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	Author	Van den Hoek, J.; Daems, N.; Arnouts, S.; Hoekx, S.; Bals, S.; Breugelmans, T.
	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		Additional Links	UA library record
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:202309			Serial	9045
Permanent link to this record



	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.
	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.
	Address
	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		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	Mulder, J.T.; Meijer, M.S.; van Blaaderen, J.J.; du Fosse, I.; Jenkinson, K.; Bals, S.; Manna, L.; Houtepen, A.J.
	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		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	Cunha, D.M.; Gauquelin, N.; Xia, R.; Verbeeck, J.; Huijben, M.
	Title	Self-assembled epitaxial cathode-electrolyte nanocomposites for 3D microbatteries			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	14	Issue	37	Pages	42208-42214
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	The downscaling of electronic devices requires rechargeable microbatteries with enhanced energy and power densities. Here, we evaluate self-assembled vertically aligned nano-composite (VAN) thin films as a platform to create high-performance three-dimensional (3D) microelectrodes. This study focuses on controlling the VAN formation to enable interface engineering between the LiMn2O4 cathode and the (Li,La)TiO3 solid electrolyte. Electrochemical analysis in a half cell against lithium metal showed the absence of sharp redox peaks due to the confinement in the electrode pillars at the nanoscale. The (100)-oriented VAN thin films showed better rate capability and stability during extensive cycling due to the better alignment to the Li-diffusion channels. However, an enhanced pseudocapacitive contribution was observed for the increased total surface area within the (110)-oriented VAN thin films. These results demonstrate for the first time the electrochemical behavior of cathode-electrolyte VANs for lithium-ion 3D microbatteries while pointing out the importance of control over the vertical interfaces.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000852647100001	Publication Date	2022-09-06
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	9.5	Times cited	4	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	This research was carried out with the support from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) under VIDI grant no. 13456.			Approved	Most recent IF: 9.5
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:190619			Serial	7206
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	Author	Gogoi, A.; Neyts, E.C.; Milošević, M.V.; Peeters, F.M.
	Title	Arresting aqueous swelling of layered graphene-oxide membranes with H₃O⁺ and OH^- ions			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2022	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	14	Issue	30	Pages	34946-34954
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
	Abstract	Over the past decade, graphene oxide (GO) has emerged as a promising membrane material with superior separation performance and intriguing mechanical/chemical stability. However, its practical implementation remains very challenging primarily because of its undesirable swelling in an aqueous environment. Here, we demonstrated that dissociation of water molecules into H3O+ and OH- ions inside the interlayer gallery of a layered GO membrane can strongly affect its stability and performance. We reveal that H3O+ and OH- ions form clusters inside the GO laminates that impede the permeance of water and salt ions through the membrane. Dynamics of those clusters is sensitive to an external ac electric field, which can be used to tailor the membrane performance. The presence of H3O+ and OH- ions also leads to increased stability of the hydrogen bond (H-bond) network among the water molecules and the GO layers, which further reduces water permeance through the membrane, while crucially imparting stability to the layered GO membrane against undesirable swelling. KEYWORDS: layered graphene-oxide membrane, aqueous stability, H3O+ and OH- ions, external electric field, molecular dynamics
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000835946500001	Publication Date	2022-07-25
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	9.5	Times cited	1	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 9.5
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:189467			Serial	7127
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	Author	Retuerto, M.; Calle-Vallejo, F.; Pascual, L.; Lumbeeck, G.; Fernandez-Diaz, M.T.; Croft, M.; Gopalakrishnan, J.; Pena, M.A.; Hadermann, J.; Greenblatt, M.; Rojas, S.
	Title	La_1.5Sr_0.5NiMn_0.5Ru_0.5O₆ double perovskite with enhanced ORR/OER bifunctional catalytic activity			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2019	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	11	Issue	24	Pages	21454-21464
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	Perovskites (ABO(3)) with transition metals in active B sites are considered alternative catalysts for the water oxidation to oxygen through the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and for the oxygen reduction through the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) back to water. We have synthesized a double perovskite (A(2)BB'O-6) with different cations in A, B, and B' sites, namely, ((La15Sr0.5)-Sr-.)(A)(Ni0.5Mn0.5)(B)(Ni0.5Ru0.5)(B)O-6 (LSNMR), which displays an outstanding OER/ORR bifunctional performance. The composition and structure of the oxide has been determined by powder X-ray diffraction, powder neutron diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy to be monoclinic with the space group P2(1)/n and with cationic ordering between the ions in the B and B' sites. X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy suggests that LSNMR presents a configuration of similar to Ni2+, similar to Mn4+, and similar to Ru5+. This bifunctional catalyst is endowed with high ORR and OER activities in alkaline media, with a remarkable bifunctional index value of similar to 0.83 V (the difference between the potentials measured at -1 mA cm(-2) for the ORR and +10 mA cm(-2) for the OER). The ORR onset potential (E-onset) of 0.94 V is among the best reported to date in alkaline media for ORR-active perovskites. The ORR mass activity of LSNMR is 1.1 A g(-1) at 0.9 V and 7.3 A g(-1) at 0.8 V. Furthermore, LSNMR is stable in a wide potential window down to 0.05 V. The OER potential to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm(-2) is 1.66 V. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the high ORR/OER activity of LSNMR is related to the presence of active Mn sites for the ORR- and Ru-active sites for the OER by virtue of the high symmetry of the respective reaction steps on those sites. In addition, the material is stable to ORR cycling and also considerably stable to OER cycling.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000472683300019	Publication Date	2019-05-30
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	12	Open Access
	Notes	; This work was supported by the ENE2016-77055-C3-3-R project from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) and PIE 201480E122 from CSIC. M.R. thanks MINECO's Juan de la Cierva program for a grant (FPDI-2013-17582). F.C.-V. thanks the Spanish MEC for a Ramon y Cajal research contract (RYC-2015-18996). M.G. acknowledges the support from NSF-DMR-1507252 grant, NJ, USA. ;			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:161320			Serial	5400
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	Author	Peeters, B.; Daems, D.; Van der Donck, T.; Delport, F.; Lammertyn, J.
