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Author Yang, S.; An, H.; Anastasiadou, D.; Xu, W.; Wu, L.; Wang, H.; de Ruiter, J.; Arnouts, S.; Figueiredo, M.C.; Bals, S.; Altantzis, T.; van der Stam, W.; Weckhuysen, B.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Waste-derived copper-lead electrocatalysts for CO₂ reduction Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication ChemCatChem Abbreviated Journal Chemcatchem  
  Volume 14 Issue 18 Pages e202200754-11  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract It remains a real challenge to control the selectivity of the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction (eCO(2)R) reaction to valuable chemicals and fuels. Most of the electrocatalysts are made of non-renewable metal resources, which hampers their large-scale implementation. Here, we report the preparation of bimetallic copper-lead (CuPb) electrocatalysts from industrial metallurgical waste. The metal ions were extracted from the metallurgical waste through simple chemical treatment with ammonium chloride, and CuxPby electrocatalysts with tunable compositions were fabricated through electrodeposition at varying cathodic potentials. X-ray spectroscopy techniques showed that the pristine electrocatalysts consist of Cu-0, Cu1+ and Pb2+ domains, and no evidence for alloy formation was found. We found a volcano-shape relationship between eCO(2)R selectivity toward two electron products, such as CO, and the elemental ratio of Cu and Pb. A maximum Faradaic efficiency towards CO was found for Cu9.00Pb1.00, which was four times higher than that of pure Cu, under the same electrocatalytic conditions. In situ Raman spectroscopy revealed that the optimal amount of Pb effectively improved the reducibility of the pristine Cu1+ and Pb2+ domains to metallic Cu and Pb, which boosted the selectivity towards CO by synergistic effects. This work provides a framework of thinking to design and tune the selectivity of bimetallic electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction through valorization of metallurgical waste.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000853941300001 Publication Date 2022-06-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1867-3880; 1867-3899 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.5 Times cited 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes S.Y and B.M.W. acknowledge support from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (SOCRATES-721385; project website: http://etn-socrates.eu/). W.v.d.S., M.C.F. and B.M.W. acknowledge support from the Strategic UU-TU/e Alliance project 'Joint Centre for Chemergy Research'. S.B. acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grant #815128 REALNANO). S.A. and T.A. acknowledge funding from the University of Antwerp Research fund (BOF). The Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (1W1B, BSRF) is acknowledged for the beamtime. We are grateful to Annelies van der Bok and Bas Salzmann (Condensed Matter and Interfaces, Utrecht University, UU) for the support with the ICP-OES measurements. The authors thank dr. Robin Geitenbeek, Nikos Nikolopoulos, Ioannis Nikolopoulos, Jochem Wijten and Joris Janssens (Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, UU) for helpful discussions and technical support. The authors also thank Yuang Piao (Materials Chemistry and Catalysis, UU) for the help in the preparation of the figures of the article. Approved Most recent IF: 4.5  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:190703 Serial 7226  
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Author Skorikov, A.; Batenburg, K.J.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Analysis of 3D elemental distribution in nanomaterials : towards higher throughput and dose efficiency Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Journal of microscopy Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 289 Issue 3 Pages 157-163  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Many advanced nanomaterials rely on carefully designed morphology and elemental distribution to achieve their functionalities. Among the few experimental techniques that can directly visualise the 3D elemental distribution on the nanoscale are approaches based on electron tomography in combination with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Unfortunately, these highly informative methods are severely limited by the fundamentally low signal-to-noise ratio, which makes long experimental times and high electron irradiation doses necessary to obtain reliable 3D reconstructions. Addressing these limitations has been the major research question for the development of these techniques in recent years. This short review outlines the latest progress on the methods to reduce experimental time and electron irradiation dose requirements for 3D elemental distribution analysis and gives an outlook on the development of this field in the near future.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000910532600001 Publication Date 2022-12-26  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-2720 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2 Times cited 2 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes ERC Consolidator Grant, Grant/Award Number: 815128 Approved Most recent IF: 2; 2023 IF: 1.692  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:193428 Serial 7281  
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Author Chen, H.; Xu, J.; Wang, Y.; Wang, D.; Ferrer-Espada, R.; Wang, Y.; Zhou, J.; Pedrazo-Tardajos, A.; Yang, M.; Tan, J.-H.; Yang, X.; Zhang, L.; Sychugov, I.; Chen, S.; Bals, S.; Paulsson, J.; Yang, Z. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Color-switchable nanosilicon fluorescent probes Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication ACS nano Abbreviated Journal Acs Nano  
  Volume 16 Issue 9 Pages 15450-15459  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Fluorescent probes are vital to cell imaging by allowing specific parts of cells to be visualized and quantified. Color-switchable probes (CSPs), with tunable emission wavelength upon contact with specific targets, are particularly powerful because they not only eliminate the need to wash away all unbound probe but also allow for internal controls of probe concentrations, thereby facilitating quantification. Several such CSPs exist and have proven very useful, but not for all key cellular targets. Here we report a pioneering CSP for in situ cell imaging using aldehydefunctionalized silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) that switch their intrinsic photoluminescence from red to blue quickly when interacting with amino acids in live cells. Though conventional probes often work better in cell-free extracts than in live cells, the SiNCs display the opposite behavior and function well and fast in universal cell lines at 37 ? while requiring much higher temperature in extracts. Furthermore, the SiNCs only disperse in cytoplasm not nucleus, and their fluorescence intensity correlated linearly with the concentration of fed amino acids. We believe these nanosilicon probes will be promising tools to visualize distribution of amino acids and potentially quantify amino acid related processes in live cells.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000861080700001 Publication Date 2022-09-15  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 17.1 Times cited 1 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes Z.Y. and H.C. acknowledge the funding support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21905316, 22175201) , the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province (2019A050510018) , the Pearl River Recruitment Program of Talent (2019QN01C108) , the EU Infrastructure Project EUSMI (Grant No. E190700310) , and Sun Yat-sen University. S.C. acknowledge the funding support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32171192) . D.W. acknowledges an Individual Fellowship funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in Horizon 2020 program (Grant No. 894254 SuprAtom) . S.B. and A.P.-T. acknowledge financial support from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme by means of the grant agreement No. 731019 (EUSMI) and the ERC Consolidator Grant No. 815128 (REALNANO) . J.Z. acknowledged the funding support from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) . L.Z and J.X. thank Huzhou Li-in Biotechnology Co., Ltd. for the instrumentational and financial support. J.X. and R.F.-E. appreciate fruitful discussion with Dr. Emanuele Leoncini and Dr. Noah Olsman. J.X. and R.F.-E. also thank Mr. Daniel Eaton and Mr. Carlos Sanchez for their help with microscope setups. Approved Most recent IF: 17.1  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:191574 Serial 7288  
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Author Bhatia, H.; Martin, C.; Keshavarz, M.; Dovgaliuk, I.; Schrenker, N.J.; Ottesen, M.; Qiu, W.; Fron, E.; Bremholm, M.; Van de Vondel, J.; Bals, S.; Roeffaers, M.B.J.; Hofkens, J.; Debroye, E. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Deciphering the role of water in promoting the optoelectronic performance of surface-engineered lead halide perovskite nanocrystals Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication ACS applied materials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 15 Issue 5 Pages 7294-7307  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Lead halide perovskites are promising candidates for applicability is limited by their structural instability toward moisture. Although a deliberate addition of water to the precursor solution has recently been shown to improve the crystallinity and optical properties of perovskites, the corresponding thin films still do not exhibit a near-unity quantum yield. Herein, we report that the direct addition of a minute amount of water to post-treated substantially enhances the stability while achieving a 95% photoluminescence quantum yield in a NC thin film. We unveil the mechanism of how moisture assists in the formation of an additional NH4Br component. Alongside, we demonstrate the crucial role of moisture in assisting localized etching of the perovskite crystal, facilitating the partial incorporation of NH4+, which is key for improved performance under ambient conditions. Finally, as a proof-of-concept, the application of post-treated and watertreated perovskites is tested in LEDs, with the latter exhibiting a superior performance, offering opportunities toward commercial application in moisture-stable optoelectronics.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000931729400001 Publication Date 2023-01-27  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1944-8244 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 9.5 Times cited 3 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes H.B. would like to express her sincere gratitude to Dr. Peter Erk (formerly BASF SE, Germany) for very insightful discussions. The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO grant numbers S002019N, 1514220N, G.0B39.15, G.0B49.15, G098319N, and ZW15_09-GOH6316) , the KU Leuven Research Fund (C14/19/079, iBOF-21-085 PERSIST, and STG/21/010) , the Flemish government through long-term structural funding Methusalem (CASAS2, Meth/15/04) , the Hercules Founda-tion (HER/11/14) , and the ERC through the Marie Curie ITN iSwitch Ph.D. fellowship to H.B. (grant number 642196) . C.M. acknowledges the financial support from grants PID2021-128761OA-C22 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 by the ?European Union? and SBPLY/21/180501/000127 funded by JCCM and by the EU through Fondo Europeo de Desarollo Regional? (FEDER) . Martin Bremholm and Martin Ottesen acknowledge funding from the Danish Council for Independent Research, Natural Sciences, under the Sapere Aude program (grant no. 7027-00077B) and VILLUM FONDEN through the Centre of Excellence for Dirac Materials (grant no. 11744) . Affiliation with the Center for Integrated Materials Research (iMAT) at Aarhus University is gratefully acknowledged.-N.J.S. acknowledges financial support from the research foundation Flanders (FWO) through a postdoctoral fellowship (FWO grant no. 1238622N) . S.B. acknowledges financial support from the European Commission by the ERC Consolidator grant REALNANO (no. 815128) . Approved Most recent IF: 9.5; 2023 IF: 7.504  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:195375 Serial 7293  
