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Author Wang, D.; van der Wee, E.B.; Zanaga, D.; Altantzis, T.; Wu, Y.; Dasgupta, T.; Dijkstra, M.; Murray, C.B.; Bals, S.; van Blaaderen, A.
Title Quantitative 3D real-space analysis of Laves phase supraparticles Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Nature Communications Abbreviated Journal Nat Commun
Volume 12 Issue 1 Pages 3980
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)
Abstract 3D real-space analysis of thick nanoparticle crystals is non-trivial. Here, the authors demonstrate the structural analysis of a bulk-like Laves phase by imaging an off-stoichiometric binary mixture of hard-sphere-like nanoparticles in spherical confinement by electron tomography, enabling defect analysis on the single-particle level. Assembling binary mixtures of nanoparticles into crystals, gives rise to collective properties depending on the crystal structure and the individual properties of both species. However, quantitative 3D real-space analysis of binary colloidal crystals with a thickness of more than 10 layers of particles has rarely been performed. Here we demonstrate that an excess of one species in the binary nanoparticle mixture suppresses the formation of icosahedral order in the self-assembly in droplets, allowing the study of bulk-like binary crystal structures with a spherical morphology also called supraparticles. As example of the approach, we show single-particle level analysis of over 50 layers of Laves phase binary crystals of hard-sphere-like nanoparticles using electron tomography. We observe a crystalline lattice composed of a random mixture of the Laves phases. The number ratio of the binary species in the crystal lattice matches that of a perfect Laves crystal. Our methodology can be applied to study the structure of a broad range of binary crystals, giving insights into the structure formation mechanisms and structure-property relations of nanomaterials.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000687320200032 Publication Date 2021-06-25
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2041-1723 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 12.124 Times cited 10 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes M. Hermes is sincerely thanked for providing interactive views of the structures in this work. The authors thank I. Lobato, S. Dussi, L. Filion, E. Boattini, S. Paliwal, B. van der Meer and X. Xie for fruitful discussions. D.W., E.B.v.d.W. and A.v.B. acknowledge partial financial support from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP-2007-2013)/ERC Advanced Grant Agreement 291667 HierarSACol. T.D. and M.D. acknowledge financial support from the Industrial Partnership Program, “Computational Sciences for Energy Research” (Grant no. 13CSER025), of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), which was co-financed by Shell Global Solutions International B.V. S.B. acknowledges financial support from ERC Consolidator Grant No. 815128 REALNANO. T.A. acknowledges a post-doctoral grant from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium). C.B.M and Y.W. acknowledge support for materials synthesis from the Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative Award ONR N00014-18-1-2497. The authors acknowledge EM Square center at Utrecht University for the access to the microscopes.; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 12.124
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:181662 Serial (down) 6845
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Author Choukroun, D.; Pacquets, L.; Li, C.; Hoekx, S.; Arnouts, S.; Baert, K.; Hauffman, T.; Bals, S.; Breugelmans, T.
Title Mapping composition–selectivity relationships of supported sub-10 nm Cu–Ag nanocrystals for high-rate CO₂ electroreduction Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Acs Nano Abbreviated Journal Acs Nano
Volume 15 Issue 9 Pages 14858-14872
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)
Abstract Colloidal Cu–Ag nanocrystals measuring less than 10 nm across are promising candidates for integration in hybrid CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) interfaces, especially in the context of tandem catalysis and selective multicarbon (C2–C3) product formation. In this work, we vary the synthetic-ligand/copper molar ratio from 0.1 to 1.0 and the silver/copper atomic ratio from 0 to 0.7 and study the variations in the nanocrystals’ size distribution, morphology and reactivity at rates of ≥100 mA cm–2 in a gas-fed recycle electrolyzer operating under neutral to mildly basic conditions (0.1–1.0 M KHCO3). High-resolution electron microscopy and spectroscopy are used in order to characterize the morphology of sub-10 nm Cu–Ag nanodimers and core–shells and to elucidate trends in Ag coverage and surface composition. It is shown that Cu–Ag nanocrystals can be densely dispersed onto a carbon black support without the need for immediate ligand removal or binder addition, which considerably facilitates their application. Although CO2RR product distribution remains an intricate function of time, (kinetic) overpotential and processing conditions, we nevertheless conclude that the ratio of oxygenates to hydrocarbons (which depends primarily on the initial dispersion of the nanocrystals and their composition) rises 3-fold at moderate Ag atom % relative to Cu NCs-based electrodes. Finally, the merits of this particular Cu–Ag/C system and the recycling reactor employed are utilized to obtain maximum C2–C3 partial current densities of 92–140 mA cm–2 at −1.15 VRHE and liquid product concentrations in excess of 0.05 wt % in 1 M KHCO3 after short electrolysis periods.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000703553600082 Publication Date 2021-08-24
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 13.942 Times cited 25 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes D.C. acknowledges Thomas Kenis for configuring the analytical instrumentation (HPLC/GC-FID/ICP-MS), Hannelore Andries for assistance with ICP-MS measurements, and Dr. Saeid Pourbabak and Dr. Tine Derez for assistance with Cu sputtering. L.P. was supported by Research Foundation of Flanders (FWO 1S56920N). S.B. acknowledges financial support from ERC Consolidator grant number 815128 REALNANO. S.B. and T.B. acknowledge financial support from the university research fund (BOF-GOA-PS ID no. 33928).; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 13.942
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:180305 Serial (down) 6844
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Author Pramanik, G.; Kvakova, K.; Thottappali, M.A.; Rais, D.; Pfleger, J.; Greben, M.; El-Zoka, A.; Bals, S.; Dracinsky, M.; Valenta, J.; Cigler, P.
Title Inverse heavy-atom effect in near infrared photoluminescent gold nanoclusters Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Nanoscale Abbreviated Journal Nanoscale
Volume 12 Issue 23 Pages 10462-10467
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Fluorophores functionalized with heavy elements show enhanced intersystem crossing due to increased spin-orbit coupling, which in turn shortens the fluorescence decay lifetime (tau(PL)). This phenomenon is known as the heavy-atom effect (HAE). Here, we report the observation of increased tau(PL) upon functionalisation of near-infrared photoluminescent gold nanoclusters with iodine. The heavy atom-mediated increase in tau(PL) is in striking contrast with the HAE and referred to as inverse HAE. Femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy revealed overcompensation of a slight decrease in lifetime of the transition associated with the Au core (ps) by a large increase in the long-lived triplet state lifetime associated with the Au shell, which contributed to the observed inverse HAE. This unique observation of inverse HAE in gold nanoclusters provides the means to enhance the triplet excited state lifetime.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000657052500001 Publication Date 2021-06-30
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2040-3364 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 7.367 Times cited 1 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The authors acknowledge support from GACR project no. 18-12533S. G. P. acknowledges support from EUSMI project no. E180200060; J. P. from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic – Program INTER-EXCELLENCE (LTAUSA19066). Approved Most recent IF: 7.367