	Title	Real-time FO-SPR monitoring of solid-phase DNAzyme cleavage activity for cutting-edge biosensing			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2019	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal
	Volume	11	Issue	7	Pages	6759-6768
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; AXES (Antwerp X-ray Analysis, Electrochemistry and Speciation)
	Abstract	DNA nanotechnology has a great potential in biosensor design including nanostructuring of the biosensor surface through DNA origami, target recognition by means of aptamers, and DNA-based signal amplification strategies. In this paper, we use DNA nanotechnology to describe for the first time the concept of real-time solid-phase monitoring of DNAzyme cleavage activity for the detection of specific single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) with a fiber optic surface plasmon resonance (FO-SPR) biosensor. Hereto, we first developed a robust ligation strategy for the functionalization of the FO-SPR biosensing surface with ssDNA-tethered gold nanoparticles, serving as the substrate for the DNAzyme. Next, we established a relation between the SPR signal change, due to the cleavage activity of the 10–23 DNAzyme, and the concentration of the DNAzyme, showing faster cleavage kinetics for higher DNAzyme concentrations. Finally, we implemented this generic concept for biosensing of ssDNA target in solution. Hereto, we designed a DNAzyme–inhibitor complex, consisting of an internal loop structure complementary to the ssDNA target, that releases active DNAzyme molecules in a controlled way as a function of the target concentration. We demonstrated reproducible target detection with a theoretical limit of detection of 1.4 nM, proving that the presented ligation strategy is key to a universal DNAzyme-based FO-SPR biosensing concept with promising applications in the medical and agrofood sector.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000459642200008	Publication Date	2019-01-25
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor		Times cited		Open Access
	Notes				Approved	no
	Call Number	UA @ admin @ c:irua:160132			Serial	8457
Permanent link to this record



	Author	Wu, J.; Zhang, L.; Xin, X.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, H.; Sun, A.; Cheng, Y.; Chen, X.; Xu, G.
	Title	Electrorheological fluids with high shear stress based on wrinkly tin titanyl oxalate			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2018	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	10	Issue	7	Pages	6785-6792
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	Electrorheological (ER) fluids are considered as a type of smart fluids because their rheological characteristics can be altered through an electric field. The discovery of giant ER effect revived the researchers' interest in the ER technological area. However, the poor stability including the insufficient dynamic shear stress, the large leakage current density, and the sedimentation tendency still hinders their practical applications. Herein, we report a facile and scalable coprecipitation method for synthesizing surfactant-free tin titanyl oxalate (TTO) particles with tremella-like wrinkly microstructure (W-TTO). The W-TTO-based ER fluids exhibit enhanced ER activity compared to that of the pristine TTO because of the improved wettability between W-TTO and the silicone oil. In addition, the static yield stress and leakage current of W-TTO ER fluids also show a fine time stability during the 30 day tests. More importantly, the dynamic shear stress of W-TTO ER fluids can remain stable throughout the shear rate range, which is valuable for their use in engineering applications. The results in this work provided a promising strategy to solving the long-standing problem of ER fluid stability. Moreover, this convenient route of synthesis may be considered a green approach for the mass production of giant ER materials.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000426143900081	Publication Date	2018-02-01
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	7	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	; The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 21573267, 11674335), the Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (2013196), and the Program for Ningbo Municipal Science and Technology Innovative Research Team (2015B11002, 2016B10005). ;			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	UA @ lucian @ c:irua:149911			Serial	4931
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	Author	Ben Dkhil, S.; Pfannmöller, M.; Schroeder, R.R.; Alkarsifi, R.; Gaceur, M.; Koentges, W.; Heidari, H.; Bals, S.; Margeat, O.; Ackermann, J.; Videlot-Ackermann, C.