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Author Yao, Y.; Ugras, T.J.; Meyer, T.; Dykes, M.; Wang, D.; Arbe, A.; Bals, S.; Kahr, B.; Robinson, R.D. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Extracting pure circular dichroism from hierarchically structured CdS magic cluster films Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication ACS nano Abbreviated Journal Acs Nano  
  Volume 16 Issue 12 Pages 20457-20469  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Chiroptically active, hierarchically structured materials are difficult to accurately characterize due to linear anisotropic contributions (i.e., linear dichroism (LD) and linear birefringence (LB)) and parasitic ellipticities that produce artifactual circular dichroism (CD) signals, in addition to chiral analyte contributions ranging from molecular-scale clusters to micron-sized assemblies. Recently, we have shown that CdS magic-sized clusters (MSC) can self-assemble into ordered films that have a hierarchical structure spanning seven orders of length-scale. These films have a strong CD response, but the chiral origins are obfuscated by the hierarchical architecture and LDLB contributions. Here, we derive and demonstrate a method for extracting the “pure” CD signal (CD generated by structural dissymmetry) from hierarchical MSC films and identified the chiral origin. The theory behind the method is derived using Mueller matrix and Stokes vector conventions and verified experimentally before being applied to hierarchical MSC and nanoparticle films with varying macroscopic orderings. Each film's extracted “true CD” shares a bisignate profile aligned with the exciton peak, indicating the assemblies adopt a chiral arrangement and form an exciton coupled system. Interestingly, the linearly aligned MSC film possesses one of the highest g-factors (0.05) among semiconducting nanostructures reported. Additionally, we find that films with similar electronic transition dipole alignment can possess greatly different g-factors, indicating chirality change rather than anisotropy is the cause of the difference in the CD signal. The difference in g-factor is controllable via film evaporation geometry. This study provides a simple means to measure “true” CD and presents an example of experimentally understanding chiroptic interactions in hierarchical nanostructures.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000888219600001 Publication Date 2022-11-17  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 17.1 Times cited 8 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award Nos. DMR-2003431 and CHE-2003586. This work made use of the Cornell Center for Materials Research Shared Facilities, which are supported through the NSF MRSEC program (DMR-1719875). This work is partly supported by Grant PID2021-123438NB-I00 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “ERDF vA way of making Europe”) and Grant IT1566-22 (Eusko Jaurlaritza). D.W. acknowledges an Individual Fellowship funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in the Horizon 2020 program (Grant 894254 SuprAtom). S.B. acknowledges financial support from ERC Consolidator Grant No. 815128 REALNANO. B.K. acknowledges NSF award DMR-2003968. We would like to thank Dr. Mark August Pfeifer for help with circular dichroism measurements. Additionally, we would like to thank Professor Luis M. Liz-Marzan for invaluable discussions on chirality. Approved Most recent IF: 17.1  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:192070 Serial 7305  
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Author dela Encarnacion, C.; Lenzi, E.; Henriksen-Lacey, M.; Molina, B.; Jenkinson, K.; Herrero, A.; Colas, L.; Ramos-Cabrer, P.; Toro-Mendoza, J.; Orue, I.; Langer, J.; Bals, S.; Jimenez de Aberasturi, D.; Liz-Marzan, L.M. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Hybrid magnetic-plasmonic nanoparticle probes for multimodal bioimaging Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 126 Issue 45 Pages 19519-19531  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Multimodal contrast agents, which take advantage of different imaging modalities, have emerged as an interesting approach to overcome the technical limitations of individual techniques. We developed hybrid nanoparticles comprising an iron oxide core and an outer gold spiky layer, stabilized by a biocompatible polymeric shell. The combined magnetic and optical properties of the different components provide the required functionalities for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and fluorescence imaging. The fabrication of such hybrid nanoprobes comprised the adsorption of small gold nanoparticles onto premade iron oxide cores, followed by controlled growth of spiky gold shells. The gold layer thickness and branching degree (tip sharpness) can be controlled by modifying both the density of Au nanoparticle seeds on the iron oxide cores and the subsequent nanostar growth conditions. We additionally demonstrated the performance of these hybrid multifunctional nanoparticles as multimodal contrast agents for correlative imaging of in vitro cell models and ex vivo tissues.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000883021700001 Publication Date 2022-11-04  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447; 1932-7455 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.7 Times cited 10 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the European Research Council (ERC-AdG-2017, 787510) and MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 through grants PID2019-108854RA-I00 and Maria de Maeztu Unit of Excellence No. MDM-2017-0720. S.B. and K.J. acknowledge financial support from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020Programme by Grant No. 823717 (ESTEEM3) and ERC Consolidator Grant No. 815128 (REALNANO) . Approved Most recent IF: 3.7  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:192104 Serial 7311  
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Author Rivas-Murias, B.; Testa-Anta, M.; Skorikov, A.S.; Comesana-Hermo, M.; Bals, S.; Salgueirino, V. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Interfaceless exchange bias in CoFe₂O₄ nanocrystals Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Nano letters Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 23 Issue 5 Pages 1688-1695  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Oxidized cobalt ferrite nanocrystals with a modified distribution of the magnetic cations in their spinel structure give place to an unusual exchange-coupled system with a double reversal of the magnetization, exchange bias, and increased coercivity, but without the presence of a clear physical interface that delimits two well-differentiated magnetic phases. More specifically, the partial oxidation of cobalt cations and the formation of Fe vacancies at the surface region entail the formation of a cobalt-rich mixed ferrite spinel, which is strongly pinned by the ferrimagnetic background from the cobalt ferrite lattice. This particular configuration of exchange-biased magnetic behavior, involving two different magnetic phases but without the occurrence of a crystallographically coherent interface, revolu-tionizes the established concept of exchange bias phenomenology.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000940892000001 Publication Date 2023-02-27  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1530-6984 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 10.8 Times cited 4 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes M.T.-A. acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci?n under grant FJC2021- 046680-I. S.B. acknowledges funding from the European Research Council under the European Union?s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (ERC Consolidator Grant N o 815128 REALNANO) . V.S. acknowledges the financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci?n under project PID2020-119242-I00 and from the European Union under project H2020-MSCA-RISE-2019 PEPSA-MATE (project number 872233) . Approved Most recent IF: 10.8; 2023 IF: 12.712  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:195186 Serial 7315  
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Author Yang, S.; Liu, Z.; An, H.; Arnouts, S.; de Ruiter, J.; Rollier, F.; Bals, S.; Altantzis, T.; Figueiredo, M.C.; Filot, I.A.W.; Hensen, E.J.M.; Weckhuysen, B.M.; van der Stam, W. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Near-unity electrochemical CO₂ to CO conversion over Sn-doped copper oxide nanoparticles Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication ACS catalysis Abbreviated Journal Acs Catal  