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:179052 Serial (down) 6843
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Author Du, K.
Title In situ TEM study on the manipulation of ferroelectrics Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 91 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract The strong correlated oxide systems attract a lot of attentions of scientists recently, the coexistence and interplay between various degrees of freedom, such as charge, spin and orbital, has been demonstrated to induce some fancy physical properties and phenomenon, including metal-insulator transition, high temperature superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance. As a part of the strong correlated oxide systems, the ferroelectrics is abundant in both physical properties and application. First, if the electric dipole continuously rotating around a stable core then a topological structure is produced. If people could manipulate the topological structure and simultaneously observe the structure evolution, with external field applied on the topological structure, then it is very likely for such kind of ferroelectrics to be the next generation of storage, for it is reported to need low power input and produce high density of storage. In the other hand, in solids, charge polarity can one-to-one correspond to spin polarity phenomenologically, such as ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism, antiferroelectricity and antiferromagnetism, but ferrielectricity and ferrimagnetism kept telling a disparate story in microscopic level. The claimed “ferrielectrics” in existing research is equivalent to ferroelectric ones, thus the findings of such a real irreducible solids would complete the last piece of the ferroelectrics family. While solving the above two questions remain challengeable: the size of topological structure is small (typically below 10 nm), general characterization methods are insufficient for such high demand on space resolution, not to mention manipulating and observing its dynamic behavior at an atomic level. Here, employing the spherical aberration corrected electron microscope, we applied external field (heating and bias) on ferroelectrics. Combined with high-end characterization methods including the high-angle annular dark field (HAADF-STEM) image, Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) and integrated differential phase contrast (iDPC), the dynamic evolution of ferroelectrics are observed and analyzed. The main findings of this paper could be concluded as listed here: (1) PbTiO3(001)// SrTiO3(001) is grown on DyScO3 and SrRuO3 by pusled laser deposition, the atomical EDS mapping results reveal that the interface between PTO and STO is atomically sharp. Increasing the thickness of PTO from 1 uc to 21 uc, the topological structure wihtin PTO layer would transform from a/c domain to wave, vortex and finally flux closure domain. The geometric phase analysis results (GPA) reveal that above topological structures are corresponding to various strain. (2) Combined with in-situ biasing holder, the electric bias was applied on polar vortex, and it evolved from vortex (0 V) to polar wave (2 V) and finally polar down (5 V). EELS analysis was performed and we find that negative charge is gathered at vortex core, which turns the Ti4+ to Ti3+ there. The oxygen vacancy at negative polarization surface and the negative charge at the positive polarization surface realized the polarization screening of polar down domain. (3) Through the atomic inspection and analysis on lattice structure of BaFe2Se3, the near ladders within single unit are found to be different in degree of tetramerization, thus leading to a residual polarization along the a-axis. The further in-situ heating and biasing experiment was conducted on BaFe2Se3, and the strong and weak ladders are proved to be independent for their behavior under external field. This findings distinguishes ferrielectrics from ferroelectrics in solids.
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Language Wos Publication Date
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ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:179310 Serial (down) 6842
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Author Abakumov, A.M.; Li, C.; Boev, A.; Aksyonov, D.A.; Savina, A.A.; Abakumova, T.A.; Van Tendeloo, G.; Bals, S.
Title Grain boundaries as a diffusion-limiting factor in lithium-rich NMC cathodes for high-energy lithium-ion batteries Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication ACS applied energy materials Abbreviated Journal
Volume 4 Issue 7 Pages 6777-6786
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract High-energy lithium-rich layered transition metal oxides are capable of delivering record electrochemical capacity and energy density as positive electrodes for Li-ion batteries. Their electrochemical behavior is extremely complex due to sophisticated interplay between crystal structure, electronic structure, and defect structure. Here we unravel an extra level of this complexity by revealing that the most typical representative Li1.2Ni0.13Mn0.54Co0.13O2 material, prepared by a conventional coprecipitation technique with Na2CO3 as a precipitating agent, contains abundant coherent (001) grain boundaries with a Na-enriched P2-structured block due to segregation of the residual sodium traces. The trigonal prismatic oxygen coordination of Na triggers multiple nanoscale twinning, giving rise to incoherent (104) boundaries. The cationic layers at the (001) grain boundaries are filled with transition metal cations being Mn-depleted and Co-enriched; this makes them virtually not permeable for the Li+ cations, and therefore they negatively influence the Li diffusion in and out of the spherical agglomerates. These results demonstrate that besides the mechanisms intrinsic to the crystal and electronic structure of Li-rich cathodes, their rate capability might also be depreciated by peculiar microstructural aspects. Dedicated engineering of grain boundaries opens a way for improving inherently sluggish kinetics of these materials.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000678382900042 Publication Date 2021-07-02
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2574-0962 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited 4 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes We thank Dr. M. V. Berekchiian (MSU) for assisting in ICPMS measurements. We acknowledge Russian Science Foundation (Grant 20-43-01012) and Research Foundation Flanders (FWO Vlaanderen, Project No. G0F1320N) for financial support. Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:180556 Serial (down) 6841
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Author Coeck, R.; Meeprasert, J.; Li, G.; Altantzis, T.; Bals, S.; Pidko, E.A.; De Vos, D.E.
Title Gold and silver-catalyzed reductive amination of aromatic carboxylic acids to benzylic amines Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Acs Catalysis Abbreviated Journal Acs Catal
Volume 11 Issue 13 Pages 7672-7684
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)
Abstract The reductive amination of benzoic acid and its derivatives would be an effective addition to current synthesis methods for benzylamine. However, with current technology it is very difficult to keep the aromaticity intact when starting from benzoic acid, and salt wastes are often generated in the process. Here, we report a heterogeneous catalytic system for such a reductive amination, requiring solely H-2 and NH3 as the reactants. The Ag/TiO2 or Au/TiO2 catalysts can be used multiple times, and very little noble metal is required, only 0.025 mol % Au. The catalysts are bifunctional: the support catalyzes the dehydration of both the ammonium carboxylate to the amide and of the amide to the nitrile, while the sites at the metal-support interface promote the hydrogenation of the in situ generated nitrile. Yields of up to 92% benzylamine were obtained.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000670659900005 Publication Date 2021-06-10