	Title	Interplay of interfacial layers and blend composition to reduce thermal degradation of polymer solar cells at high temperature			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2018	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	10	Issue	10	Pages	3874-3884
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	The thermal stability of printed polymer solar cells at elevated temperatures needs to be improved to achieve high-throughput fabrication including annealing steps as well as long-term stability. During device processing, thermal annealing impacts both the organic photoactive layer, and the two interfacial layers make detailed studies of degradation mechanism delicate. A recently identified thermally stable poly[[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b'-dithiopherie-2,6-diyl] [3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl) carbonyl] thieno [3,4-b]thiophenediyl]] : [6,6]-phenyl- C-71-butyric acid methyl ester (PTB7:PC70BM) blend as photoactive layer in combination with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate as hole extraction layer is used here to focus on the impact of electron extraction layer (EEL) on the thermal stability of solar cells. Solar cells processed with densely packed ZnO nanoparticle layers still show 92% of the initial efficiency after constant annealing during 1 day at 140 degrees C, whereas partially covering ZnO layers as well as an evaporated calcium layer leads to performance losses of up to 30%. This demonstrates that the nature and morphology of EELs highly influence the thermal stability of the device. We extend our study to thermally unstable PTB7:[6,6]-phenyl-C-61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC60BM) blends to highlight the impact of ZnO on the device degradation during annealing. Importantly, only 12% loss in photocurrent density is observed after annealing at 140 degrees C during 1 day when using closely packed ZnO. This is in stark contrast to literature and addressed here to the use of a stable double-sided confinement during thermal annealing. The underlying mechanism of the inhibition of photocurrent losses is revealed by electron microscopy imaging and spatially resolved spectroscopy. We found that the double-sided confinement suppresses extensive fullerene diffusion during the annealing step, but with still an increase in size and distance of the enriched donor and acceptor domains inside the photoactive layer by an average factor of 5. The later result in combination with comparably small photocurrent density losses indicates the existence of an efficient transport of minority charge carriers inside the donor and acceptor enriched phases in PTB7:PC60BM blends.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000424728800082	Publication Date	2018-01-12
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	9	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	; We acknowledge the financial support by the French Fond Unique Interministeriel (FUI) under the project “SFUMATO” (grant number: F1110019V/201308815) as well as by the European Commission under the Project “SUNFLOWER” (FP7-ICT-2011-7-contract number: 287594). M.P. and R.R.S. acknowledge support by the HeiKA (Heidelberg Karlsruhe Research Partnership) FunTech-3D materials science program. ;			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	UA @ lucian @ c:irua:149309UA @ admin @ c:irua:149309			Serial	4939
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	Author	Asapu, R.; Ciocarlan, R.-G.; Claes, N.; Blommaerts, N.; Minjauw, M.; Ahmad, T.; Dendooven, J.; Cool, P.; Bals, S.; Denys, S.; Detavernier, C.; Lenaerts, S.; Verbruggen, S.W.
	Title	Plasmonic Near-Field Localization of Silver Core–Shell Nanoparticle Assemblies via Wet Chemistry Nanogap Engineering			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2017	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	9	Issue	9	Pages	41577-41585
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
	Abstract	Silver nanoparticles are widely used in the field of plasmonics because of their unique optical properties. The wavelength-dependent surface plasmon resonance gives rise to a strongly enhanced electromagnetic field, especially at so-called hot spots located in the nanogap in-between metal nanoparticle assemblies. Therefore, the interparticle distance is a decisive factor in plasmonic applications, such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). In this study, the aim is to engineer this interparticle distance for silver nanospheres using a convenient wet-chemical approach and to predict and quantify the corresponding enhancement factor using both theoretical and experimental tools. This was done by building a tunable ultrathin polymer shell around the nanoparticles using the layer-by-layer method, in which the polymer shell acts as the separating interparticle spacer layer. Comparison of different theoretical approaches and corroborating the results with SERS analytical experiments using silver and silver−polymer core−shell nanoparticle clusters as SERS substrates was also done. Herewith, an approach is provided to estimate the extent of plasmonic near-field enhancement both theoretically as well as experimentally.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000417005900057	Publication Date	2017-11-29
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	29	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	financial support through a research fellowship. C.D. wishes to thank the Hercules foundation for the financial support (SPINAL). P.C. and R.-G.C. acknowledge financial support by FWO Vlaanderen (project no. G038215N). N.C. and S.B. acknowledge the financial support from the European Research Council (ERC starting grant #335078-COLOURATOM). (ROMEO:white; preprint:; postprint:restricted 12 months embargo; pdfversion:cannot); saraecas; ECAS_Sara;			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	EMAT @ emat @c:irua:147243			Serial	4804
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	Author	Ren, X.-N.; Hu, Z.-Y.; Jin, J.; Wu, L.; Wang, C.; Liu, J.; Liu, F.; Wu, M.; Li, Y.; Van Tendeloo, G.; Su, B.-L.