  Volume 12 Issue 24 Pages 15146-15156  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract Bimetallic electrocatalysts have emerged as a viable strategy to tune the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR) for the selective production of valuable base chemicals and fuels. However, obtaining high product selectivity and catalyst stability remain challenging, which hinders the practical application of eCO2RR. In this work, it was found that a small doping concentration of tin (Sn) in copper oxide (CuO) has profound influence on the catalytic performance, boosting the Faradaic efficiency (FE) up to 98% for carbon monoxide (CO) at -0.75 V versus RHE, with prolonged stable performance (FE > 90%) for up to 15 h. Through a combination of ex situ and in situ characterization techniques, the in situ activation and reaction mechanism of the electrocatalyst at work was elucidated. In situ Raman spectroscopy measurements revealed that the binding energy of the crucial adsorbed *CO intermediate was lowered through Sn doping, thereby favoring gaseous CO desorption. This observation was confirmed by density functional theory, which further indicated that hydrogen adsorption and subsequent hydrogen evolution were hampered on the Sn-doped electrocatalysts, resulting in boosted CO formation. It was found that the pristine electrocatalysts consisted of CuO nanoparticles decorated with SnO2 domains, as characterized by ex situ high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. These pristine nanoparticles were subsequently in situ converted into a catalytically active bimetallic Sn-doped Cu phase. Our work sheds light on the intimate relationship between the bimetallic structure and catalytic behavior, resulting in stable and selective oxide-derived Sn-doped Cu electrocatalysts.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000900052400001 Publication Date 2022-11-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2155-5435 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 12.9 Times cited 16 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes B.M.W., S.Y., M.C.F., E.J.M.H., and W.v.d.S. acknowledge support from the Strategic UU-TU/e Alliance project ?Joint Centre for Chemergy Research?. S.B. acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator grant #815128 REALNANO) . Z.L. acknowledges financial support of the China Scholarship Council and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research for access to computa-tional resources for carrying out the DFT calculations reported in this work. S.A. and T.A. acknowledge funding from theUniversity of Antwerp Research fund (BOF) . The authors also thank Dr. Jochem Wijten and Joris Janssens (Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, Utrecht University) for helpful technical support. Sander Deelen (Faculty of Science, Utrecht University) is acknowledged for the design of the in situ XRD cell. Approved Most recent IF: 12.9  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:192742 Serial 7325  
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Author Spaeth, P.; Adhikari, S.; Heyvaert, W.; Zhuo, X.; Garcia, I.; Liz-Marzan, L.M.; Bals, S.; Orrit, M.; Albrecht, W. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Photothermal circular dichroism measurements of single chiral gold nanoparticles correlated with electron tomography Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication ACS Photonics Abbreviated Journal Acs Photonics  
  Volume 9 Issue 12 Pages 3995-4004  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Chemically synthesized metal nanoparticles with morphological chiral features are known to exhibit strong circular dichroism. However, we still lack understanding of the correlation between morphological and chiroptical features of plasmonic nanoparticles. To shed light on that question, single nanoparticle experiments are required. We performed photothermal circular dichroism measurements of single chiral and achiral gold nanoparticles and correlated the chiroptical response to the 3D morphology of the same nanoparticles retrieved by electron tomography. In contrast to an ensemble measurement, we show that individual particles within the ensemble display a broad distribution of strength and handedness of circular dichroism signals. Whereas obvious structural chiral features, such as helical wrinkles, translate into chiroptical ones, nanoparticles with less obvious chiral morphological features can also display strong circular dichroism signals. Interestingly, we find that even seemingly achiral nanoparticles can display large g-factors. The origin of this circular dichroism signal is discussed in terms of plasmonics and other potentially relevant factors.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000884432100001 Publication Date 2022-11-08  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2330-4022 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 7 Times cited 5 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This work was supported by The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) as part of the Open Technology Program (OTP, Project No. 16008) and by a Spinoza prize (M.O.) . W.A. acknowledges an Individual Fellowship funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in Horizon 2020 Program (Grant No. 797153, SOPMEN) . L.M.L.M. acknowledges funding from MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Grants PID2020-117779RB-I00 and MDM-2017-0720) . We thank Dr. Wolfgang L?fer for providing optical equipment. We also acknowledge the European Soft Matter Infrastructure (EUSMI: E201200468) . Approved Most recent IF: 7  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:192098 Serial 7331  
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Author Parzyszek, S.; Tessarolo, J.; Pedrazo-Tardajos, A.; Ortuno, A.M.; Baginski, M.; Bals, S.; Clever, G.H.; Lewandowski, W. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Tunable circularly polarized luminescence via chirality induction and energy transfer from organic films to semiconductor nanocrystals Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication ACS nano Abbreviated Journal Acs Nano  
  Volume 16 Issue 11 Pages 18472-18482  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Circularly polarized luminescent (CPL) films with high dissymmetry factors hold great potential for optoelectronic applications. Herei n , we propose a strategy for achieving strongly dissymetric CPL in nanocomposite films based on chira l i t y induction and energy transfer to semiconductor nanocrystals. First, focusing on a purely organic system, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and CPL activity of organic liquid crystals (LCs) forming helical nanofilaments was detected, featuring green emission with high dissymmetry factors g(lum) similar to 10(-2). The handedness of helical filaments, and thus the sign of CPL, was controlled via minute amounts of a small chiral organic dopant. Second, nanocomposite films were fabricated by incorporating InP/ZnS semi-conductor quantum dots (QDs) into the LC matri x , which induced the chiral assembly of QDs and endowed them with chiroptical properties. Due to the spectral matching of the components, energy transfer (ET) from LC to QDs was possible enabling a convenient way of tuning CPL wavelengths by varying the LC/QD ratio. As obtained, composite films exhibited absolute glum values up to similar to 10(-2) and thermally on/off switchable luminescence. Overall, we demonstrate the induction of chiroptical properties by the assembly of nonchiral building QDs on the chiral organic template and energy transfer from organic films to QDs, representing a simple and versatile approach to tune the CPL activity of organic materials.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000883943600001 Publication Date 2022-11-07  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 17.1 Times cited 10 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes W.L., S.P., and M.B. acknowledge support from the National Science Center Poland under the OPUS Grant UMO-2019/35/B/ST5/04488. J.T. and G.H.C. acknowledge the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy, Grant EXC 2033-390677874-RESOLV. W.L. acknowledges financial support from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme by Grant E210400529. S.B. and A.P.-T. acknowledge financial support from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme by Grant 731019 (EUSMI) and ERC Consolidator Grant 815128 (REALNANO). We thank Elie Benchimol for his help with the CPL measurements. We thank Damian Pociecha for his help in the determination of phase sequences of organic compounds. Approved Most recent IF: 17.1  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:192101 Serial 7345  
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Author Mulder, J.T.; Meijer, M.S.; van Blaaderen, J.J.; du Fosse, I.; Jenkinson, K.; Bals, S.; Manna, L.; Houtepen, A.J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Understanding and preventing photoluminescence quenching to achieve unity photoluminescence quantum yield in Yb:YLF nanocrystals Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication ACS applied materials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 3274-3286  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Ytterbium-doped LiYF4 (Yb:YLF) is a commonly used material for laser applications, as a photon upconversion medium, and for optical refrigeration. As nanocrystals (NCs), the material is also of interest for biological and physical applications. Unfortunately, as with most phosphors, with the reduction in size comes a large reduction of the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), which is typically associated with an increase in surface-related PL quenching. Here, we report the synthesis of bipyramidal Yb:YLF NCs with a short axis of similar to 60 nm. We systematically study and remove all sources of PL quenching in these NCs. By chemically removing all traces of water from the reaction mixture, we obtain NCs that exhibit a near-unity PLQY for an Yb3+ concentration below 20%. At higher Yb3+ concentrations, efficient concentration quenching occurs. The surface PL quenching is mitigated by growing an undoped YLF shell around the NC core, resulting in near-unity PLQY values even for fully Yb3+-based LiYbF4 cores. This unambiguously shows that the only remaining quenching sites in core-only Yb:YLF NCs reside on the surface and that concentration quenching is due to energy transfer to the surface. Monte Carlo simulations can reproduce the concentration dependence of the PLQY. Surprisingly, Fo''rster resonance energy transfer does not give satisfactory agreement with the experimental data, whereas nearest-neighbor energy transfer does. This work demonstrates that Yb3+-based nanophosphors can be synthesized with a quality close to that of bulk single crystals. The high Yb3+ concentration in the LiYbF4/LiYF4 core/shell nanocrystals increases the weak Yb3+ absorption, making these materials highly promising for fundamental studies and increasing their effectiveness in bioapplications and optical refrigeration.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000912997300001 Publication Date 2023-01-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1944-8244 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 9.5 Times cited 3 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 766900 (Testing the Large-Scale Limit of Quantum Mechanics). A.J.H. and I.d.F. further acknowledge the European Research Council Horizon 2020 ERC Grant Agreement No. 678004 (Doping on Demand) for financial support. The authors thank Freddy Rabouw and Andries Meijerink (Utrecht University) for very fruitful discussions and extremely useful advice. The author s thank Jos Thieme for his help with the laser setups used . The authors furthermore thank Niranjan Saikumar for proofreading the manuscript. Approved Most recent IF: 9.5; 2023 IF: 7.504  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:194317 Serial 7348  
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Author Chen, H.; Xiong, Y.; Li, J.; Abed, J.; Wang, D.; Pedrazo-Tardajos, A.; Cao, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, Y.; Shakouri, M.; Xiao, Q.; Hu, Y.; Bals, S.; Sargent, E.H.H.; Su, C.-Y.; Yang, Z. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Epitaxially grown silicon-based single-atom catalyst for visible-light-driven syngas production Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Nature communications Abbreviated Journal Nat Commun  
