Robust nanobubble and nanodroplet segmentation in atomic force microscope images using the spherical Hough transform

• Yuliang Wang,
• Tongda Lu,
• Xiaolai Li,
• Shuai Ren and
• Shusheng Bi

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2572–2582, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.257

• NBs and NDs, such as contact angle, size, density, and volume, is generally required in their studies. For example, in the study of wettability properties of NDs, contact angle is generally applied [17][18]. In the study of influence factors for NB/ND formation, such as temperature [19][20][21] and

Interface conditions of roughness-induced superoleophilic and superoleophobic surfaces immersed in hexadecane and ethylene glycol

• Yifan Li,
• Yunlu Pan and
• Xuezeng Zhao

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2504–2514, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.250

• that can affect the drag of fluid flow. For surfaces with different oleophobicity, the boundary slip at the solid–oil interface is mostly larger than that at the solid–water interface. Roughness is a key factor for the wettability of superoleophilic/superoleophobic surfaces, and it has been found to

• studies that need to be addressed. Firstly, fabricating surfaces with controlled roughness parameters, omniphobicity and interface properties is difficult. Roughness parameters, wettability and some other surface properties have individual effects on the boundary slip and need to be separated. Secondly

• investigate the effect of roughness on the slip length. To decouple the individual effects of roughness and wettability on slip, the contact angles were kept constant. The roughness parameters were measured by using a laser confocal scanning microscope, and the boundary slip measurements were carried out

Strategy to discover full-length amyloid-beta peptide ligands using high-efficiency microarray technology

• Clelia Galati,
• Natalia Spinella,
• Lucio Renna,
• Danilo Milardi,
• Francesco Attanasio,
• Michele Francesco Maria Sciacca and
• Corrado Bongiorno

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2446–2453, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.243

• functionalized slides only. The fluorescence intensity of each spot defines regular circles matched with the spotting scheme. This spot morphology results from the optimal wettability of the epoxysilane slide (see Figure S1 in Supporting Information File 1 for contact angle measurements) that prevents the

• spreading and coalescence of the spots. As far as reference slide is concerned, in order to minimize effects due to different wettability, stored slide with similar contact angle and very low fluorescence background were used. The background level of the epoxysilane slide does not essentially increase after

• box (MB10 Compact, Braun) that maintained a nitrogen atmosphere with levels of less than 1 ppm of oxygen and humidity. Epoxysilane slides were rinsed and dried in a vacuum chamber and stored under vacuum conditions until the microarray experiments. Water wettability of the functionalized surface was

Surfactant-induced enhancement of droplet adhesion in superhydrophobic soybean (Glycine max L.) leaves

• Oliver Hagedorn,
• Ingo Fleute-Schlachter,
• Hans Georg Mainx,
• Viktoria Zeisler-Diehl and
• Kerstin Koch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2345–2356, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.234

• applied droplets, even on superhydrophobic leaves, to reduce undesirable soil contamination by roll-off of agrochemical formulations from the plant surfaces. The wettability and morphology of soybean (Glycine max L.) leaf surfaces before and after treatment with six different surfactants (Agnique® SBO10

• a plant [14]. Variations were also found between intra- and epicuticular waxes [21][22]. However the hydrophobic characteristic of epicuticular waxes and their three-dimensional micro- to nanometer-scaled structures play a crucial role in surface wettability. The liquid interaction at solid–gaseous

• interfaces, usually termed wettability, can be measured as a static or dynamic contact angle [23]. Surfaces on which a water droplet forms a spherical shape are characterized by a high contact angle (CA). Plant surfaces with high contact angles above 150° are termed superhydrophobic [24][25]. Wettable

Advances and challenges in the field of plasma polymer nanoparticles

• Andrei Choukourov,
• Pavel Pleskunov,
• Daniil Nikitin,
• Valerii Titov,
• Artem Shelemin,
• Mykhailo Vaidulych,
• Anna Kuzminova,
• Pavel Solař,
• Jan Hanuš,
• Jaroslav Kousal,
• Ondřej Kylián,
• Danka Slavínská and
• Hynek Biederman

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 2002–2014, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.200

• deposition method and the histogram in Figure 11e confirms the formation of the triple-scale surface. Thus, plasma polymer NPs produced by GAS prove to be very versatile for the design of hierarchical structures, which can be very efficient for fine tuning of optical properties, surface wettability