	Title	Cocatalyzing Pt/PtO phase-junction nanodots on hierarchically porous TiO₂ for highly enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2017	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	9	Issue	35	Pages	29687-29698
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	Phase-junctions. between a cocatalyst and its semiconductor host are quite effective to enhance the photo catalytic activity and are widely studied, while reports on the phase-juncted cocatalyst are still rare. In this work, we report the deposition of the Pt/PtO phase-juncted nanodots as cocatalyst via NaOH modification of an interconnected meso-macroporous TiO2 network with high surface area and inner-particle mesopores to enhance the performance of photocatalytic H-2 production. Our results show that NaOH modification can largely influence Pt/PtO phase-juncted nanodot formation and dispersity. Compared to the TiO2 nano particles, the hierarchically meso-macroporous TiO2 network containing 0.18 wt % Pt/PtO phase-juneted cocatalyst demonstrates a highest photocatalytic H-2 rate of 13 mmol g(-1) h(-1) under simulated solar light, and possesses a stable cycling activity without obvious decrease after five cycles. Such high H-2 production performance can be attributed to both the phase-juncted Pt/PtO providing more active sites while PtO suppresses the undesirable hydrogen back reaction, and the special hierarchically porous TiO2 network with inner-particle mesopores presenting short diffusion path lengths for photogenerated electrons and enhanced light harvesting efficiency. This work suggests that Pt/PtO phase-juncted cocatalyst on hierarchically porous TiO2 nanostructures is a promising strategy for advanced photocatalytic H-2 production.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000410597500032	Publication Date	2017-08-16
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	18	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	; B.L.S. acknowledges the Chinese Central Government for an “Expert of the State” position in the Program of the “Thousand Talents”. Y.L. acknowledges the Hubei Provincial Department of Education for the “Chutian Scholar” program. This work is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFA0202602), Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT_15R52), International Science & Technology Cooperation Program of China (2015DFE52870), National Natural Science Foundation of China (51502225), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (WUT: 2016III029). Z.Y.H. and G.V.T. acknowledge support from the EC Framework 7 program ESTEEM2 (Reference 312483). ;			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	UA @ lucian @ c:irua:146765			Serial	4779
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	Author	Pullini, D.; Sgroi, M.; Mahmoud, A.; Gauquelin, N.; Maschio, L.; Lorenzo-Ferrari, A.M.; Groenen, R.; Damen, C.; Rijnders, G.; van den Bos, K.H.W.; Van Aert, S.; Verbeeck, J.
	Title	One step toward a new generation of C-MOS compatible oxide p-n junctions: Structure of the LSMO/ZnO interface elucidated by an experimental and theoretical synergic work			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2017	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	9	Issue	9	Pages	20974-20980
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	Heterostructures formed by La0.7Sr0.3MnO3/ZnO (LSMO/ZnO) interfaces exhibit extremely interesting electronic properties making them promising candidates for novel oxide p–n junctions, with multifunctional features. In this work, the structure of the interface is studied through a combined experimental/theoretical approach. Heterostructures were grown epitaxially and homogeneously on 4″ silicon wafers, characterized by advanced electron microscopy imaging and spectroscopy and simulated by ab initio density functional theory calculations. The simulation results suggest that the most stable interface configuration is composed of the (001) face of LSMO, with the LaO planes exposed, in contact with the (112̅0) face of ZnO. The ab initio predictions agree well with experimental high-angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy images and confirm the validity of the suggested structural model. Electron energy loss spectroscopy confirms the atomic sharpness of the interface. From statistical parameter estimation theory, it has been found that the distances between the interfacial planes are displaced from the respective ones of the bulk material. This can be ascribed to the strain induced by the mismatch between the lattices of the two materials employed
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000404090000079	Publication Date	2017-05-25
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	4	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	Financial support is acknowledged from the European Commission – DG research and innovation to the collaborative research project named Interfacing oxides (IFOX, Contract No. NMP3-LA-2010-246102). N.G. and J.V. acknowledge the European Union (EU) Council under the 7th Framework Program (FP7) ERC Starting Grant 278510 VORTEX for support. S.V.A. and K.H.W.B. acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders through project fundings (G.0374.13N , G.0368.15N, and G.0369.15N) and a Ph.D. research grant to K.H.W.B. The microscope was partly funded by the Hercules Fund from the Flemish Government. The microscope used in this work was partly funded by the Hercules Fund from the Flemish Government. CINECA is acknowledged for computational facilities (Iscra project HP10CMO1UP).			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	EMAT @ emat @ c:irua:144431UA @ admin @ c:irua:144431			Serial	4621
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	Author	Ustarroz, J.; Geboes, B.; Vanrompay, H.; Sentosun, K.; Bals, S.; Breugelmans, T.; Hubin, A.
