and enhance the photoelectric conversion efficiency of solar cells. Based on a detailed balance

Disorder in H⁺-irradiated HOPG: effect of impinging energy and dose on Raman D-band splitting and surface topography

• Lisandro Venosta,
• Noelia Bajales,
• Sergio Suárez and
• Paula G. Bercoff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2708–2717, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.253

• identification of not only structural and topological disorder, but also of C–H and C–C sp3 bonds [15], a task which is not feasible with visible Raman spectroscopy, because the cross section of sp3-hybridized bonds for visible light excitation is negligible. Hydrogenated graphene Raman spectra have also been

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

• transparent state to a colored state by absorbing UV light and can return to their original state by a heating process [9] or by absorbing visible light [10]. Indeed, the photochromic transition is reversible and can undergo several cycles [11]. Current applications of these molecules are mainly found in

Exploring the photoleakage current and photoinduced negative bias instability in amorphous InGaZnO thin-film transistors with various active layer thicknesses

• Dapeng Wang and
• Mamoru Furuta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2573–2580, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.239

• visible light irradiation exceeded ≈2.7 eV. Furthermore, the influence of the TIGZO on NBIS-induced instability in a-IGZO TFTs was explored by the combination of current–voltage measurements in double-sweeping VGS mode and capacitance–voltage measurements. The NBIS-induced hysteresis was quantitatively

• to their outstanding properties such as high electron mobility, good transparency to visible light, and low process temperature with good uniformity [1][2][3][4]. Among the numerous AOS materials, indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) is one of the most promising candidates used as the active layer

• because of its excellent electrical and optical properties [5][6][7][8]. Although the band gap of IGZO (≈3.1 eV) is higher than the photon energy of visible light, photoinduced leakage current under visible-light irradiation can be detected in the oxide-based TFTs [9][10]. This is due to the fact that the

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

• ]. Although cellulose alone exhibits limited photocatalytic activity under UV or visible light irradiation, many semiconductor materials have been added to enhance the photocatalytic activity. Several research groups have demonstrated photocatalytic wastewater treatment using cellulose-based metal oxide

• nanostructures in the form of thin film, membrane, fibre and hybrid materials under UV and visible light irradiation. Nanocellulose–metal oxide (TiO2, ZnO, graphene oxide, and Fe2O3) composites have been used as photocatalysts to improve the degradation rate of organic pollutants as compared to individual

• ]. Mohamed et al. [121] reported that the optical properties of a transparent nanocellulose/TiO2 hybrid thin film were imperative for the UV or visible light irradiation. This led to the enhancement of the electron distribution and transfer to the surface of metal oxide. Consequently, the recombination rate

Hierarchical heterostructures of Bi₂MoO₆ microflowers decorated with Ag₂CO₃ nanoparticles for efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic removal of toxic pollutants

• Shijie Li,
• Wei Jiang,
• Shiwei Hu,
• Yu Liu,
• Yanping Liu,
• Kaibing Xu and
• Jianshe Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2297–2305, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.214

• Treatment and Control in Textile Industry, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China 10.3762/bjnano.9.214 Abstract Developing highly active and durable visible-light-driven photocatalysts for the degradation of toxic pollutants is of vital significance

• heterostructures exhibited substantially improved performance in the removal of industrial dyes (rhodamine B (RhB), methyl orange (MO), and methyl blue (MB)), and the antibiotic tetracycline hydrochloride (TC), compared with bare Bi2MoO6 and Ag2CO3 under visible-light irradiation. The enhancement of activity was

• environmental remediation [3][4][5][6]. Crucial to photocatalysis is to obtain high-performance photocatalysts [7][8]. Obtaining excellent photocatalysts that can be excited by visible light (43% of the solar energy spectrum) is very important for practical applications [9][10][11][12][13][14]. Bi2MoO6 has been

Optimization of the optical coupling in nanowire-based integrated photonic platforms by FDTD simulation