• sources in the production of plasma polymer NPs opens new horizons in precise tuning of their size, shape, chemical composition, surface charge and wettability. There are great potential benefits for the use of plasma polymer NPs in photonics, nanomedicine and other applications, but also significant

Imidazolium-based ionic liquids used as additives in the nanolubrication of silicon surfaces

• Patrícia M. Amorim,
• Ana M. Ferraria,
• Rogério Colaço,
• Luís C. Branco and
• Benilde Saramago

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1961–1971, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.197

• coefficient as well as an increase in viscosity (with the exception of [AMIM][TfO]) and improved the Si wettability. The additives based on the anion [EtSO4] exhibited the most promising tribological behavior, which was attributed to the strong interaction with the Si surface ensuring the formation of a

• results were obtained with [EMIM][EtSO4], which were attributed to the presence of a stable tribofilm resulting from specific interaction between the [EtSO4] anion and the silicon surface [26][29]. The PEG + IL mixtures were characterized with respect to their viscosity and substrate wettability. The

• both cases, addition of the ILs to PEG increased the wettability confirming the preferential interaction of the IL ions with the silicon surface. The contact angles of the humid liquids are lower than those of the dry liquids, which should result from the preferential adsorption of water molecules on

Application of visible-light photosensitization to form alkyl-radical-derived thin films on gold

• Rashanique D. Quarels,
• Xianglin Zhai,
• Neepa Kuruppu,
• Jenny K. Hedlund,
• Ashley A. Ellsworth,
• Amy V. Walker,
• Jayne C. Garno and
• Justin R. Ragains

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1863–1877, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.187

• . Since the film coverage remained the same over a period of 6 months, this suggests that the film is highly robust. Contact angle goniometry. The wettability of both Au–Me and Au–NHBoc thin films on polycrystalline Au slides was investigated by measuring the water contact angles of freshly prepared

Process-specific mechanisms of vertically oriented graphene growth in plasmas

• Subrata Ghosh,
• Shyamal R. Polaki,
• Niranjan Kumar,
• Sankarakumar Amirthapandian,
• Mohamed Kamruddin and
• Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1658–1670, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.166

• and the substrate, and (c) increasing the discharge power. The correlation between the wetting characteristics, morphology and structural quality is established. It is also demonstrated that morphology, crystallinity, wettability and sheet resistance of the VGNs can be varied while maintaining the

• , catalysis and energy storage. Keywords: activation energy; plasmas; residual stress; vertical graphene nanosheets; wettability; Introduction Vertical graphene nanosheets (VGNs) consist of interconnected 3D porous networks of vertically oriented graphitic sheets, which are aligned perpendicularly to the

Oxidative stabilization of polyacrylonitrile nanofibers and carbon nanofibers containing graphene oxide (GO): a spectroscopic and electrochemical study

• İlknur Gergin,
• Ezgi Ismar and
• A. Sezai Sarac

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1616–1628, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.161

• ]. Graphene oxide has been synthesized from graphite with strong acids and oxidants [24][25]. The oxidation level can be adjusted by modifying reaction conditions and systems, and the type of precursor. Moreover, oxygen functional groups increase wettability and capacitance, but not all of the surface oxygen

Parylene C as a versatile dielectric material for organic field-effect transistors

• Tomasz Marszalek,
• Maciej Gazicki-Lipman and
• Jacek Ulanski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1532–1545, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.155

• configuration (0.02 cm2/Vs) [58]. Changes in the surface energy between Parylene C (bottom gate, top contacts) and glass with gold electrodes (top gate, bottom contacts) are the main factor responsible for variations in the organization of semiconductor molecules. Additionally, parameters such as wettability

Micro- and nano-surface structures based on vapor-deposited polymers

• Hsien-Yeh Chen

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1366–1374, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.138

• with μCP or a photomask [49]. Gradient structures Surface gradients represent an advanced surface modification tool to exert gradient activities and/or communicate with the microenvironment using gradually altered cues. Such gradients include physical properties such as the wettability, thickness

Oxidative chemical vapor deposition of polyaniline thin films

• Yuriy Y. Smolin,
• Masoud Soroush and
• Kenneth K. S. Lau

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1266–1276, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.128

• solvent-based methods becomes considerably more challenging due to the lack of solubility in common commercial solvents, which limits processability and leads to poor wettability. These challenges can be overcome with oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD). oCVD is a single step, solvent-free

Preparation of thick silica coatings on carbon fibers with fine-structured silica nanotubes induced by a self-assembly process