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2155-5435 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 10.614 Times cited 16 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes R.C. thanks the FWO for his SB PhD fellowship. D.E.D.V. acknowledges FWO for research project funding, as well as KU Leuven for funding in the Metusalem program Casas. S.B. acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator grant #815128 REALNANO). T.A. acknowledges funding from the University of Antwerp Research fund (BOF). E.A.P. acknowledges the support from the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator grant #725686 DeliCAT). J.M. acknowledges financial support through the Royal Thai Government Scholarship. DFT calculations on SURFsara supercomputer facilities were performed with support from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 10.614
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:179851 Serial (down) 6840
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Author Salzmann, B.B.V.; Vliem, J.F.; Maaskant, D.N.; Post, L.C.; Li, C.; Bals, S.; Vanmaekelbergh, D.
Title From CdSe nanoplatelets to quantum rings by thermochemical edge reconfiguration Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Chemistry Of Materials Abbreviated Journal Chem Mater
Volume 33 Issue 17 Pages 6853-6859
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract The variation in the shape of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) remains intriguing. This interest goes beyond crystallography as the shape of the NC determines its energy levels and optoelectronic properties. While thermodynamic arguments point to a few or just a single shape(s), terminated by the most stable crystal facets, a remarkable variation in NC shape has been reported for many different compounds. For instance, for the well-studied case of CdSe, close-to-spherical quantum dots, rods, two-dimensional nanoplatelets, and quantum rings have been reported. Here, we report how two-dimensional CdSe nanoplatelets reshape into quantum rings. We monitor the reshaping in real time by combining atomically resolved structural characterization with optical absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy. We observe that CdSe units leave the vertical sides of the edges and recrystallize on the top and bottom edges of the nanoplatelets, resulting in a thickening of the rims. The formation of a central hole, rendering the shape into a ring, only occurs at a more elevated temperature.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000696553600024 Publication Date 2021-08-24
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0897-4756; 1520-5002 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 9.466 Times cited 7 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Hans Meeldijk is kindly acknowledged for helping with electron microscopy at Utrecht University. B.B.V.S. and D.V. acknowledge the Dutch NWO for financial support via the TOP-ECHO grant no. 715.016.002. D.V. acknowledges financial support from the European ERC Council, ERC Advanced grant 692691 “First Step”. D.V. and L.C.P. acknowledge the Dutch NWO for financial support via the TOP-ECHO grant nr. 718.015.002. S.B acknowledges financial support from the European ERC Council, ERC Consolidator grant 815128. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 731019 (EUSMI). Realnano; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 9.466
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:181550 Serial (down) 6839
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Author Skorikov, A.; Heyvaert, W.; Albrecht, W.; Pelt, D.M.; Bals, S.
Title EMAT Simulated 3D Nanoparticle Structures Dataset Type Dataset
Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords Dataset; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract This dataset contains 1000 simulated nanoparticle-like 3D structures and noisy EDX-like elemental maps based on them. These data are intended to be used for quantitative analysis of data processing methods in (EDX) tomography of nanoparticles and training the data-driven approaches for these tasks. The dataset is structured as follows: voxel_data/clean 3D voxel grid representation of the simulated nanoparticles. Voxel intensities are adjusted so that the total intensity equals 103. All 3D structures have unique identifiers in 0..999 range. The data derived from a 3D structure preserves this unique identifier. sinograms/clean Tilt series of projection images obtained from the corresponding 3D structures over an angular range of -75..75 degrees with a tilt step of 10 degrees to simulate a typical tilt series used in EDX tomography. Total intensity in each projection image equals 103. sinograms/noisy Tilt series of projection images corrupted with Poisson noise and an additional spatially uniform background noise. projections/clean Projection images extracted from the clean tilt series at 0 degrees tilt angle. projections/noisy Projection images extracted from the noisy tilt series at 0 degrees tilt angle. images/clean Visualizations of the clean projections as PNG images with the intensity range adjusted to 0..255 images/noisy Visualizations of the noisy projections as PNG images with the intensity range adjusted to 0..255
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Language Wos Publication Date
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access Not_Open_Access
Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:180615 Serial (down) 6838
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Author Chee, S.-S.; Greboval, C.; Vale Magalhaes, D.; Ramade, J.; Chu, A.; Qu, J.; Rastogi, P.; Khalili, A.; Dang, T.H.; Dabard, C.; Prado, Y.; Patriarche, G.; Chaste, J.; Rosticher, M.; Bals, S.; Delerue, C.; Lhuillier, E.
Title Correlating structure and detection properties in HgTe nanocrystal films Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Nano Letters Abbreviated Journal Nano Lett
Volume 21 Issue 10 Pages 4145-4151
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract HgTe nanocrystals (NCs) enable broadly tunable infrared absorption, now commonly used to design light sensors. This material tends to grow under multipodic shapes and does not present well-defined size distributions. Such point generates traps and reduces the particle packing, leading to a reduced mobility. It is thus highly desirable to comprehensively explore the effect of the shape on their performance. Here, we show, using a combination of electron tomography and tight binding simulations, that the charge dissociation is strong within HgTe NCs, but poorly shape dependent. Then, we design a dual-gate field-effect-transistor made of tripod HgTe NCs and use it to generate a planar p-n junction, offering more tunability than its vertical geometry counterpart. Interestingly, the performance of the tripods is higher than sphere ones, and this can be correlated with a stronger Te excess in the case of sphere shapes which is responsible for a higher hole trap density.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000657242300002 Publication Date 2021-05-06
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1530-6984 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 12.712 Times cited 20 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The project is supported by ERC starting grant blackQD (Grant No. 756225) and consolidator grant Realnano (815128). This project has received funding from the European Commission (Grant 731019, EUSMI). We acknowledge the use of cleanroom facilities from the “Centrale de Proximité Paris-Centre”. This work has been supported by the Region Ile-de-France in the framework of DIM Nano-K (Grant dopQD). This work was supported by French state funds managed by the ANR within the Investissements d’Avenir programme under reference ANR11-IDEX-0004-02, and more specifically within the framework of the Cluster of Excellence MATISSE and also by grants IPERNano2 (ANR-18CE30-0023-01), Copin (ANR-19-CE24- 0022), Frontal (ANR-19-CE09-0017), Graskop (ANR-19- CE09-0026), and NITQuantum (ANR-20-ASTR-0008-01). A.C. thanks Agence innovation defense for Ph.D. funding; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 12.712
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:179127 Serial (down) 6837
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Author Pedrazo Tardajos, A.
Title Advanced graphene supports for 3D in situ transmission electron microscopy Type Doctoral thesis
Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 247 p.