• Nan Guan,
• Andrey Babichev,
• Martin Foldyna,
• Dmitry Denisov,
• François H. Julien and
• Maria Tchernycheva

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2248–2254, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.209

• design reported in the literature with a coupling efficiency of only 8.7%, we propose an optimized photonic platform with efficiency reaching 65.5%. Keywords: FDTD modeling; nanowire LED; nitride nanowires; photonic integrated circuit; photonic platform; SiN/InGaN co-integration; visible light

• communication; Introduction Today, infrared (IR) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) represent a well-established technology with numerous applications in optical telecommunications [1][2][3][4]. However, for life science applications (biosensors, molecular diagnostics, food inspection, etc.) visible light

• ][8][9]. This approach presents the advantage of providing both passive and active elements, however it brings many fabrication challenges (such as the necessity of low-loss GaN waveguides, etc). For passive photonic circuits used in the visible light range, SiN circuitry is gaining increasing

Lead-free hybrid perovskites for photovoltaics

• Oleksandr Stroyuk

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2209–2235, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.207

• and MAI on mesoporous titania scaffolds [147]. After covering with a Spiro-MeOTAD HTL, the MAMnI3-based device showed a response to the visible light illumination that was stable for at least 2000 s in an on/off cycling test [147]. A similar response to the UV light was observed for MA2MnCl4

• visible light and a bandgap of 1.64 eV. A solar cell trial of this material showed a PCE of ≈0.5% [150] indicating plenty of room for further studies. A two-dimensional layered (C6H5CH2NH3)2CuBr4 perovskite (Eg = 1.81 eV) demonstrated a high stability and the feasibility for future photovoltaic

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

Electromigrated electrical optical antennas for transducing electrons and photons at the nanoscale

• Arindam Dasgupta,
• Mickaël Buret,
• Nicolas Cazier,
• Marie-Maxime Mennemanteuil,
• Reinaldo Chacon,
• Kamal Hammani,
• Jean-Claude Weeber,
• Juan Arocas,
• Laurent Markey,
• Gérard Colas des Francs,
• Alexander Uskov,
• Igor Smetanin and
• Alexandre Bouhelier

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1964–1976, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.187

• antennas are devices operating at frequencies from visible light to infrared [8]. They were primarily developed to enhance light–matter near-field interactions [9] via the excitation of surface plasmons for metal-based devices [10] or Mie resonances for dielectric antennas [11][12]. Interestingly, optical

A visible-light-controlled platform for prolonged drug release based on Ag-doped TiO₂ nanotubes with a hydrophobic layer

• Caihong Liang,
• Jiang Wen and
• Xiaoming Liao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1793–1801, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.170

• Caihong Liang Jiang Wen Xiaoming Liao College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China 10.3762/bjnano.9.170 Abstract In this work, a visible-light-controlled drug release platform was constructed for localized and prolonged drug release based on two

• -layer titania nanotubes (TNTs) fabricated using by an in situ voltage up-anodization process. The visible-light photocatalytic activity is improved by loading Ag onto the TNTs by NaBH4 reduction. Then, the TNTs containing Ag nanoparticles were modified with dodecanethiol (NDM) to create a hydrophobic

• layer. To demonstrate the visible-light-controlled drug release, the Zn2+ release behavior of the samples was investigated. In the initial 12 h, TNTs without NDM displayed a faster release rate with 29.4% Zn2+ release, which was more than three times that of the TNTs with NDM (8.7% Zn2+ release). Upon

Controllable one-pot synthesis of uniform colloidal TiO₂ particles in a mixed solvent solution for photocatalysis

• Jong Tae Moon,
• Seung Ki Lee and
• Ji Bong Joo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1715–1727, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.163

• photocatalyst must be narrow in order to facilitate the facile adsorption of the low energy photon and high harvesting efficiency under visible-light irradiation conditions [11]. To enhance charge separation efficiency and extend the lifetime of photoexcited electron–hole pairs, properties such as a crystalline