	Title	Electrodeposition of Highly Porous Pt Nanoparticles Studied by Quantitative 3D Electron Tomography: Influence of Growth Mechanisms and Potential Cycling on the Active Surface Area			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2017	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	9	Issue	9	Pages	16168-16177
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)
	Abstract	Nanoporous Pt nanoparticles (NPs) are promising fuel cell catalysts due to their large surface area and increased electrocatalytic activity towards the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, we report on the infuence of the growth mechanisms on the surface properties of electrodeposited Pt dendritic NPs with large surface areas. The electrochemically active surface was studied by hydrogen underpotential deposition (HUPD) and compared for the rst time to high angle annular dark eld scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) quantitative 3D electron tomography of individual nanoparticles. Large nucleation overpotential leads to a large surface coverage of Pt roughened spheroids, which provide large roughness factor (Rf ) but low mass-specic electrochemically active surface area (EASA). Lowering the nucleation overpotential leads to highly porous Pt NPs with pores protruding to the center of the structure. At the expense of smaller Rf , the obtained EASA values of these structures are in the range of these of large surface area supported fuel cell catalysts. The active surface area of the Pt dendritic NPs was measured by electron tomography and it was found that the potential cycling in the H adsorption/desorption and Pt oxidation/reduction region, which is generally performed to determine the EASA, leads to a signicant reduction of that surface area due to a partial collapse of their dendritic and porous morphology. Interestingly, the extrapolation of the microscopic tomography results to macroscopic electrochemical parameters indicated that the surface properties measured by H UPD are comparable to the values measured on individual NPs by electron tomography after the degradation caused by the H UPD measurement. These results highlight that the combination of electrochemical and quantitative 3D surface analysis techniques is essential to provide insights into the surface properties, the electrochemical stability and, hence, the applicability of these materials. Moreover, it indicates that care must be taken with widely used electrochemical methods of surface area determination, especially in the case of large surface area and possibly unstable nanostructures, since the measured surface can be strongly aected by the measurement itself.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000401782500028	Publication Date	2017-04-18
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	24	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	Jon Ustarroz acknowledges funding from the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek in Flanders (FWO, postdoctoral grant 12I7816N). S. Bals acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (Starting Grant No. COLOURATOMS 335078). S.B. and T.B. acknowledge the University of Antwerp for nancial support in the frame of a GOA project. H.V. gratefully acknowledges nancial support by the Flemish Fund for Scientic Research (FWO Vlaanderen). All the authors acknowledge Laurens Stevaert for his contribution to the work presented in this manuscript. (ROMEO:white; preprint:; postprint:restricted 12 months embargo; pdfversion:cannot); ECAS_Sara			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	EMAT @ emat @ c:irua:142345UA @ admin @ c:irua:142345			Serial	4552
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	Author	Kurttepeli, M.; Deng, S.; Mattelaer, F.; Cott, D.J.; Vereecken, P.; Dendooven, J.; Detavernier, C.; Bals, S.
	Title	Heterogeneous TiO₂/V₂O₅/Carbon Nanotube Electrodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2017	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	9	Issue	9	Pages	8055-8064
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) is proposed and investigated as a cathode material for lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. However, the dissolution of V2O5 during the charge/discharge remains as an issue at the V2O5–electrolyte interface. In this work, we present a heterogeneous nanostructure with carbon nanotubes supported V2O5/titanium dioxide (TiO2) multilayers as electrodes for thin-film Li-ion batteries. Atomic layer deposition of V2O5 on carbon nanotubes provides enhanced Li storage capacity and high rate performance. An additional TiO2 layer leads to increased morphological stability and in return higher electrochemical cycling performance of V2O5/carbon nanotubes. The physical and chemical properties of TiO2/V2O5/carbon nanotubes are characterized by cyclic voltammetry and charge/discharge measurements as well as electron microscopy. The detailed mechanism of the protective TiO2 layer to improve the electrochemical cycling stability of the V2O5 is unveiled.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000396186000021	Publication Date	2017-03-08
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	28	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	European Research Council, 239865 335078 ; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek; Agentschap voor Innovatie door Wetenschap en Technologie, 18142 ; Bijzonder Onderzoeksfonds, GOA – 01G01513 ; This research was funded by the Flemish research foundation FWO-Vlaanderen, by the European Research Council (Starting Grant No. 239865 and No. 335078), by IWT-Flanders (SBO project IWT 18142 “SoS-Lion”) and by the Special Research Fund BOF of Ghent University (GOA – 01G01513); colouratoms (ROMEO:white; preprint:; postprint:restricted 12 months embargo; pdfversion:cannot); ECAS_Sara			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	EMAT @ emat @ c:irua:142446UA @ admin @ c:irua:142446			Serial	4572
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	Author	Lu, A.K.A.; Houssa, M.; Radu, I.P.; Pourtois, G.
	Title	Toward an understanding of the electric field-induced electrostatic doping in van der Waals heterostructures : a first-principles study			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2017	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	9	Issue	8	Pages	7725-7734
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
	Abstract	Since the discovery of graphene, a broad range of two-dimensional (2D) materials has captured the attention of the scientific communities. Materials, such as hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and the transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) family, have shown promising semiconducting and insulating properties that are very appealing for the semiconductor industry. Recently, the possibility of taking advantage of the properties of 2D-based heterostructures has been investigated for low-power nanoelectronic applications. In this work, we aim at evaluating the relation between the nature of the materials used in such heterostructures and the amplitude of the layer-to-layer charge transfer induced by an external electric field, as is typically present in nanoelectronic gated devices. A broad range of combinations of TMDs, graphene, and hBN has been investigated using density functional theory. Our results show that the electric field induced charge transfer strongly depends on the nature of the 2D materials used in the van der Waals heterostructures and to a lesser extent on the relative orientation of the materials in the structure. Our findings contribute to the building of the fundamental understanding required to engineer electrostatically the doping of 2D materials and to establish the factors that drive the charge transfer mechanisms in electron tunneling-based devices. These are key ingredients for the development of 2D -based nanoelectronic devices.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000395494200119	Publication Date	2017-02-13
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	10	Open Access	Not_Open_Access
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	UA @ lucian @ c:irua:142483			Serial	4696
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	Author	Conings, B.; Bretschneider, S.A.; Babayigit, A.; Gauquelin, N.; Cardinaletti, I.; Manca, J.V.; Verbeeck, J.; Snaith, H.J.; Boyen, H.-G.