• Benjamin Baumgärtner,
• Hendrik Möller,
• Thomas Neumann and
• Dirk Volkmer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1145–1155, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.116

• interactions between substrate and polyamine [28]. The nanograss films on glass were shown to have a potential application for surface wettability design [29][30][31]. In our study we focused on the coating of chopped carbon fibers and carbon fiber felts with silica by polyamine mediation. The polyamine is

Optical response of heterogeneous polymer layers containing silver nanostructures

• Miriam Carlberg,
• Florent Pourcin,
• Olivier Margeat,
• Judikaël Le Rouzo,
• Gérard Berginc,
• Rose-Marie Sauvage,
• Jörg Ackermann and
• Ludovic Escoubas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1065–1072, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.108

• optical index difference between the substrate and the thin film layer, thus a silicon wafer was chosen. The substrates were cleaned in an ultrasonic bath in acetone and ethanol, dried by nitrogen flow and an oxygen plasma. The latter step also increased the wettability of the substrate. The deposition of

Assembly of metallic nanoparticle arrays on glass via nanoimprinting and thin-film dewetting

• Sun-Kyu Lee,
• Sori Hwang,
• Yoon-Kee Kim and
• Yong-Jun Oh

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 1049–1055, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.106

• 184 PDMS. In the next imprinting step, an inorganically cross-linked sol–gel (ICSG) resist with a thickness (tf) of 400 nm was spin-coated on a Pyrex glass substrate. To improve the wettability of the resist, the glass surface was pretreated with a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) using He and O2

Vapor-phase-synthesized fluoroacrylate polymer thin films: thermal stability and structural properties

• Paul Christian and
• Anna Maria Coclite

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 933–942, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.95

• -PFDA and cross-linked alterations thereof are chemically stable in the investigated temperature range, within the detection limits of the FTIR spectroscopy measurement. Surface morphology and wettability The impact of the cross-linker on the surface morphology of p-PFDA films was investigated by atomic

• , indicating good stability towards temperature variation in the investigated range. Changes in the surface morphology and chemistry also affect the wettability, as evidenced by a decreasing water contact angle (WCA) upon EGDMA addition to the polymer (Figure 4a). While the PFDA homopolymer forms a highly

• PFDA homopolymer. For the EGDMA homopolymer, a WCA of 69 ± 1° was ultimately observed. The change in wettability stems from the (relative) increase of carbonyl groups upon addition of EGDMA, which turns the polymer more hydrophilic. Similar to the morphological changes discussed above, heat treatment

Impact of surface wettability on S-layer recrystallization: a real-time characterization by QCM-D

• Jagoba Iturri,
• Ana C. Vianna,
• Alberto Moreno-Cencerrado,
• Dietmar Pum,
• Uwe B. Sleytr and
• José Luis Toca-Herrera

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2017, 8, 91–98, doi:10.3762/bjnano.8.10

• isolated SbpA bacterial surface proteins onto silicon dioxide substrates of different surface wettability. Surface modification by UV/ozone oxidation or by vapor deposition of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorododecyltrichlorosilane yielded hydrophilic or hydrophobic samples, respectively. Time evolution of frequency

• : bacterial S-layers; Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D); recrystallization kinetics; surface wettability; Introduction Crystalline bacterial protein layers (S-layers) are arrays of (glyco)proteins (Mw of 40 to 200 kDa) forming the outermost envelope of prokaryotes, and represent

• yet to be solved about the S-layer recrystallization process under different physico-chemical conditions of the substrate (i.e., wettability or the presence of specific chemical groups and receptors), such as the different adsorption kinetics, crystal domain sizes and lattice symmetry parameters

Morphology of SiO₂ films as a key factor in alignment of liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropy

• Volodymyr Tkachenko,
• Antigone Marino,
• Eva Otón,
• Noureddine Bennis and
• Josè Manuel Otón

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1743–1748, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.167

• well-formed columnar structure dominates LC orientation; however, βLC is somewhat larger than βSiO2 which can be caused by good wettability of the orienting surface by the LC [5]. Conclusion To summarize, we investigated the anisotropic optical properties of thin SiO2 layers as a function of the

Surface roughness rather than surface chemistry essentially affects insect adhesion

• Matt W. England,
• Tomoya Sato,
• Makoto Yagihashi,
• Atsushi Hozumi,
• Stanislav N. Gorb and
• Elena V. Gorb

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1471–1479, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.139