Keywords Doctoral thesis; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an ideal tool to investigate nanomaterials. The information from TEM experiments allows us to link the structure and composition of nanomaterials to their intrinsic physical properties. However, despite the significant evolution of the TEM field during the last two decades, major progress is still possible through the development of optimal TEM techniques and supports. The results presented in this thesis focus on the optimization of sample supports and their application. Among the different options, graphene has previously been reported as useful sample support for electron microscopy due to its unparalleled properties, for example, it is the thinnest known support and provides a protective effect to the sample under investigation. Unfortunately, commercial graphene grids show poor quality, in terms of intactness and cleanness, inhibiting their wide application within the field. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the application of optimized graphene TEM grids, obtained by transferring high quality graphene using an advanced procedure. This improvement on the transfer has enabled the visualization of materials with low contrast and high sensitivity towards the electron beam, such as surface ligands capping gold nanoparticles or metal halide perovskites. Furthermore, the implemented protocol is not only of interest for conventional TEM grids but also a major benefit for in situ TEM studies, where the sample is investigated in real time under certain stimuli. Hence, the same graphene transfer technology can be also applied to advanced in situ MEMS holders dedicated for both heating and gas experiments, where the thickness and insulating nature of the silicon nitride (Si3N4) support may hamper some applications. By engineering periodic arrays of holes in their Si3N4 membrane by focused ion beam, onto which the graphene is transferred, it has been possible to get proof-of-concept 3D in situ investigations of heat-induced morphological and compositional transformations of complex nanosystems. As an example, it has enabled the investigation of the possible phase-transition of metal halide perovskites upon heating using 2D and 3D structural characterization. Moreover, it has allowed the study of in situ three-dimensional nanoparticle dynamics during gas phase catalysis as well as the first steps that would lead towards the design and creation of the first Graphene Gas Cell. Consequently, implementation of the advanced graphene transfer technology described in this thesis is envisaged to impact a broad range of future experiments.
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Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:181143 Serial (down) 6836
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Author Kelly, S.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Nitrogen fixation in an electrode-free microwave plasma Type A1 Journal Article
Year 2021 Publication Joule Abbreviated Journal Joule
Volume 5 Issue 11 Pages 3006-3030
Keywords A1 Journal Article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;
Abstract Plasma-based gas conversion has great potential for enabling carbon-free fertilizer production powered by renewable electricity. Sustaining an energy-efficient plasma process without eroding the containment vessel is currently a significant challenge, limiting scaling to higher powers and throughputs. Isolation of the plasma from contact with any solid surfaces is an advantage, which both limits energy loss to the walls and prevents material erosion that could lead to disastrous soil contamination. This paper presents highly energy-efficient nitrogen fixation from air into NOx by microwave plasma, with the plasma filament isolated at the center of a quartz tube using a vortex gas flow. NOx production is found to scale very efficiently when increasing both gas flow rate and absorbed power. The lowest energy cost recorded of ~2 MJ/mol, for a total NOx production of ~3.8%, is the lowest reported up to now for atmospheric pressure plasmas.
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Language Wos 000723010700018 Publication Date 2021-10-26
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
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ISSN 2542-4351 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes We acknowledge financial support by the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship ‘‘PENFIX’’ within Horizon 2020 (grant no. 838181), 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 Excellence of Science FWO-FNRS project (FWO grant ID GoF9618n, EOS ID 30505023). The calculations were performed using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UAntwerpen), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Centre VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UAntwerpen. We thank Dr. Waldo Bongers and Dr. Floran Peeters of the DIFFER institute for their help and advice in the initial phase of the project, as well as Mr. Luc van‘t Dack, Dr. Karen Leyssens and Ing. Karel Venken for their technical assistance. We thank Dr. Klaus Werner, executive director of the RF Energy Alliance, for his extensive expertise and helpful discourse regarding solid-state MW technology. Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:184250 Serial (down) 6835
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Author Mustonen, K.; Hofer, C.; Kotrusz, P.; Markevich, A.; Hulman, M.; Mangler, C.; Susi, T.; Pennycook, T.J.; Hricovini, K.; Richter, C.M.; Meyer, J.C.; Kotakoski, J.; Skákalová, V.
Title Towards Exotic Layered Materials: 2D Cuprous Iodide Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Advanced materials Abbreviated Journal Adv Mater
Volume Issue Pages 2106922
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Heterostructures composed of two-dimensional (2D) materials are already opening many new possibilities in such fields of technology as electronics and magnonics, but far more could be achieved if the number and diversity of 2D materials is increased. So far, only a few dozen 2D crystals have been extracted from materials that exhibit a layered phase in ambient conditions, omitting entirely the large number of layered materials that may exist in other temperatures and pressures. Here, we demonstrate how these structures can be stabilized in 2D van der Waals stacks under room temperature via growing them directly in graphene encapsulation by using graphene oxide as the template material. Specifically, we produce an ambient stable 2D structure of copper and iodine, a material that normally only occurs in layered form at elevated temperatures between 645 and 675 K. Our results establish a simple route to the production of more exotic phases of materials that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to stabilize for experiments in ambient.
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Language Wos 000744012500001 Publication Date 2021-12-07
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0935-9648 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 19.791 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes We acknowledge funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme Grant agreements No.~756277-ATMEN (A.M. and T.S.) and No.802123-HDEM (C.H. and T.J.P.). Computational resources from the Vienna Scientific Cluster (VSC) are gratefully acknowledged. V.S. was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) (project no. I2344-N36), the Slovak Research and Development Agency (APVV-16-0319), the project CEMEA of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, ITMS project code 313021T081 of the Research & Innovation Operational Programme and from the V4-Japan Joint Research Program (BGapEng). J.K. acknowledges the FWF funding within project P31605-N36 and M.H. the funding from Slovak Research and Development Agency via the APVV-15-0693 and APVV-19-0365 project grants. Danubia NanoTech s.r.o. has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101008099 (CompSafeNano project) and also thanks Mr. Kamil Bernath for his support. Approved Most recent IF: 19.791
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183956 Serial (down) 6834
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Author Feng, X.; Jena, H.S.; Krishnaraj, C.; Arenas-Esteban, D.; Leus, K.; Wang, G.; Sun, J.; Rüscher, M.; Timoshenko, J.; Roldan Cuenya, B.; Bals, S.; Voort, P.V.D.
Title Creation of Exclusive Artificial Cluster Defects by Selective Metal Removal in the (Zn, Zr) Mixed-Metal UiO-66 Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Journal Of The American Chemical Society Abbreviated Journal J Am Chem Soc
Volume Issue Pages jacs.1c05357
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract The differentiation between missing linker defects