  Volume 14 Issue 1 Pages 1719-11  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Despite the natural abundance and promising properties of Si, there are few examples of crystalline Si-based catalysts. Here, the authors report an epitaxial growth method to construct Co single atoms on Si for light driven CO2 reduction to syngas. Improving the dispersion of active sites simultaneous with the efficient harvest of photons is a key priority for photocatalysis. Crystalline silicon is abundant on Earth and has a suitable bandgap. However, silicon-based photocatalysts combined with metal elements has proved challenging due to silicon's rigid crystal structure and high formation energy. Here we report a solid-state chemistry that produces crystalline silicon with well-dispersed Co atoms. Isolated Co sites in silicon are obtained through the in-situ formation of CoSi2 intermediate nanodomains that function as seeds, leading to the production of Co-incorporating silicon nanocrystals at the CoSi2/Si epitaxial interface. As a result, cobalt-on-silicon single-atom catalysts achieve an external quantum efficiency of 10% for CO2-to-syngas conversion, with CO and H-2 yields of 4.7 mol g((Co))(-1) and 4.4 mol g((Co))(-1), respectively. Moreover, the H-2/CO ratio is tunable between 0.8 and 2. This photocatalyst also achieves a corresponding turnover number of 2 x 10(4) for visible-light-driven CO2 reduction over 6 h, which is over ten times higher than previously reported single-atom photocatalysts.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000962607600018 Publication Date 2023-03-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2041-1723 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 16.6 Times cited 6 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21821003, 21890380, 21905316), Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (2019A1515011748), the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province (2019A050510018), Pearl River Recruitment Program of Talent (2019QN01C108), the EU Infrastructure Project EUSMI (Grant No. E190700310), and Sun Yat-sen University. D.W. acknowledges an Individual Fellowship funded by the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in Horizon 2020 program (grant 894254 SuprAtom). S.B. and A.P.-T. acknowledge financial support from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme by grant no. 731019 (EUSMI) and ERC Consolidator grant no. 815128 (REALNANO). This project has received funding from the European Commission Grant (EUSMI E190700310). Synchrotron XAS data described in this paper was performed at the Canadian Light Source, a national research facility of the University of Saskatchewan, which is supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the National Research Council (NRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Government of Saskatchewan, and the University of Saskatchewan. Approved Most recent IF: 16.6; 2023 IF: 12.124  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:196062 Serial 7932  
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Author Arenas Esteban, D.; Pacquets, L.; Choukroun, D.; Hoekx, S.; Kadu, A.A.; Schalck, J.; Daems, N.; Breugelmans, T.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title 3D characterization of the structural transformation undergone by Cu@Ag core-shell nanoparticles following CO₂ reduction reaction Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Chemistry of materials Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 35 Issue 17 Pages 6682-6691  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract The increasing use of metallic nanoparticles (NPs) is significantly advancing the field of electrocatalysis. In particular, Cu/Ag bimetallic interfaces are widely used to enhance the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO(2)RR) toward CO and, more recently, C-2 products. However, drastic changes in the product distribution and performance when Cu@Ag core-shell configurations are used can often be observed under electrochemical reaction conditions, especially during the first few minutes of the reaction. Possible structural changes that generate these observations remain underexplored; therefore, the structure-property relationship is hardly understood. In this study, we use electron tomography to investigate the structural transformation mechanism of Cu@Ag core-shells NPs during the critical first minutes of the eCO(2)RR. In this manner, we found that the crystallinity of the Cu seed determines whether the formation of a complete and homogeneous Ag shell is possible. Moreover, by tracking the particles' transformations, we conclude that modifications of the Cu-Ag interface and Cu2O enrichment at the surface of the NPs are key factors contributing to the product generation changes. These insights provide a better understanding of how bimetallic core-shell NPs transform under electrochemical conditions.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001061530700001 Publication Date 2023-08-31  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0897-4756; 1520-5002 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 8.6 Times cited 1 Open Access Not_Open_Access: Available from 29.02.2024  
  Notes L.P. was supported through a PhD fellowship for strategicbasic research (1S56920N) of the Research Foundation – Flanders(FWO). S.H. was supported through a PhD fellowship for strategic basicresearch (1S42623N) of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO).S.B., D.A.E., and A.A.K. acknowledge financial support from ERC Consolidator Grant Number 815128 REALNANO. This research was financed by the researchcouncil of the University of Antwerp (BOF-GOA 33928). Approved Most recent IF: 8.6; 2023 IF: 9.466  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:199187 Serial 8825  
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Author Ren, P.; Zhang, T.; Jain, N.; Ching, H.Y.V.; Jaworski, A.; Barcaro, G.; Monti, S.; Silvestre-Albero, J.; Celorrio, V.; Chouhan, L.; Rokicinska, A.; Debroye, E.; Kustrowski, P.; Van Doorslaer, S.; Van Aert, S.; Bals, S.; Das, S. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title An atomically dispersed Mn-photocatalyst for generating hydrogen peroxide from seawater via the Water Oxidation Reaction (WOR) Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Journal of the American Chemical Society Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 145 Issue 30 Pages 16584-16596  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Organic synthesis (ORSY); Theory and Spectroscopy of Molecules and Materials (TSM²)  
  Abstract In this work, we have fabricatedan aryl amino-substitutedgraphiticcarbon nitride (g-C3N4) catalyst with atomicallydispersed Mn capable of generating hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) directly from seawater. This new catalyst exhibitedexcellent reactivity, obtaining up to 2230 & mu;M H2O2 in 7 h from alkaline water and up to 1800 & mu;Mfrom seawater under identical conditions. More importantly, the catalystwas quickly recovered for subsequent reuse without appreciable lossin performance. Interestingly, unlike the usual two-electron oxygenreduction reaction pathway, the generation of H2O2 was through a less common two-electron water oxidation reaction(WOR) process in which both the direct and indirect WOR processesoccurred; namely, photoinduced h(+) directly oxidized H2O to H2O2 via a one-step 2e(-) WOR, and photoinduced h(+) first oxidized a hydroxide (OH-) ion to generate a hydroxy radical ((OH)-O-& BULL;), and H2O2 was formed indirectly by thecombination of two (OH)-O-& BULL;. We have characterized thematerial, at the catalytic sites, at the atomic level using electronparamagnetic resonance, X-ray absorption near edge structure, extendedX-ray absorption fine structure, high-resolution transmission electronmicroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, magic-angle spinningsolid-state NMR spectroscopy, and multiscale molecular modeling, combiningclassical reactive molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemistrycalculations.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001034983300001 Publication Date 2023-07-24  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0002-7863 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 15 Times cited 21 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes S.D. thanks the IOF grant and Francqui start up grant from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, for the financial support. P.R. thanks CSC and T.Z. thanks FWO for their financial assistance to finish this work. E.D. would like to thank the KU Leuven Research Fund for financial support through STG/21/010. J.S.A. acknowledges financial support from MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and EU NextGeneration/PRTR (Project PCI2020-111968/3D-Photocat) and Diamond Synchrotron (rapid access proposal SP32609). This work was supported by the European Research Council (grant 770887-PICOMETRICS to S.V.A. and Grant 815128-REALNANO to S.B.). S.B. and S.V.A. acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium, project G.0346.21 N). We also thank Mr. Jian Zhu and Mr. Shahid Ullah Khan from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, for helpful discussions. Approved Most recent IF: 15; 2023 IF: 13.858  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:198426 Serial 8831  
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Author Zhang, Y.; van Schayck, J.P.; Pedrazo-Tardajos, A.; Claes, N.; Noteborn, W.E.M.; Lu, P.-H.; Duimel, H.; Dunin-Borkowski, R.E.; Bals, S.; Peters, P.J.; Ravelli, R.B.G. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Charging of vitreous samples in cryogenic electron microscopy mitigated by graphene Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication ACS nano Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 17 Issue 16 Pages 15836-15846  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Cryogenic electronmicroscopy can provide high-resolution reconstructionsof macromolecules embedded in a thin layer of ice from which atomicmodels can be built de novo. However, the interactionbetween the ionizing electron beam and the sample results in beam-inducedmotion and image distortion, which limit the attainable resolutions.Sample charging is one contributing factor of beam-induced motionsand image distortions, which is normally alleviated by including partof the supporting conducting film within the beam-exposed region.However, routine data collection schemes avoid strategies wherebythe beam is not in contact with the supporting film, whose rationaleis not fully understood. Here we characterize electrostatic chargingof vitreous samples, both in imaging and in diffraction mode. We mitigatesample charging by depositing a single layer of conductive grapheneon top of regular EM grids. We obtained high-resolution single-particleanalysis (SPA) reconstructions at 2 & ANGS; when the electron beamonly irradiates the middle of the hole on graphene-coated grids, usingdata collection schemes that previously failed to produce sub 3 & ANGS;reconstructions without the graphene layer. We also observe that theSPA data obtained with the graphene-coated grids exhibit a higher b factor and reduced particle movement compared to dataobtained without the graphene layer. This mitigation of charging couldhave broad implications for various EM techniques, including SPA andcryotomography, and for the study of radiation damage and the developmentof future sample carriers. Furthermore, it may facilitate the explorationof more dose-efficient, scanning transmission EM based SPA techniques.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001041649900001 Publication Date 2023-08-02  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 17.1 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes We thank H. Nguyen for editing the manuscript. We warmly thank the M4i Microscopy CORE Lab team of FHML Maastricht University (MU) for their support and collaboration and Eve Timlin and Ye Gao (MU) for providing protein samples. Members of the Amsterdam Scientific Instruments team are acknowledged for their Timepix detector support. This work benefited from access to The Netherlands Centre for Electron Nanoscopy (NeCEN) with assistance from Ludovic Renault and Meindert Lamers. The authors acknowledge financial support of the Netherlands Electron Microscopy Infrastructure (NEMI), project number 184.034.014 of the National Roadmap for Large-Scale Research Infrastructure of the Dutch Research Council (NWO), the PPP Allowance made available by Health-Holland, Top Sector Life Sciences & Health, to stimulate public-private partnerships, project 4DEM, number LSHM21029, and the LINK program from the Province of Limburg, The Netherlands, as well as financial support from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme by grant no. 815128 (REALNANO). Approved Most recent IF: 17.1; 2023 IF: 13.942  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:198376 Serial 8840  