	Title	Structure-property relations of methylamine vapor treated hybrid perovskite CH3NH3PbI3 films and solar cells			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2017	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	9	Issue	9	Pages	8092-8099
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	The power conversion efficiency of halide perovskite solar cells is heavily dependent on the perovskite layer being sufficiently smooth and pinhole-free. It has been shown that these features can be obtained even when starting out from rough and discontinuous perovskite film, by briefly exposing it to methylamine (MA) vapor. The exact underlying physical mechanisms of this phenomenon are, however, still unclear. By investigating smooth, MA treated films, based on very rough and discontinuous reference films of methylammonium triiode (MAPbI3), considering their morphology, crystalline features, local conductive properties, and charge carrier lifetime, we unravel the relation between their characteristic physical qualities and their performance in corresponding solar cells. We discover that the extensive improvement in photovoltaic performance upon MA treatment is a consequence of the induced morphological enhancement of the perovskite layer, together with improved electron injection into TiO2, which in fact compensates for an otherwise compromised bulk electronic quality, simultaneously caused by the MA treatment.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000396186000025	Publication Date	2017-02-10
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	43	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	This work was financially supported by BOF (Hasselt University) and the Research Fund Flanders (FWO). B.C. is a postdoctoral research fellow of the FWO. A.B. is financially supported by FWO and Imec. J.V. and N.G. acknowledge funding from GOA project “Solarpaint” of the University of Antwerp and FWO project G.0044.13N “Charge ordering”. The Qu-Ant-EM microscope used for this study was partly funded by the Hercules fund from the Flemish Government. The authors thank Tim Vangerven for Urbach energy determination, and Johnny Baccus and Jan Mertens for technical support.			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	EMAT @ emat @ c:irua:140849			Serial	4422
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	Author	Schrittwieser, S.; Pelaz, B.; Parak, W.J.; Lentijo-Mozo, S.; Soulantica, K.; Dieckhoff, J.; Ludwig, F.; Altantzis, T.; Bals, S.; Schotter, J.
	Title	Homogeneous Protein Analysis by Magnetic Core-Shell Nanorod Probes			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2016	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	8	Issue	8	Pages	8893-8899
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	Studying protein interactions is of vital importance both to fundamental biology research and to medical applications. Here, we report on the experimental proof of a universally applicable label-free homogeneous platform for rapid protein analysis. It is based on optically detecting changes in the rotational dynamics of magnetically agitated core-shell nanorods upon their specific interaction with proteins. By adjusting the excitation frequency, we are able to optimize the measurement signal for each analyte protein size. In addition, due to the locking of the optical signal to the magnetic excitation frequency, background signals are suppressed, thus allowing exclusive studies of processes at the nanoprobe surface only. We study target proteins (soluble domain of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 – sHER2) specifically binding to antibodies (trastuzumab) immobilized on the surface of our nanoprobes and demonstrate direct deduction of their respective sizes. Additionally, we examine the dependence of our measurement signal on the concentration of the analyte protein, and deduce a minimally detectable sHER2 concentration of 440 pM. For our homogeneous measurement platform, good dispersion stability of the applied nanoprobes under physiological conditions is of vital importance. To that end, we support our measurement data by theoretical modeling of the total particle-particle interaction energies. The successful implementation of our platform offers scope for applications in biomarker-based diagnostics as well as for answering basic biology questions.
	Address	Molecular Diagnostics, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology , Vienna, Austria
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language	English	Wos	000374274900007	Publication Date	2016-03-29
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	16	Open Access	OpenAccess
	Notes	The authors thank Frauke Alves, Julia Bode and Fernanda Ramos Gomes from the Max-Planck-Institute of Experimental Medicine in Göttingen for providing the trastuzumab antibody in form of the Herceptin therapeutic drug. The figure showing the measurement principle has been created by Darragh Crotty (www.darraghcrotty.com). Parts of this research were supported by the European Commission FP7 NAMDIATREAM project (EU NMP4-LA-2010−246479), by the German research foundation (DFG grant GRK 1782 to W.J.P.), and by the European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078 Colouratom). B.P. acknowledges a PostDoctoral fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt foundation. (ROMEO:white; preprint:; postprint:restricted 12 months embargo; pdfversion:cannot); ; ECAS_Sara;			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504
	Call Number	c:irua:132889			Serial	4059
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	Author	Zeng, Y.-J.; Gauquelin, N.; Li, D.-Y.; Ruan, S.-C.; He, H.-P.; Egoavil, R.; Ye, Z.-Z.; Verbeeck, J.; Hadermann, J.; Van Bael, M.J.; Van Haesendonck, C.