and missing cluster defects in MOFs is difficult, thereby limiting the

ability to correlate materials properties to a specific type of defects.

Herein, we present a novel and easy synthesis strategy for the

creation of solely “missing cluster defects” by preparing mixed-metal

(Zn, Zr)-UiO-66 followed by a gentle acid wash to remove the Zn

nodes. The resulting material has the reo UiO-66 structure, typical

for well-defined missing cluster defects. The missing clusters are

thoroughly characterized, including low-pressure Ar-sorption, iDPCSTEM

at a low dose (1.5 pA), and XANES/EXAFS analysis. We

show that the missing cluster UiO-66 has a negligible number of missing linkers. We show the performance of the missing cluster

UiO-66 in CO2 sorption and heterogeneous catalysis.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000730569500001 Publication Date 2021-12-07
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0002-7863 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 13.858 Times cited 29 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Agentschap Innoveren en Ondernemen, HBC.2019.0110 HBC.2021.0254 ; Universiteit Gent; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 665501 ; Dalian University of Technology; China Scholarship Council, 201507565009 ; National Natural Science Foundation of China, 22101039 ; H2020 European Research Council, 815128 REALNANO ; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 13.858
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183951 Serial (down) 6833
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Author Mushtaq, A.; Pradhan, B.; Kushavah, D.; Zhang, Y.; Wolf, M.; Schrenker, N.; Fron, E.; Bals, S.; Hofkens, J.; Debroye, E.; Pal, S.K.
Title Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Properties and Saturation of Two-Photon Absorption in Lead-Free Double Perovskite Nanocrystals under Femtosecond Excitation Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Acs Photonics Abbreviated Journal Acs Photonics
Volume 8 Issue 11 Pages 3365-3374
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Lead halide perovskites have been widely explored

in the field of photovoltaics, light-emitting diodes, and lasers due to

their outstanding linear and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties.

But, the presence of lead toxicity and low chemical stability remain

serious concerns. Lead-free double perovskite with excellent

optical properties and chemical stability could be an alternative.

However, proper examination of the NLO properties of such a

material is crucial to identify their utility for future nonlinear device

applications. Herein, we have made use of femtosecond (fs) Z-scan

technique to explore the NLO properties of Cs2AgIn0.9Bi0.1Cl6

nanocrystals (NCs). Our measurements suggest that under

nonresonant fs excitation, perovskite NCs exhibit strong twophoton

absorption (TPA). The observed saturation of TPA at high

light intensities has been explained by a customized model. Furthermore, we have demonstrated a change in the nonlinear refractive

index of the NCs under varying input intensities. The strong TPA absorption of lead-free double perovskite NCs could be used for