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Author Vega-Paredes, M.; Aymerich-Armengol, R.; Arenas Esteban, D.; Marti-Sanchez, S.; Bals, S.; Scheu, C.; Manjon, A.G. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Electrochemical stability of rhodium-platinum core-shell nanoparticles : an identical location scanning transmission electron microscopy study Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication ACS nano Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 17 Issue 17 Pages 16943-16951  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Rhodium-platinum core-shell nanoparticleson a carbonsupport (Rh@Pt/C NPs) are promising candidates as anode catalystsfor polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. However, their electrochemicalstability needs to be further explored for successful applicationin commercial fuel cells. Here we employ identical location scanningtransmission electron microscopy to track the morphological and compositionalchanges of Rh@Pt/C NPs during potential cycling (10 000 cycles,0.06-0.8 V-RHE, 0.5 H2SO4)down to the atomic level, which are then used for understanding thecurrent evolution occurring during the potential cycles. Our resultsreveal a high stability of the Rh@Pt/C system and point toward particledetachment from the carbon support as the main degradation mechanism.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001051495900001 Publication Date 2023-08-21  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 17.1 Times cited 2 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors would like to thank C. Bodirsky for providing the samples, N. Rivas Rivas for his corrections on the manuscript, and D. Chatain for providing her expertise on the equilibrium shape of nanoparticles. Special thanks to B. Breitbach for performing the XRD experiments. A.G.M. acknowledges the Grant RYC2021-033479- I funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and, as appropriate, by European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. Approved Most recent IF: 17.1; 2023 IF: 13.942  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:199253 Serial 8859  
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Author Beckwee, E.J.; Watson, G.; Houlleberghs, M.; Arenas Esteban, D.; Bals, S.; Van Der Voort, P.; Breynaert, E.; Martens, J.; Baron, G.V.; Denayer, J.F.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Enabling hydrate-based methane storage under mild operating conditions by periodic mesoporous organosilica nanotubes Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Heliyon Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 9 Issue 7 Pages e17662-14  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Biomethane is a renewable natural gas substitute produced from biogas. Storage of this sustainable energy vector in confined clathrate hydrates, encapsulated in the pores of a host material, is a highly promising avenue to improve storage capacity and energy efficiency. Herein, a new type of periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) nanotubes, referred to as hollow ring PMO (HR-PMO), capable of promoting methane clathrate hydrate formation under mild working conditions (273 K, 3.5 MPa) and at high water loading (5.1 g water/g HR-PMO) is reported. Gravimetric uptake measurements reveal a steep single-stepped isotherm and a noticeably high methane storage capacity (0.55 g methane/g HR-PMO; 0.11 g methane/g water at 3.5 MPa). The large working capacity throughout consecutive pressure-induced clathrate hydrate formationdissociation cycles demonstrates the material's excellent recyclability (97% preservation of capacity). Supported by ex situ cryo-electron tomography and x-ray diffraction, HR-PMO nanotubes are hypothesized to promote clathrate hydrate nucleation and growth by distribution and confinement of water in the mesopores of their outer wall, along the central channels of the nanotubes and on the external nanotube surface. These findings showcase the potential for application of organosilica materials with hierarchical and interconnected pore systems for pressure-based storage of biomethane in confined clathrate hydrates.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001056264100001 Publication Date 2023-06-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2405-8440 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited 4 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes E.J.B., G.W. and M.H. contributed equally to this work. M.H. acknowledges FWO for an FWO-SB fellowship. All authors acknowledge VLAIO for Moonshot funding (ARCLATH, n ? HBC.2019.0110, ARCLATH2, n ? HBC.2021.0254) . J.A.M. acknowledges the Flemish Government for long-term structural funding (Methusalem) and department EWI for infrastructure investment via the Hermes Fund (AH.2016.134) . NMRCoRe acknowledges the Flemish government, department EWI for financial support as International Research Infrastructure (I001321N: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Platform for Molecular Water Research) . J.A.M. acknowledges the European Research Council (ERC) for an Advanced Research Grant under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 834134 (WATUSO) . S.B acknowledges financial support by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO grant G.0381.16N) . This project also received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 731019 (EUSMI) and No 815128 (REALNANO) . Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:199249 Serial 8862  
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Author Chen, Q.; Skorikov, A.; van der Hoeven, J.E.S.; van Blaaderen, A.; Albrecht, W.; Perez-Garza, H.H.; Bals, S. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Estimation of temperature homogeneity in MEMS-based heating nanochips via quantitative HAADF-STEM tomography Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Particle and particle systems characterization Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 41 Issue 2 Pages 1-8  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Sample holders for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) have recently become popular for investigating the behavior of nanomaterials under in situ or environmental conditions. The accuracy and reproducibility of these in situ holders are essential to ensure the reliability of experimental results. In addition, the uniformity of an applied temperature trigger across the MEMS chip is a crucial parameter. In this work, it is measured the temperature homogeneity of MEMS-based heating sample supports by locally analyzing the dynamics of heat-induced alloying of Au@Ag nanoparticles located in different regions of the support through quantitative fast high-angle annular dark-field scanning TEM tomography. These results demonstrate the superior temperature homogeneity of a microheater design based on a heating element shaped as a circular spiral with a width decreasing outwards compared to a double spiral-shaped designed microheater. The proposed approach to measure the local temperature homogeneity based on the thermal properties of bimetallic nanoparticles will support the future development of MEMS-based heating supports with improved thermal properties and in situ studies where high precision in the temperature at a certain position is required. This schematic delineates an approach to quantifying potential localized temperature deviation within a nanochip. Employing two comparable nanoparticles as thermal probes in discrete nanochip regions, the alloying kinetics of these nanoparticles are monitorable using in situ quantitative high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) tomography, thus enabling the precise estimation of local temperature deviations.image  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001060394600001 Publication Date 2023-09-08  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0934-0866 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 2.7 Times cited Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes This project was funded from the European Commission and The Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network MUMMERING (Grant Agreement no. 765604) Approved Most recent IF: 2.7; 2023 IF: 4.474  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:199219 Serial 8863  