	Title	Co-Rich ZnCoO Nanoparticles Embedded in Wurtzite Zn1-xCoxO Thin Films: Possible Origin of Superconductivity			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2015	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	7	Issue	7	Pages	22166-22171
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	Co-rich ZnCoO nanoparticles embedded in wurtzite Zn0.7Co0.3O thin films are grown by pulsed laser deposition on a Si substrate. Local superconductivity with an onset Tc at 5.9 K is demonstrated in the hybrid system. The unexpected superconductivity probably results from Co(3+) in the Co-rich ZnCoO nanoparticles or from the interface between the Co-rich nanoparticles and the Zn0.7Co0.3O matrix.
	Address	Solid State Physics and Magnetism Section, KU Leuven , Celestijnenlaan 200 D, BE-3001 Leuven, Belgium
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language	English	Wos	000363001500007	Publication Date	2015-09-21
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244;1944-8252;	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	13	Open Access
	Notes	This work has been supported by the Research Foundation − Flanders (FWO, Belgium) as well as by the Flemish Concerted Research Action program (BOF KU Leuven, GOA/14/007). N. G. and J. V. acknowledge funding from the European Research Council under the 7th Framework Program (FP7), ERC Starting Grant 278510 VORTEX. The Qu-Ant-EM microscope was partly funded by the Flemish Hercules Foundation. The work at Shenzhen University was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 61275144 and Natural Science Foundation of SZU. Y.-J. Z. acknowledges funding under grant No. SKL2015-12 from the State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials; ECASJO_;			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504; 2015 IF: 6.723
	Call Number	c:irua:129195 c:irua:129195UA @ admin @ c:irua:129195			Serial	3949
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	Author	Ao, Z.; Jiang, Q.; Li, S.; Liu, H.; Peeters, F.M.; Li, S.; Wang, G.
	Title	Enhancement of the stability of fluorine atoms on defective graphene and at graphene/fluorographene interface			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2015	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	7	Issue	7	Pages	19659-19665
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)
	Abstract	Fluorinated graphene is one of the most important derivatives of graphene and has been found to have great potential in optoelectronic and photonic nanodevices. However, the stability of F atoms on fluorinated graphene under different conditions, which is essential to maintain the desired properties of fluorinated graphene, is still unclear. In this work, we investigate the diffusion of F atoms on pristine graphene, graphene with defects, and at graphene/fluorographene interfaces by using density functional theory calculations. We find that an isolated F atom diffuses easily on graphene, but those F atoms can be localized by inducing vacancies or absorbates in graphene and by creating graphene/fluorographene interfaces, which would strengthen the binding energy of F atoms on graphene and increase the diffusion energy barrier of F atoms remarkably.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000361252400018	Publication Date	2015-08-24
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	35	Open Access
	Notes	; We acknowledge the financial supports from the Chancellor's Research Fellowship Program of the University of Technology Sydney, the Flemish Science Foundation (FWO-Vl) and the Methusalem foundation of the Flemish Government. This research was also supported by the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) through the merit allocation scheme and used the NCI resources and facilities in Canberra, Australia. ;			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504; 2015 IF: 6.723
	Call Number	UA @ lucian @ c:irua:128703			Serial	4177
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	Author	Buffière, M.; Brammertz, G.; Sahayaraj, S.; Batuk, M.; Khelifi, S.; Mangin, D.; El Mel, A.A.; Arzel, L.; Hadermann, J.; Meuris, M.; Poortmans, J.;
	Title	KCN chemical etch for interface engineering in Cu₂ZnSnSe₄ solar cells			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2015	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	7	Issue	7	Pages	14690-14698
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	The removal of secondary phases from the surface of the kesterite crystals is one of the major challenges to improve the performances of Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)(4) (CZTSSe) thin film solar cells. In this Contribution, the KCN/KOH Chemical etching approach, originally developed for the removal of CuxSe phases in Cu(In,Ga)(S,Se)(2) thin films) is applied to CZTSe absorbers exhibiting various chemical compositions. Two distinct electrical behaviors were observed on CZTSe/CdS solar cells after treatment: (i) the improvement of the fill factor (FF) after 30 s of etching for the CZTSe absorbers showing initially a distortion of the electrical characteristic; (ii) the progressive degradation Of the FF after long treatment time for all Cu-poor CZTSe solar cell samples. The first effect can be attributed to the action of KCN on the absorber, that is found to clean the absorber free surface from most of the secondary phases surrounding the kesterite grains (e.g., Se-0, CuxSe, SnSex, SnO2, Cu2SnSe3 phases, excepting the ZnSe-based phases). The second observation was identified as a consequence of the preferential etching of Se, Sn, and Zn from the CZTSe surface by the KOH solution, combined with the modification of the alkali content of the absorber. The formation of a Cu-rich shell at the absorber/buffer layer interface, leading to the increase of the recombination rate at the interface, and the increase in the doping of the absorber layer after etching are found to be at the origin of the deterioration of the FF of the solar cells.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000358395200019	Publication Date	2015-06-03
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244;1944-8252;	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	34	Open Access
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504; 2015 IF: 6.723
	Call Number	c:irua:127153			Serial	1755
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	Author	Zeng, Y.-J.; Schouteden, K.; Amini, M.N.; Ruan, S.-C.; Lu, Y.-F.; Ye, Z.-Z.; Partoens, B.; Lamoen, D.; Van Haesendonck, C.