Kerr nonlinearity-based nonlinear applications such as optical shutters for picosecond lasers.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000757024100028 Publication Date 2021-11-17
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2330-4022 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 6.756 Times cited 25 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes A.M. is thankful to IIT Mandi for his fellowship and Advanced Materials Research Centre for the experimental facilities. A.M. is also thankful to Torbjörn Pascher (Pascher Instrument) for writing the Z-scan data acquisition program. J.H. acknowledges financial support from the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO, Grant No. G983.19N, G0A5817N, and G0H6316N) and the Flemish government through long-term structural funding Methusalem (CASAS2, Meth/15/04). B.P. acknowledges postdoctoral fellowship from the Research Foundation- Flanders (FWO Grant No. 1275521N). D.K. acknowledges the financial support from Science and Engineering Research Board (Grant No. PDF/2018/003146), India. N.J.S. acknowledges financial support from the Research Foundation- Flanders via a postdoctoral fellowship (FWO Grant No. 1238622N). Approved Most recent IF: 6.756
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:184249 Serial (down) 6832
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Author Renero-Lecuna, C.; Herrero, A.; Jimenez de Aberasturi, D.; Martínez-Flórez, M.; Valiente, R.; Mychinko, M.; Bals, S.; Liz-Marzán, L.M.
Title Nd3+-Doped Lanthanum Oxychloride Nanocrystals as Nanothermometers Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry C Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C
Volume 125 Issue 36 Pages 19887-19896
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract The development of optical nanothermometers operating in the near-infrared (NIR) is of high relevance toward temperature measurements in biological systems. We propose herein the use of Nd3+-doped lanthanum oxychloride nanocrystals as an efficient system with intense photoluminescence under NIR irradiation in the first biological transparency window and emission in the second biological window with excellent emission stability over time under 808 nm excitation, regardless of Nd3+ concentration, which can be considered as a particular strength of our system. Additionally, surface passivation through overgrowth of an inert LaOCl shell around optically active LaOCl/Nd3+ cores was found to further enhance the photoluminescence intensity and also the lifetime of the 1066 nm, 4F3/2 to 4I11/2 transition, without affecting its (ratiometric) sensitivity toward temperature changes. As required for biological applications, we show that the obtained (initially hydrophobic) nanocrystals can be readily transferred into aqueous solvents with high, long-term stability, through either ligand exchange or encapsulation with an amphiphilic polymer.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000697335100031 Publication Date 2021-09-16
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 9 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The authors thank the financial support of the European Research Council (ERC-AdG-2017 787510, ERC-CoG-2019 815128) and of the European Commission (EUSMI, Grant 731019). This work was performed under the Maria de Maeztu Units of Excellence Program from the Spanish State Research Agency−Grant MDM-2017−0720. Realnano; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 4.536
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:181671 Serial (down) 6831
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Author Bruggeman, P.J.; Bogaerts, A.; Pouvesle, J.M.; Robert, E.; Szili, E.J.
Title Plasma–liquid interactions Type A1 Journal Article
Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Applied Physics Abbreviated Journal J Appl Phys
Volume 130 Issue 20 Pages 200401
Keywords A1 Journal Article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date 2021-11-28
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0021-8979 ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor 2.068 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.068
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:184245 Serial (down) 6830
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Author Walters, A.A.; Santacana-Font, G.; Li, J.; Routabi, N.; Qin, Y.; Claes, N.; Bals, S.; Tzu-Wen Wang, J.; Al-Jamal, K.T.
Title Nanoparticle-MediatedIn SituMolecular Reprogramming of Immune Checkpoint Interactions for Cancer Immunotherapy Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Acs Nano Abbreviated Journal Acs Nano
Volume 15 Issue 11 Pages 17549-17564
Keywords A1 Journal article; Pharmacology. Therapy; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Immune checkpoint blockade involves targeting immune

regulatory molecules with antibodies. Preclinically, complex multiantibody

regimes of both inhibitory and stimulatory targets are a promising

candidate for the next generation of immunotherapy. However, in this

setting, the antibody platform may be limited due to excessive toxicity

caused by off target effects as a result of systemic administration. RNA

can be used as an alternate to antibodies as it can both downregulate

immunosuppressive checkpoints (siRNA) or induce expression of

immunostimulatory checkpoints (mRNA). In this study, we demonstrate

that the combination of both siRNA and mRNA in a single

formulation can simultaneously knockdown and induce expression of

immune checkpoint targets, thereby reprogramming the tumor

microenvironment from immunosuppressive to immunostimulatory

phenotype. To achieve this, RNA constructs were synthesized and

formulated into stable nucleic acid lipid nanoparticles (SNALPs); the SNALPs produced were 140−150 nm in size with >80%

loading efficiency. SNALPs could transfect macrophages and B16F10 cells in vitro resulting in 75% knockdown of inhibitory

checkpoint (PDL1) expression and simultaneously express high levels of stimulatory checkpoint (OX40L) with minimal

toxicity. Intratumoral treatment with the proposed formulation resulted in statistically reduced tumor growth, a greater

density of CD4+ and CD8+ infiltrates in the tumor, and immune activation within tumor-draining lymph nodes. These data

suggest that a single RNA-based formulation can successfully reprogram multiple immune checkpoint interactions on a

cellular level. Such a candidate may be able to replace future immune checkpoint therapeutic regimes composed of both