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Author Yang, S.; An, H.; Arnouts, S.; Wang, H.; Yu, X.; de Ruiter, J.; Bals, S.; Altantzis, T.; Weckhuysen, B.M.; van der Stam, W. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Halide-guided active site exposure in bismuth electrocatalysts for selective CO₂ conversion into formic acid Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Nature Catalysis Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 6 Issue 9 Pages 796-806  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract It remains a challenge to identify the active sites of bismuth catalysts in the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction. Here we show through in situ characterization that the activation of bismuth oxyhalide electrocatalysts to metallic bismuth is guided by the halides. In situ X-ray diffraction results show that bromide promotes the selective exposure of planar bismuth surfaces, whereas chloride and iodide result in more disordered active sites. Furthermore, we find that bromide-activated bismuth catalysts outperform the chloride and iodide counterparts, achieving high current density (>100 mA cm(-2)) and formic acid selectivity (>90%), suggesting that planar bismuth surfaces are more active for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction. In addition, in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements reveal that the reconstruction proceeds rapidly in chloride-activated bismuth and gradually when bromide is present, facilitating the formation of ordered planar surfaces. These findings show the pivotal role of halogens on selective facet exposure in activated bismuth-based electrocatalysts during the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001050367400001 Publication Date 2023-08-17  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2520-1158 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 37.8 Times cited 13 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes B.M.W. acknowledges support from the Strategic UU-TU/e Alliance project 'Joint Centre for Chemergy Research' as well as from the Netherlands Center for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion (MCEC), an NWO gravitation programme funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the government of the Netherlands. S.B. acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grant #815128 REALNANO). S.A. and T.A. acknowledge funding from the University of Antwerp Research fund (BOF). We also thank J. Wijten, J. Janssens and T. Prins (all from the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group, Utrecht University) for helpful technical support. S. Deelen (Faculty of Science, Utrecht University) and L. Wu (Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group, Utrecht University) are acknowledged for the design of the in situ XRD cell. We also acknowledge B. Detlefs, P. Glatzel and V. Paidi (ESRF) for the support during the HERFD-XANES measurements on the ID26 beamline of the ESRF. Approved Most recent IF: 37.8; 2023 IF: NA  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:199190 Serial 8877  
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Author Panzic, I.; Mandic, V.; Mangalam, J.; Rath, T.; Radovanovic-Peric, F.; Gaboardi, M.; De Coen, B.; Bals, S.; Schrenker, N. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title In-situ structural degradation study of quadruple-cation perovskite solar cells with nanostructured charge transfer layer Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Ceramics international Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 49 Issue 14b Pages 24475-24486  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract We investigated the structural stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) in n-i-p configuration comprising a rubidium-caesium-methylammonium-formamidinium (Rb-Cs-MA-FA) lead iodide/bromide perovskite absorber, interfaced with nanostructured ZnO-nanorod (NR) or mesostructured (MS) TiO2 electron transfer layers (ETL). An in-situ setup was established comprising synchrotron grazing incidence diffraction (GID) and Raman spectroscopy as a function of temperature under ambient and isothermal conditions; measurements of current-voltage (IV) characteristics and electron microscopic investigations were conducted discretely.The aging of the solar cells was performed at ambient conditions or at elevated temperatures directly in the in -situ measurement setup. The diffraction depth profiling results point to different degradation rates for different ETLs; moreover, electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, as well as energy dispersive spectroscopy clarified surface conditions in terms of the extent of the degradation. Scanning transmission electron microscopy of lamellas, derived by dual beam microscopy, revealed that the origin of the degradation lay in the ETL/ absorber interface. For the case of the nanostructured zincite, the perovskite absorber contained many voids, leading to the conclusion that the investigated quadruple perovskite absorber showed limited compatibility with ZnO NR ETL due to a higher number of defects. Morphological defects promoted the absorber degradation and nullified the advantages initially achieved by nanostructuring. The exchange of the ZnO NR ETL with MS TiO2 improved the stability parameters of the absorber layer.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
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  Language Wos 001021057200001 Publication Date 2022-12-25  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0272-8842; 1873-3956 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 5.2 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This work has been funded by the projects PZS-2019-02-1555 PV-WALL in Research Cooperability Program of the Croatian Science Foundation funded by the European Union from the European Social Fund under the Operational Programme Efficient Human Resources 2014-2020 (perovskite solar cells) , UIP-2019-04-2367 SLIPPERY SLOPE of the Croatian Science Foundation (nanostructured titania and zincite constituents) , KK.01.2.1.02.0316 “ The development of the technical solution for energy saving using VIS -transparent or semi-transparent and IR-reflective thin-films” by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (characterisation of thin-films) , 20190571 and 20190516 at Elettra Synchrotron, ICM-2019-13220 in Ernst Mach program of the OeAD-GmbH, and E210900588 in the EUSMI program. The group of prof Gregor Trimmel of the ICTM, NAWI Graz, the beam- line scientists of the MCX beamline of the Elettra synchrotron, and FIB- STEM researchers of the Faculty of Science, University of Antwerp, are gratefully acknowledged for collaboration and instrument access. The financial sustenance of the University of Zagreb is gratefully acknowledged. Approved Most recent IF: 5.2; 2023 IF: 2.986  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:197806 Serial 8885  
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Author Mulder, J.T.T.; Jenkinson, K.; Toso, S.; Prato, M.; Evers, W.H.H.; Bals, S.; Manna, L.; Houtepen, A.J.J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Nucleation and growth of bipyramidal Yb:LiYF₄ nanocrystals : growing up in a hot environment Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Chemistry of materials Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 35 Issue 14 Pages 5311-5321  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Lanthanide-doped LiYF4 (Ln:YLF) is commonlyused fora broad variety of optical applications, such as lasing, photon upconversionand optical refrigeration. When synthesized as nanocrystals (NCs),this material is also of interest for biological applications andfundamental physical studies. Until now, it was unclear how Ln:YLFNCs grow from their ionic precursors into tetragonal NCs with a well-defined,bipyramidal shape and uniform dopant distribution. Here, we studythe nucleation and growth of ytterbium-doped LiYF4 (Yb:YLF),as a template for general Ln:YLF NC syntheses. We show that the formationof bipyramidal Yb:YLF NCs is a multistep process starting with theformation of amorphous Yb:YLF spheres. Over time, these spheres growvia Ostwald ripening and crystallize, resulting in bipyramidal Yb:YLFNCs. We further show that prolonged heating of the NCs results inthe degradation of the NCs, observed by the presence of large LiFcubes and small, irregular Yb:YLF NCs. Due to the similarity in chemicalnature of all lanthanide ions our work sheds light on the formationstages of Ln:YLF NCs in general.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001021474500001 Publication Date 2023-07-03  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0897-4756; 1520-5002 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 8.6 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 766900 (Testing the large-scale limit of quantum mechanics). The authors thank Niranjan Saikumar for proof reading the manuscript. Approved Most recent IF: 8.6; 2023 IF: 9.466  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:197787 Serial 8907  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Ramesha, B.M.; Pawlak, B.; Arenas Esteban, D.; Reekmans, G.; Bals, S.; Marchal, W.; Carleer, R.; Adriaensens, P.; Meynen, V. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Partial hydrolysis of diphosphonate ester during the formation of hybrid Tio₂ nanoparticles : role of acid concentration Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication ChemPhysChem : a European journal of chemical physics and physical chemistry Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages e202300437-13  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA)  
  Abstract In the present work, a method was utilized to control the in‐situ partial hydrolysis of a diphosphonate ester in presence of a titania precursor and in function of acid content and its impact on the hybrid nanoparticles was assessed. The hydrolysis degree of organodiphosphonate ester linkers during the formation of hybrid organic‐inorganic metal oxide nanoparticles, are relatively underexplored . Quantitative solution NMR spectroscopy revealed that during the synthesis of TiO2 nanoparticles, an increase in acid concentration introduces a higher degree of partial hydrolysis of the TEPD linker into diverse acid/ester derivatives of TEPD. Increasing the HCl/Ti ratio from 1 to 3, resulted in an increase in degree of partial hydrolysis of the TEPD linker in solution from 4% to 18.8% under the here applied conditions. As a result of the difference in partial hydrolysis, the linker‐TiO2 bonding was altered. Upon subsequent drying of the colloidal TiO2 solution, different textures, at nanoscale and macroscopic scale, were obtained dependent on the HCl/Ti ratio and thus the degree of hydrolysis of TEPD. Understanding such linker‐TiO2 nanoparticle surface dynamics is crucial for making hybrid organic‐inorganic materials (i.e. (porous) metal phosphonates) employed in applications such as electronic/photonic devices, separation technology and heterogeneous catalysts.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001071673900001 Publication Date 2023-09-05  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1439-4235; 1439-7641 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 2.9 Times cited Open Access Not_Open_Access: Available from 05.03.2024  