	Title	Electronic band structures and native point defects of ultrafine ZnO nanocrystals			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2015	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	7	Issue	7	Pages	10617-10622
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)
	Abstract	Ultrafine ZnO nanocrystals with a thickness down to 0.25 nm are grown by a metalorganic chemical vapor deposition method. Electronic band structures and native point defects of ZnO nanocrystals are studied by a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and first-principles density functional theory calculations. Below a critical thickness of nm ZnO adopts a graphitic-like structure and exhibits a wide band gap similar to its wurtzite counterpart. The hexagonal wurtzite structure, with a well-developed band gap evident from scanning tunneling spectroscopy, is established for a thickness starting from similar to 1.4 nm. With further increase of the thickness to 2 nm, V-O-V-Zn defect pairs are easily produced in ZnO nanocrystals due to the self-compensation effect in highly doped semiconductors.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000355055000063	Publication Date	2015-04-29
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244;1944-8252;	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	15	Open Access
	Notes	Hercules; EWI			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504; 2015 IF: 6.723
	Call Number	c:irua:126408			Serial	999
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	Author	Warwick, M.E.A.; Kaunisto, K.; Barreca, D.; Carraro, G.; Gasparotto, A.; Maccato, C.; Bontempi, E.; Sada, C.; Ruoko, T.P.; Turner, S.; Van Tendeloo, G.;
	Title	Vapor phase processing of \alpha-Fe₂O₃ photoelectrodes for water splitting : an insight into the structure/property interplay			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2015	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	7	Issue	7	Pages	8667-8676
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	Harvesting radiant energy to trigger water photoelectrolysis and produce clean hydrogen is receiving increasing attention in the search of alternative energy resources. In this regard, hematite (alpha-Fe2O3) nanostructures with controlled nano-organization have been fabricated and investigated for use as anodes in photoelectrochemical (PEC) cells. The target systems have been grown on conductive substrates by plasma enhanced-chemical vapor deposition (PE-CVD) and subjected to eventual ex situ annealing in air to further tailor their structure and properties. A detailed multitechnique approach has enabled to elucidate between system characteristics and the generated photocurrent. The present alpha-Fe2O3 systems are characterized by a high purity and hierarchical morphologies consisting of nanopyramids/organized dendrites, offering a high contact area with the electrolyte. PEC data reveal a dramatic response enhancement upon thermal treatment, related to a more efficient electron transfer. The reasons underlying such a phenomenon are elucidated and discussed by transient absorption spectroscopy (TAS) studies of photogenerated charge carrier kinetics, investigated on different time scales for the first time on PE-CVD Fe2O3 nanostructures.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000353931300037	Publication Date	2015-04-08
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244;1944-8252;	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	51	Open Access
	Notes	246791 Countatoms; Fwo			Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504; 2015 IF: 6.723
	Call Number	c:irua:126059			Serial	3836
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	Author	Li, D.Y.; Zeng, Y.J.; Batuk, D.; Pereira, L.M.C.; Ye, Z.Z.; Fleischmann, C.; Menghini, M.; Nikitenko, S.; Hadermann, J.; Temst, K.; Vantomme, A.; Van Bael, M.J.; Locquet, J.P.; Van Haesendonck, C.;
	Title	Relaxor ferroelectricity and magnetoelectric coupling in ZnOCo nanocomposite thin films : beyond multiferroic composites			Type	A1 Journal article
	Year	2014	Publication	ACS applied materials and interfaces	Abbreviated Journal	Acs Appl Mater Inter
	Volume	6	Issue	7	Pages	4737-4742
	Keywords	A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
	Abstract	ZnOCo nanocomposite thin films are synthesized by combination of pulsed laser deposition of ZnO and Co ion implantation. Both superparamagnetism and relaxor ferroelectricity as well as magnetoelectric coupling in the nanocomposites have been demonstrated. The unexpected relaxor ferroelectricity is believed to be the result of the local lattice distortion induced by the incorporation of the Co nanoparticles. Magnetoelectric coupling can be attributed to the interaction between the electric dipole moments and the magnetic moments, which are both induced by the incorporation of Co. The introduced ZnOCo nanocomposite thin films are different from conventional strain-mediated multiferroic composites.
	Address
	Corporate Author				Thesis
	Publisher		Place of Publication		Editor
	Language		Wos	000334572800018	Publication Date	2014-03-05
	Series Editor		Series Title		Abbreviated Series Title
	Series Volume		Series Issue		Edition
	ISSN	1944-8244;1944-8252;	ISBN		Additional Links	UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
	Impact Factor	7.504	Times cited	21	Open Access
	Notes				Approved	Most recent IF: 7.504; 2014 IF: 6.723
	Call Number	UA @ lucian @ c:irua:117063			Serial	2864
Permanent link to this record