stimulatory- and inhibitory-receptor-targeting antibodies.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000747115200039 Publication Date 2021-11-23
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 13.942 Times cited 11 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes A.A.W. is the grateful recipient of a Maplethorpe Fellowship. K.A.J. acknowledges funding from the British Council (Newton Fund, 337313), Wellcome Trust (WT103913), and the Cancer Research UK King’s Health Partners Centre at King’s College London. Financial support is acknowledged from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme, by means of Grant Agreement No. 731019 (EUSMI). Images were drawn on BioRender.com. Approved Most recent IF: 13.942
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183950 Serial (down) 6829
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Author Jannis, D.; Hofer, C.; Gao, C.; Xie, X.; Béché, A.; Pennycook, Tj.; Verbeeck, J.
Title Event driven 4D STEM acquisition with a Timepix3 detector: Microsecond dwell time and faster scans for high precision and low dose applications Type A1 Journal article
Year 2022 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy
Volume 233 Issue Pages 113423
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Four dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D STEM) records the scattering of electrons in a material in great detail. The benefits offered by 4D STEM are substantial, with the wealth of data it provides facilitating for instance high precision, high electron dose efficiency phase imaging via centre of mass or ptychography based analysis. However the requirement for a 2D image of the scattering to be recorded at each probe position has long placed a severe bottleneck on the speed at which 4D STEM can be performed. Recent advances in camera technology have greatly reduced this bottleneck, with the detection efficiency of direct electron detectors being especially well suited to the technique. However even the fastest frame driven pixelated detectors still significantly limit the scan speed which can be used in 4D STEM, making the resulting data susceptible to drift and hampering its use for low dose beam sensitive applications. Here we report the development of the use of an event driven Timepix3 direct electron camera that allows us to overcome this bottleneck and achieve 4D STEM dwell times down to 100 ns; orders of magnitude faster than what has been possible with frame based readout. We characterize the detector for different acceleration voltages and show that the method is especially well suited for low dose imaging and promises rich datasets without compromising dwell time when compared to conventional STEM imaging.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000734396800003 Publication Date 2021-11-13
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.2 Times cited 31 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes This project has received funding from the Euro- pean Union’s Horizon 2020 Research Infrastructure – Integrating Activities for Advanced Communities under grant agreement No 823717 – ESTEEM3. J.V. and A.B. acknowledge funding from FWO project G093417N (‘Compressed sensing enabling low dose imaging in transmission electron microscopy’). J.V. and D.J. ac- knowledge funding from FWO project G042920N ‘Co- incident event detection for advanced spectroscopy in transmission electron microscopy’. We acknowledge funding under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 re- search and innovation programme (J.V. and D.J un- der grant agreement No 101017720, FET-Proactive EBEAM, and C.H., C.G., X.X. and T.J.P. from the Eu- ropean Research Council (ERC) Grant agreement No. 802123-HDEM).; esteem3JRA; esteem3reported Approved Most recent IF: 2.2
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183948 Serial (down) 6828
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Author Van Alphen, S.; Slaets, J.; Ceulemans, S.; Aghaei, M.; Snyders, R.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Effect of N2 on CO2-CH4 conversion in a gliding arc plasmatron: Can this major component in industrial emissions improve the energy efficiency? Type A1 Journal Article;Plasma-based CO2-CH4 conversion
Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Co2 Utilization Abbreviated Journal J Co2 Util
Volume 54 Issue Pages 101767
Keywords A1 Journal Article;Plasma-based CO2-CH4 conversion; Effect of N2; Plasma chemistry; Computational modelling; Gliding arc plasmatron; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;
Abstract Plasma-based CO2 and CH4 conversion is gaining increasing interest, and a great portion of research is dedicated to adapting the process to actual industrial conditions. In an industrial context, the process needs to be able to process N2 admixtures, since most industrial gas emissions contain significant amounts of N2, and gas separations are financially costly. In this paper we therefore investigate the effect of N2 on the CO2 and CH4 conversion in a gliding arc plasmatron reactor. The addition of 20 % N2 reduces the energy cost of the conversion process by 21 % compared to a pure CO2/CH4 mixture, from 2.9 down to 2.2 eV/molec (or from 11.5 to 8.7 kJ/L), yielding a CO2 and CH4 (absolute) conversion of 28.6 and 35.9 % and an energy efficiency of 58 %. These results are among the best reported in literature for plasma-based DRM, demonstrating the benefits of N2 present in the mix. Compared to DRM results in different plasma reactor types, a low energy cost was achieved. To understand the underlying mechanisms of N2 addition, we developed a combination of four different computational models, which reveal that the beneficial effect of N2 addition is attributed to (i) a rise in the electron density (increasing the plasma conductivity, and therefore reducing the plasma power needed to sustain the plasma, which reduces the energy cost), as well as (ii) a rise in the gas temperature, which accelerates the CO2 and CH4 conversion reactions.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000715057300005 Publication Date 2021-10-28
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2212-9820 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.292 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes This research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innova­ tion programme (grant agreement No 810182 – SCOPE ERC Synergy project), the Excellence of Science FWO-FNRS project (FWO grant ID GoF9618n, EOS ID 30505023), and through long-term structural fund­ing (Methusalem). The calculations were performed using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Ant­werpen (UAntwerpen), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UAntwerpen. Approved Most recent IF: 4.292
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:184044 Serial (down) 6827
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Author Van Loenhout, J.; Freire Boullosa, L.; Quatannens, D.; De Waele, J.; Merlin, C.; Lambrechts, H.; Lau, H.W.; Hermans, C.; Lin, A.; Lardon, F.; Peeters, M.; Bogaerts, A.; Smits, E.; Deben, C.
Title Auranofin and Cold Atmospheric Plasma Synergize to Trigger Distinct Cell Death Mechanisms and Immunogenic Responses in Glioblastoma Type A1 Journal Article;oxidative stress
Year 2021 Publication Cells Abbreviated Journal Cells
Volume 10 Issue 11 Pages 2936
Keywords A1 Journal Article;oxidative stress; auranofin; cold atmospheric plasma; glioblastoma; cancer cell death; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;
Abstract Targeting the redox balance of malignant cells via the delivery of high oxidative stress unlocks a potential therapeutic strategy against glioblastoma (GBM). We investigated a novel reactive oxygen species (ROS)-inducing combination treatment strategy, by increasing exogenous ROS via cold atmospheric plasma and inhibiting the endogenous protective antioxidant system via auranofin (AF), a thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR) inhibitor. The sequential combination treatment of AF and cold atmospheric plasma-treated PBS (pPBS), or AF and direct plasma application, resulted in a synergistic response in 2D and 3D GBM cell cultures, respectively. Differences in the baseline protein levels related to the antioxidant systems explained the cell-line-dependent sensitivity towards the combination treatment. The highest decrease of TrxR activity and GSH levels was observed after combination treatment of AF and pPBS when compared to AF and pPBS monotherapies. This combination also led to the highest accumulation of intracellular ROS. We confirmed a ROS-mediated response to the combination of AF and pPBS, which was able to induce distinct cell death mechanisms. On the one hand, an increase in caspase-3/7 activity, with an increase in the proportion of annexin V positive cells, indicates the induction of apoptosis in the GBM cells. On the other hand, lipid peroxidation and inhibition of cell death through an iron chelator suggest the involvement of ferroptosis in the GBM cell lines. Both cell death mechanisms induced by the combination of AF and pPBS resulted in a significant increase in danger signals (ecto-calreticulin, ATP and HMGB1) and dendritic cell maturation, indicating a potential increase in immunogenicity, although the phagocytotic capacity of dendritic cells was inhibited by AF. In vivo, sequential combination treatment of AF and cold atmospheric plasma both reduced tumor growth kinetics and prolonged survival in GBM-bearing mice. Thus, our study provides a novel therapeutic strategy for GBM to enhance the efficacy of oxidative stress-inducing therapy through a combination of AF and cold atmospheric plasma.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000807134000001 Publication Date 2021-10-28
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2073-4409 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Olivia Hendrickx Research Fund, 21OCL06 ; University of Antwerp, FFB160231 ; The authors would express their gratitude to Hans de Reu for technical assistance with flow cytometry. Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:182915 Serial (down) 6826
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Author Koo, J.; Dahl, A.B.; Bærentzen, J.A.; Chen, Q.; Bals, S.; Dahl, V.A.
Title Shape from projections via differentiable forward projector for computed tomography Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy
Volume 224 Issue Pages 113239
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract In computed tomography, the reconstruction is typically obtained on a voxel grid. In this work, however, we propose a mesh-based reconstruction method. For tomographic problems, 3D meshes have mostly been studied to simulate data acquisition, but not for reconstruction, for which a 3D mesh means the inverse process of estimating shapes from projections. In this paper, we propose a differentiable forward model for 3D meshes that bridge the gap between the forward model for 3D surfaces and optimization. We view the forward projection as a rendering process, and make it differentiable by extending recent work in differentiable rendering. We use the proposed forward model to reconstruct 3D shapes directly from projections. Experimental results for single-object problems show that the proposed method outperforms traditional voxel-based methods on noisy simulated data. We also apply the proposed method on electron tomography images of nanoparticles to demonstrate the applicability of the method on real data.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000744576800008 Publication Date 2021-03-11
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.843 Times cited 3 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes EU Horizon 2020 MSCA Innovative Training Network MUMMERING Grant Number 765604. Approved Most recent IF: 2.843
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183267 Serial (down) 6825
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Author van Thiel, T. c.; Brzezicki, W.; Autieri, C.; Hortensius, J. r.; Afanasiev, D.; Gauquelin, N.; Jannis, D.; Janssen, N.; Groenendijk, D. j.; Fatermans, J.; Van Aert, S.; Verbeeck, J.; Cuoco, M.; Caviglia, A. d.
Title Coupling Charge and Topological Reconstructions at Polar Oxide Interfaces Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Physical Review Letters Abbreviated Journal Phys Rev Lett
Volume 127 Issue 12 Pages 127202
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract In oxide heterostructures, different materials are integrated into a single artificial crystal, resulting in a breaking of inversion symmetry across the heterointerfaces. A notable example is the interface between polar and nonpolar materials, where valence discontinuities lead to otherwise inaccessible charge and spin states. This approach paved the way for the discovery of numerous unconventional properties absent in the bulk constituents. However, control of the geometric structure of the electronic wave functions in correlated oxides remains an open challenge. Here, we create heterostructures consisting of ultrathin SrRuO3, an itinerant ferromagnet hosting momentum-space sources of Berry curvature, and