• of surface, each with different chemical and topographical properties. The results of traction force tests clearly demonstrated that chemical surface properties, such as static/dynamic de-wettability of water and oil caused by specific chemical compositions, had no significant effect on the

• surface could move, without pinning, more smoothly than they could on a smooth FAS17 surface (Δθ = 13°). The relationships between surface wettability and chemical composition of our sample surfaces were established using XPS. The surface chemical compositions of each sample are summarized in Table 2. All

• , rather than C and F concentrations, had the strongest influence upon surface wettability. Based on the surface chemical and physical properties of our samples shown above, we next examined the attachment ability of Coccinella septempunctata beetles by measuring their traction forces on these surfaces

Effect of tetramethylammonium hydroxide/isopropyl alcohol wet etching on geometry and surface roughness of silicon nanowires fabricated by AFM lithography

• Siti Noorhaniah Yusoh and
• Khatijah Aisha Yaacob

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 1461–1470, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.138

• generated bubbles coming off the near the SOI surface, influencing the surface roughness [7][29]. The density and size of hillocks is influenced by the hydrogen bubble formation during the etching process. The addition of IPA produces a smooth surface (Figure 9) because it promotes the wettability of the

Rigid multipodal platforms for metal surfaces

• Michal Valášek,
• Marcin Lindner and
• Marcel Mayor

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 374–405, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.34

Synthesis and applications of carbon nanomaterials for energy generation and storage

• Marco Notarianni,
• Jinzhang Liu,
• Kristy Vernon and
• Nunzio Motta

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2016, 7, 149–196, doi:10.3762/bjnano.7.17

• graphite exfoliation if mixed with particular solvents such as water. Specifically, they can change the wettability and prevent aggregation due to electrostatic repulsion [95]. The main problem with the liquid-phase exfoliation method is that it produces graphene for films that is not completely

Nanostructured surfaces by supramolecular self-assembly of linear oligosilsesquioxanes with biocompatible side groups

• Maria Nowacka,
• Anna Kowalewska and
• Tomasz Makowski

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2377–2387, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.244

• underlying matrix. For example, surfaces carrying COOH groups were applied for studies on the effect of surface wettability on protein adsorption and adhesion of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and HeLa cells [3], human fibroblasts [14], human mesenchymal stem cells [15][22], corneal

• Owens–Wendt geometric mean Equation S1 described in Supporting Information File 1 [55]). We have previously reported [37][38] that the very good wettability of mica coated with LPSQ-COOH is a result of the structure of adsorbed nanolayers and the fact that carboxylic groups attached to oligomers of LPSQ

• -COOH adopt a specific conformation at the interface with air. We have analysed the wettability of samples covered with other LPSQ-COOH/X schemes (Figure 2) to find that, in spite of their different morphology, they exhibit almost the same surface energy and the ratio between polar and dispersive forces

Nanostructured superhydrophobic films synthesized by electrodeposition of fluorinated polyindoles

• Gabriela Ramos Chagas,
• Thierry Darmanin and
• Frédéric Guittard

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2078–2087, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.212

• advantages such as an easiness to functionalize and opto-electronic properties [16] with the possibility to introduce various dopants (smart materials) [17][18]. Conducting polymers are also exceptional materials for the control of surface nanostructures and wettability. First of all, nanostructures of

• during the reaction and the polymerization is not favorable. Surface structures and wettability The surface structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and surface roughness measurements. The SEM images for Qs = 100 mC·cm−2 are given in Figure 3 and Figure 4 and the surface

• first instance [26][34]. Hence, higher roughness of PIndole-6-Fn can be explained by the formation of longer polymer chains. PIndole-5-F4 and PIndole-6-F4 also showed an increase in roughness for normalized charges of 50 and 100 mC·cm−2 without significant changes in the wettability comparing the others

Possibilities and limitations of advanced transmission electron microscopy for carbon-based nanomaterials

• Xiaoxing Ke,
• Carla Bittencourt and
• Gustaaf Van Tendeloo

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 1541–1557, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.158

• triangular shaped nanoparticles on CNT walls with an increased area at the contact interface, and Ti forms an amorphous film with continuous coverage around the CNTs. These results are further associated with the wettability of different metals on the CNT surface and explained by electron affinity and

• reported that the deformation of Au-contacted CNT walls is more prominent compared to Pd-contacted CNT walls (not shwon), which could be associated to higher wettability of Pd over Au nanoparticles on one hand. On the other hand, a deformation mechanism through elastic strain relaxation is also proposed