  Notes This work was supported by the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO Vlaanderen) Project G.0121.17 N. The work was further supported by Hasselt University and the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO Vlaanderen) via the Hercules project AUHL/15/2 – GOH3816 N. V. M. acknowledges the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) for project K801621 N. B. M. R. acknowledges, Prof. Dr. Christophe Detavernier and Dr. Davy Deduystche (COCOON, Ghent University) for PXRD and VT-XRD measurements, Prof. Dr. Christophe Van De Velde (iPRACS, University of Antwerp) and Dr. Radu Ciocarlan (LADCA, University of Antwerp) for helpful discussions on PXRD measurements and Dr. Nick Gys (University of Antwerp and VITO) for ICP-OES measurements. Approved Most recent IF: 2.9; 2023 IF: 3.075  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:198934 Serial 8911  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Ndayirinde, C.; Gorbanev, Y.; Ciocarlan, R.-G.; De Meyer, R.; Smets, A.; Vlasov, E.; Bals, S.; Cool, P.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Plasma-catalytic ammonia synthesis : packed catalysts act as plasma modifiers Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Catalysis today Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 419 Issue Pages 114156-12  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract We studied the plasma-catalytic production of NH3 from H2 and N2 in a dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor using five different Co-based catalysts supported on Al2O3, namely Co/Al2O3, CoCe/Al2O3, CoLa/Al2O3, CoCeLa/Al2O3 and CoCeMg/Al2O3. The catalysts were characterized via several techniques, including SEM-EDX, and their performance was compared. The best performing catalyst was found to be CoLa/Al2O3, but the dif-ferences in NH3 concentration, energy consumption and production rate between the different catalysts were limited under the same conditions (i.e. feed gas, flow rate and ratio, and applied power). At the same time, the plasma properties, such as the plasma power and current profile, varied significantly depending on the catalyst. Taken together, these findings suggest that in the production of NH3 by plasma catalysis, our catalysts act as plasma modifiers, i.e., they change the discharge properties and hence the gas phase plasma chemistry. Importantly, this effect dominates over the direct catalytic effect (as e.g. in thermal catalysis) defined by the chemistry on the catalyst surface.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000987221300001 Publication Date 2023-04-10  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0920-5861 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 5.3 Times cited 3 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes This research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 810182 – SCOPE ERC Synergy project) and the Methusalem project of the University of Antwerp. We also gratefully acknowledge the NH3-TPD analysis performed by Sander Bossier. Approved Most recent IF: 5.3; 2023 IF: 4.636  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:197268 Serial 8917  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Monai, M.; Jenkinson, K.; Melcherts, A.E.M.; Louwen, J.N.; Irmak, E.A.; Van Aert, S.; Altantzis, T.; Vogt, C.; van der Stam, W.; Duchon, T.; Smid, B.; Groeneveld, E.; Berben, P.; Bals, S.; Weckhuysen, B.M. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Restructuring of titanium oxide overlayers over nickel nanoparticles during catalysis Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Science Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 380 Issue 6645 Pages 644-651  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract Reducible supports can affect the performance of metal catalysts by the formation of suboxide overlayers upon reduction, a process referred to as the strong metal-support interaction (SMSI). A combination of operando electron microscopy and vibrational spectroscopy revealed that thin TiOx overlayers formed on nickel/titanium dioxide catalysts during 400 degrees C reduction were completely removed under carbon dioxide hydrogenation conditions. Conversely, after 600 degrees C reduction, exposure to carbon dioxide hydrogenation reaction conditions led to only partial reexposure of nickel, forming interfacial sites in contact with TiOx and favoring carbon-carbon coupling by providing a carbon species reservoir. Our findings challenge the conventional understanding of SMSIs and call for more-detailed operando investigations of nanocatalysts at the single-particle level to revisit static models of structure-activity relationships.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000999020900010 Publication Date 2023-05-11  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0036-8075; 1095-9203 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 56.9 Times cited 29 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes This work was supported by BASF and NWO CHIPP (research grant to B.M.W.); the MCEC NWO Gravitation Program (B.M.W.); the ARC-CBBC NWO Program (B.M.W.); the European Research Council (grant 770887 PICOMETRICS to S.V.A.); and the European Research Council (grant 815128 REALNANO to S.B.). Approved Most recent IF: 56.9; 2023 IF: 37.205  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:197432 Serial 8923  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Filez, M.; Feng, J.-Y.; Minjauw, M.M.; Solano, E.; Poonkottil, N.; Van Daele, M.; Ramachandran, R.K.; Li, C.; Bals, S.; Poelman, H.; Detavernier, C.; Dendooven, J.; Filez, M.; Minjauw, M.; Solano, E.; Poonkottil, N.; Li, C.; Bals, S.; Dendooven, J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Shuffling atomic layer deposition gas sequences to modulate bimetallic thin films and nanoparticle properties Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication Chemistry of materials Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Atomic layer deposition (ALD) typically employs metal precursors and co-reactant pulses to deposit thin films in a layer-by-layer fashion. While conventional ABAB-type ALD sequences implement only two functionalities, namely, a metal source and ligand exchange agent, additional functionalities have emerged, including etching and reduction agents. Herein, we construct gas-phase sequences-coined as ALD+-with complex-ities reaching beyond the classic ABAB-type ALD by freely combining multiple functionalities within irregular pulse schemes, e.g., ABCADC. The possibilities of such combinations are explored as a smart strategy to tailor bimetallic thin films and nanoparticle (NP) properties. By doing so, we demonstrate that bimetallic thin films can be tailored with target thickness and through the full compositional range, while the morphology can be flexibly modulated from thin films to NPs by shuI 1ing the pulse sequence. These complex pulse schemes are expected to be broadly applicable but are here explored for Pd-Ru bimetallic thin films and NPs.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000823205700001 Publication Date 2022-06-29  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0897-4756; 1520-5002 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor Times cited 2 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This research was funded by the Research Foundation, Flanders (FWO) , and the Special Research Fund BOF of Ghent University (GOA 01G01019) . M.F. and M.M.M. acknowledge the FWO for a postdoctoral research fellowship (1280621N) . N.P. acknowledges the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skiodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 765378. For the GISAXS measurements, the author s received funding from the European Community's Transnational Access Program CALIPSOplus. E.S. acknowledges the Spanish project RTI2018-093996-B-C32 MICINN/FEDER funds. Air Liquide is acknowledged for supporting this research. The authors acknowledge SOLEIL for the provision of synchrotron radiation facilities and would like to thank Dr. Alessandro Coati for assistance in using beamline SiXS. The GIWAXS experiments were performed at NCD-SWEET beamline at ALBA Synchrotron with the collaboration of ALBA staff . Approved no  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:189541 Serial 8928  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Mosquera, J.; Wang, D.; Bals, S.; Liz-Marzan, L.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Surfactant layers on gold nanorods Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Accounts of chemical research Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 56 Issue 10 Pages 1204-1212  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Gold nanorods (Au NRs) are an exceptionally promising tool in nanotechnology due to three key factors: (i) their strong interaction with electromagnetic radiation, stemming from their plasmonic nature, (ii) the ease with which the resonance frequency of their longitudinal plasmon mode can be tuned from the visible to the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spect r u m based on their aspect ratio, and (iii) their simple and cost-effective preparation through seed-mediated chemical growth. In this synthetic method, surfactants play a critical role in controlling the size, shape, and colloidal stabi l i t y of Au NRs. For example, surfactants can stabilize specific crystallographic facets during the formation of Au NRs, leading to t h e formation of NRs with specific morphologies. The process of surfactant adsorption onto the NR surface may result in various assemblies of surfactant molecules, such as spherical micelles, elongated micelles, or bilayers. Again, the assembly mode is critical toward determining the further availabi l i t y of the Au NR surface to the surrounding medium. Despite its importance and a great deal of research effort, the interaction between Au NPs and surfactants remains insufficiently understood, because the assembly process is influenced by numerous factors, including the chemical nature of the surfactant, the surface morphology of Au NPs, and solution parameters. Therefore, gaining a more comprehensive understanding of these interactions is essential to unlock the full potential of the seed-mediated growth method and the applications of plasmonic NPs. A plethora of characterization techniques have been applied to reach such an understanding , but many open questions remain. In this Account, we review the current knowledge on the interactions between surfactants and Au NRs. We briefly introduce the state-of-the-art methods for synthesizing Au NRs and highlight the crucial role of cationic surfactants during this process. The self-assembly and organization of surfactants on the Au NR surface is then discussed to better understand their role in seed-mediated growth. Subsequently, we provide examples and elucidate how chemical additives can be used to modulate micellar assemblies, in turn allowing for a finer control over the growth of Au NRs, including chiral NRs. Next, we review the main experimental characterization and computational modeling techniques that have been applied to shed light on the arrangement of surfactants on Au NRs and summarize the advantages and disadvantages for each technique. The Account ends with a “Conclusions and Outlook” section, outlining promising future research directions and developments that we consider are sti l l required, mostly related to the application of electron microscopy in liquid and in 3D. Finally, we remark on the potential of exploiting machine learning techniques to predict synthetic routes for NPs with predefined structures and properties.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000986447000001 Publication Date 2023-05-08  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0001-4842 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 18.3 Times cited 8 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support by the European Research Council (ERC CoG No. 815128 REALNANO to S.B.; ERC AdG No. 787510, 4DbioSERS to L.M.L.-M.) , from MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “ESF Investing in your future” (Grant PID2020-117779RB-I00 to L.M.L.