• light [34]. Another hypothesis regarding the exceptional activity of anatase and rutile P25 is that the presence of rutile crystallites generates a favorable structure in which rapid electron transfer from rutile to lower energy lattice trapping centers of anatase phase occurs under visible-light

• irradiation. This leads to a more stable charge separation and allows holes to reach the surface for redox reactions. In addition, the small band gap of the rutile phase extends the useful range of light energy into the visible light spectrum [20]. Although our TiO2-500 catalyst does not have the same

Sulfur-, nitrogen- and platinum-doped titania thin films with high catalytic efficiency under visible-light illumination

• Boštjan Žener,
• Lev Matoh,
• Giorgio Carraro,
• Bojan Miljević and
• Romana Cerc Korošec

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1629–1640, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.155

• and subsequent degradation was used to fit the experimental data. The results have shown an increase in photocatalytic activity under visible-light illumination of nonmetal and metal doped and co-doped titania thin films compared to an undoped sample. Keywords: doping; photocatalysis; sol–gel

• synthesis; thin films; titanium dioxide; visible-light illumination; Introduction In recent years, titanium dioxide (TiO2) has emerged as one of the most widely investigated semiconductors [1]. Due to its favorable properties (e.g., chemical and biological stability, nontoxicity and inexpensive price) it

• material system [33][34]. Nitrogen has been shown to be an effective doping element in increasing the response of TiO2 during visible-light illumination. When the material is doped with nitrogen, a linear combination of 2p orbitals of N and O results in the formation of hybrid orbitals, causing a narrowing

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

• environmental issues such as global warming and climate changes. The technologies used to reduce the CO2 concentration are energy consuming and expensive [36][37]. In recent years, semiconductor-based visible-light-induced photocatalytic reduction of CO2 has emerged as an attractive and viable approach for not

• visible-light irradiation. The authors have also reported that •CO2− radicals (produced by the reaction of hVB+ with HCO2NH4) and eCB− are responsible for the reduction of 4-nitroaniline to p-phenylenediamine over CdS/TiO2 photocatalysts [56]. Photodegradation of pollutants The principle of photocatalysis

• with visible light, in the second step. Third step involves either release of Cr(III) species into the solution due to their electrostatic repulsion from the protonated surfaces of TiO2–RGO or their adsorption by deprotonated surfaces. Li et al. fabricated a composite of TiO2 and reduced graphene oxide

Ag₂WO₄ nanorods decorated with AgI nanoparticles: Novel and efficient visible-light-driven photocatalysts for the degradation of water pollutants

• Shijie Li,
• Shiwei Hu,
• Wei Jiang,
• Yanping Liu,
• Yu Liu,
• Yingtang Zhou,
• Liuye Mo and
• Jianshe Liu

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1308–1316, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.123

• Abstract To develop efficient and stable visible-light-driven (VLD) photocatalysts for pollutant degradation, we synthesized novel heterojunction photocatalysts comprised of AgI nanoparticle-decorated Ag2WO4 nanorods via a facile method. Various characterization techniques, including XRD, SEM, TEM, EDX

• (MO) and para-chlorophenol (4-CP). The high performance is attributed to the enhanced visible-light absorption properties and the promoted separation efficiency of charge carriers through the formation of the heterojunction between AgI and Ag2WO4. Additionally, AgI/Ag2WO4 exhibits durable stability

• photocatalytic performance. Keywords: AgI/Ag2WO4; nanocomposites; photocatalysis; visible light; Introduction The development of high-performance novel photocatalysts for the degradation of pollutants has received great interest due to the worsening of environmental pollution [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11

Computational exploration of two-dimensional silicon diarsenide and germanium arsenide for photovoltaic applications

• Sri Kasi Matta,
• Chunmei Zhang,
• Yalong Jiao,
• Anthony O'Mullane and
• Aijun Du

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1247–1253, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.116

• suitable for photovoltaic applications, such as excellent visible light absorption, favorable exciton formation, and charge separation are equally essential for two-dimensional (2D) materials. Here, we systematically study 2D group IV–V compounds such as SiAs2 and GeAs2 with regard to their structural