-M. and Grants RYC2019-027842-I , PID2020-117885GA-I00 to J.M.) , and by Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology (No. 2017B030301007) , National Center for International Research on Green Optoelectronics (No. 2016B01018) , MOE Interna-tional Laboratory for Optical Information Technologies, and the 111 projects. Approved Most recent IF: 18.3; 2023 IF: 20.268  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:196768 Serial 8940  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Moggia, G.; Hoekx, S.; Daems, N.; Bals, S.; Breugelmans, T. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Synthesis and characterization of a highly electroactive composite based on Au nanoparticles supported on nanoporous activated carbon for electrocatalysis Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication ChemElectroChem Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 1-11  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract A facile, “one-pot”, chemical approach to synthesize gold-based nanoparticles finely dispersed on porous activated carbon (Norit) was demonstrated in this work. The pH of the synthesis bath played a critical role in determining the optimal gold-carbon interaction, which enabled a successful deposition of the gold nanoparticles onto the carbon matrix with a maximized metal utilization of 93 %. The obtained AuNP/C nanocomposite was characterized using SEM, HAADF-STEM electron tomography and electrochemical techniques. It was found that the Au nanoparticles, with diameters between 5 and 20 nm, were evenly distributed over the carbon matrix, both inside and outside the pores. Electrochemical characterization indicated that the composite had a very large electroactive surface area (EASA), as high as 282.4 m2 gAu-1. By exploiting its very high EASA, the catalyst was intended to boost the productivity of glucaric acid in the electrooxidation of its precursor, gluconic acid. However, cyclic voltammetry experiments revealed a very limited reactivity towards gluconic acid oxidation, due to the spacial hindrance of gluconic acid molecule which prevented diffusion inside the catalyst nanopores. On the other hand, the as-synthesized nanocomposite promises to be effective towards the ORR, and might thus find potential application as anode catalyst for fuel cells as well as for the scalability of all those electrochemical reactions involving small molecules with high diffusivity and catalysed by noble metals (i. e. CO2, CH4, N2, etc..). Electrocatalysis: Gold nanoparticles with diameter between 5 and 20 nm evenly distributed onto porous activated carbon (Norit) were obtained using a facile “one-pot” chemical synthesis technique with very high metal utilization. The AuNP/C nanocomposite was characterized using SEM, HAADF-STEM electron tomography and electrochemical techniques, revealing a very large electroactive surface area (EASA). The figure shows the HAADF-STEM image (a) and the respective EDX elemental distribution (b) for the AuNP/C composite with 9.3 % Au-loading developed in this work (Au is marked in red and C in green).image  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001060398900001 Publication Date 2023-09-08  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2196-0216 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4 Times cited 1 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The research described in this article has not been supported by the Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency of the European Commission. The views expressed in this article have not been adopted or in any way approved by the European Commission and do not constitute a statement of the European Commission & apos;s views.r S. Hoekx was supported by Research Foundation Flanders (FWO 1S42623N). The authors would like to thank Prof. Dr. Christophe Vande Velde, University of Antwerp, for the XRD analysis. Approved Most recent IF: 4; 2023 IF: 4.136  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:199210 Serial 8941  
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Author Jenkinson, K.; Spadaro, M.C.; Golovanova, V.; Andreu, T.; Morante, J.R.; Arbiol, J.; Bals, S. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Direct operando visualization of metal support interactions induced by hydrogen spillover during CO₂ hydrogenation Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Advanced materials Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 35 Issue 51 Pages 2306447-10  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract The understanding of catalyst active sites is a fundamental challenge for the future rational design of optimized and bespoke catalysts. For instance, the partial reduction of Ce4+ surface sites to Ce3+ and the formation of oxygen vacancies are critical for CO2 hydrogenation, CO oxidation, and the water gas shift reaction. Furthermore, metal nanoparticles, the reducible support, and metal support interactions are prone to evolve under reaction conditions; therefore a catalyst structure must be characterized under operando conditions to identify active states and deduce structure-activity relationships. In the present work, temperature-induced morphological and chemical changes in Ni nanoparticle-decorated mesoporous CeO2 by means of in situ quantitative multimode electron tomography and in situ heating electron energy loss spectroscopy, respectively, are investigated. Moreover, operando electron energy loss spectroscopy is employed using a windowed gas cell and reveals the role of Ni-induced hydrogen spillover on active Ce3+ site formation and enhancement of the overall catalytic performance.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001106139400001 Publication Date 2023-10-22  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0935-9648 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:201143 Serial 9022  
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Author Manzaneda-Gonzalez, V.; Jenkinson, K.; Pena-Rodriguez, O.; Borrell-Grueiro, O.; Trivino-Sanchez, S.; Banares, L.; Junquera, E.; Espinosa, A.; Gonzalez-Rubio, G.; Bals, S.; Guerrero-Martinez, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title From multi- to single-hollow trimetallic nanocrystals by ultrafast heating Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Chemistry of materials Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 35 Issue 22 Pages 9603-9612  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Metal nanocrystals (NCs) display unique physicochemical features that are highly dependent on nanoparticle dimensions, anisotropy, structure, and composition. The development of synthesis methodologies that allow us to tune such parameters finely emerges as crucial for the application of metal NCs in catalysis, optical materials, or biomedicine. Here, we describe a synthetic methodology to fabricate hollow multimetallic heterostructures using a combination of seed-mediated growth routes and femtosecond-pulsed laser irradiation. The envisaged methodology relies on the coreduction of Ag and Pd ions on gold nanorods (Au NRs) to form Au@PdAg core-shell nanostructures containing small cavities at the Au-PdAg interface. The excitation of Au@PdAg NRs with low fluence femtosecond pulses was employed to induce the coalescence and growth of large cavities, forming multihollow anisotropic Au@PdAg nanostructures. Moreover, single-hollow alloy AuPdAg could be achieved in high yield by increasing the irradiation energy. Advanced electron microscopy techniques, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) tomography, X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, and finite differences in the time domain (FDTD) simulations allowed us to characterize the morphology, structure, and elemental distribution of the irradiated NCs in detail. The ability of the reported synthesis route to fabricate multimetallic NCs with unprecedented hollow nanostructures offers attractive prospects for the fabrication of tailored high-entropy alloy nanoparticles.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001110623500001 Publication Date 2023-11-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0897-4756; 1520-5002 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited 2 Open Access  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:202144 Serial 9040  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Van den Hoek, J.; Daems, N.; Arnouts, S.; Hoekx, S.; Bals, S.; Breugelmans, T. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Improving stability of CO₂ electroreduction by incorporating Ag NPs in N-doped ordered mesoporous carbon structures Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2024 Publication ACS applied materials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 16 Issue 6 Pages 6931-6947  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract The electroreduction of carbon dioxide (eCO2RR) to CO using Ag nanoparticles as an electrocatalyst is promising as an industrial carbon capture and utilization (CCU) technique to mitigate CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, the long-term stability of these Ag nanoparticles has been insufficient despite initial high Faradaic efficiencies and/or partial current densities. To improve the stability, we evaluated an up-scalable and easily tunable synthesis route to deposit low-weight percentages of Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on and into the framework of a nitrogen-doped ordered mesoporous carbon (NOMC) structure. By exploiting this so-called nanoparticle confinement strategy, the nanoparticle mobility under operation is strongly reduced. As a result, particle detachment and agglomeration, two of the most pronounced electrocatalytic degradation mechanisms, are (partially) blocked and catalyst durability is improved. Several synthesis parameters, such as the anchoring agent, the weight percentage of Ag NPs, and the type of carbonaceous support material, were modified in a controlled manner to evaluate their respective impact on the overall electrochemical performance, with a strong emphasis on operational stability. The resulting powders were evaluated through electrochemical and physicochemical characterization methods, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2-physisorption, Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), SEM-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM), STEM-EDS, electron tomography, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The optimized Ag/soft-NOMC catalysts showed both a promising selectivity (∼80%) and stability compared with commercial Ag NPs while decreasing the loading of the transition metal by more than 50%. The stability of both the 5 and 10 wt % Ag/soft-NOMC catalysts showed considerable improvements by anchoring the Ag NPs on and into a NOMC framework, resulting in a 267% improvement in CO selectivity after 72 h (despite initial losses) compared to commercial Ag NPs. These results demonstrate the promising strategy of anchoring Ag NPs to improve the CO selectivity during prolonged experiments due to the reduced mobility of the Ag NPs and thus enhanced stability.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos Publication Date 2023-12-21  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1944-8244 ISBN (up) Additional Links UA library record  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:202309 Serial 9045  
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