• light absorption spectrum calculated from HSE functional in the visible light region (approx. 350–800 nm) compared with the AM1.5G solar spectrum. However, both materials exhibit an almost equal absorption in the wavelength region of 350–600 nm. Above this, GeAs2 still has good absorption up to around

Review on nanoparticles and nanostructured materials: history, sources, toxicity and regulations

• Jaison Jeevanandam,
• Ahmed Barhoum,
• Yen S. Chan,
• Alain Dufresne and
• Michael K. Danquah

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 1050–1074, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.98

• network (nanofibers) [188]. Plant surfaces, especially leaves, contain nanostructures that are used for numerous purposes such as insects sliding [189], mechanical stability [190], increased visible light and harmful UV reflection and radiation absorption respectively [191][192] as shown in Figure 6. The

Noble metal-modified titania with visible-light activity for the decomposition of microorganisms

• Maya Endo,
• Zhishun Wei,
• Kunlei Wang,
• Baris Karabiyik,
• Kenta Yoshiiri,
• Paulina Rokicka,
• Bunsho Ohtani,
• Agata Markowska-Szczupak and
• Ewa Kowalska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 829–841, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.77

• albicans (C. albicans)) activity under visible-light irradiation and in the dark using disk diffusion, suspension, colony growth (“poisoned food”) and sporulation methods. It was found that silver-modified titania, besides remarkably high antibacterial activity (inhibition of bacterial proliferation

• ), could also decompose bacterial cells under visible-light irradiation, possibly due to an enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species and the intrinsic properties of silver. Gold-modified samples were almost inactive against bacteria in the dark, whereas significant bactericidal effect under visible

• wide band gap of titania of 3.0–3.2 eV and the recombination of charge carriers). There are various ways to improve photocatalytic performance of titania photocatalysts: (1) to inhibit the recombination of charge carriers, and (2) to extend its working abilities to the visible-light region, for example

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

• exhibit a significant improvement in the photodegradation of rhodamine B under visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm) irradiation as compared to single-phase ZnO and BiOI. A sample with a Zn/Bi ratio of 3:1 showed the highest photocatalytic activity (≈99.3% after 100 min irradiation). The photodegradation tests

• poor utilization of visible light, which accounts for 45% of the solar radiation spectrum, because of their wide band gap. Some effort must be paid to extend their working spectrum efficiently. As is known to all, it is metal orbitals which contribute to the conduction band (CB) of the metal-containing

• response to visible light. Though widely investigated, BiOI suffers from its high recombination rate of photoinduced electron–holes and low charge transfer ability. Therefore, the strategies to improve the efficiency of this kind of semiconductor photocatalyst are in need. Heterogeneous processes are

Surface-plasmon-enhanced ultraviolet emission of Au-decorated ZnO structures for gas sensing and photocatalytic devices

• T. Anh Thu Do,
• Truong Giang Ho,
• Thu Hoai Bui,
• Quang Ngan Pham,
• Hong Thai Giang,
• Thi Thu Do,
• Duc Van Nguyen and
• Dai Lam Tran

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 771–779, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.70

• solution in the presence of these photocatalysts under visible-light irradiation were investigated. The results are shown in Figure 5a and Figures S2 and S3 (Supporting Information File 1). The changes in the PL spectra during photodegradation indicated that the PL peak position of RhB (561.5 nm) decreases

• with increasing irradiation time. According to the percentage of the PL quenching plotted in the inset of Figure 5a, the degradation efficiency of Au-decorated ZnO is calculated to be 64%, which is higher than ZnO sub-micrometer spheres (42%) after irradiation by visible light for 2 h. Even after three

• ) Response–recovery characteristics and (d) the responses of all sensors for different target gases. (a) Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of aqueous RhB solution in the presence of as-deposited ZnO and Au NP/ZnO structures under visible-light irradiation. The inset shows the percentage of the PL quenching. (b