LaAlO3, a polar wide-band-gap insulator. Transmission electron microscopy reveals an atomically sharp LaO/RuO2/SrO interface configuration, leading to excess charge being pinned near the LaAlO3/SrRuO3 interface. We demonstrate through magneto-optical characterization, theoretical calculations and transport measurements that the real-space charge reconstruction drives a reorganization of the topological charges in the band structure, thereby modifying the momentum-space Berry curvature in SrRuO3. Our results illustrate how the topological and magnetic features of oxides can be manipulated by engineering charge discontinuities at oxide interfaces.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000704665000010 Publication Date 2021-09-16
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0031-9007 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 8.462 Times cited 17 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The authors thank E. Lesne, M. Lee, H. Barakov, M. Matthiesen and U. Filippozzi for discussions. The authors are grateful to E.J.S. van Thiel for producing the illustration in Fig. 4a. This work was supported by the European Research Council under the European Unions Horizon 2020 programme/ERC Grant agreements No. [677458], [770887] and No. [731473] (Quantox of QuantERA ERA-NET Cofund in Quantum Technologies) and by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO/OCW) as part of the Frontiers of Nanoscience (NanoFront) and VIDI program. The authors acknowledge funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. [823717] – ESTEEM3. N. G., J. V., and S. V. A. acknowledge funding from the University of Antwerp through the Concerted Research Actions (GOA) project Solarpaint and the TOP project. C. A. and W. B. are supported by the Foundation for Polish Science through the International Research Agendas program co-financed by the European Union within the Smart Growth Operational Programme. C. A. acknowledges access to the computing facilities of the Interdisciplinary Center of Modeling at the University of Warsaw, Grant No. G73-23 and G75-10. W.B. acknowledges support from the Narodowe Centrum Nauk (NCN, National Science Centre, Poland) Project No. 2019/34/E/ST3/00404'; esteem3TA; esteem3reported Approved Most recent IF: 8.462
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:182595 Serial (down) 6824
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Author Herzog, M.J.; Gauquelin, N.; Esken, D.; Verbeeck, J.; Janek, J.
Title Increased Performance Improvement of Lithium-Ion Batteries by Dry Powder Coating of High-Nickel NMC with Nanostructured Fumed Ternary Lithium Metal Oxides Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication ACS applied energy materials Abbreviated Journal ACS Appl. Energy Mater.
Volume 4 Issue 9 Pages 8832-8848
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Dry powder coating is an effective approach to protect the surfaces of layered cathode active materials (CAMs) in lithium-ion batteries. Previous investigations indicate an incorporation of lithium ions in fumed Al2O3, ZrO2, and TiO2 coatings on LiNi0.7Mn0.15Co0.15O2 during cycling, improving the cycling performance. Here, this coating approach is transferred for the first time to fumed ternary LiAlO2, Li4Zr3O8, and Li4Ti5O12 and directly compared with their lithium-free equivalents. All materials could be processed equally and their nanostructured small aggregates accumulate on the CAM surfaces to quite homogeneous coating layers with a certain porosity. The LiNixMnyCozO2 (NMC) coated with lithium-containing materials shows an enhanced improvement in overall capacity, capacity retention, rate performance, and polarization behavior during cycling, compared to their lithium-free analogues. The highest rate performance was achieved with the fumed ZrO2 coating, while the best long-term cycling stability with the highest absolute capacity was obtained for the fumed LiAlO2-coated NMC. The optimal coating agent for NMC to achieve a balanced system is fumed Li4Ti5O12, providing a good compromise between high rate capability and good capacity retention. The coating agents prevent CAM particle cracking and degradation in the order LiAlO2 ≈ Al2O3 > Li4Ti5O12 > Li4Zr3O8 > ZrO2 > TiO2. A schematic model for the protection and electrochemical performance enhancement of high-nickel NMC with fumed metal oxide coatings is sketched. It becomes apparent that physical and chemical characteristics of the coating significantly influence the performance of NMC. A high degree of coating-layer porosity is favorable for the rate capability, while a high coverage of the surface, especially in vulnerable grain boundaries, enhances the long-term cycling stability and improves the cracking behavior of NMCs. While zirconium-containing coatings possess the best chemical properties for high rate performances, aluminum-containing coatings feature a superior chemical nature to protect high-nickel NMCs.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000703338600018 Publication Date 2021-09-27
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2574-0962 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited 15 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes For his support in scanning electron microscopy analysis, the authors thank Erik Peldszus. N. G. and J. V. acknowledge funding from GOA project “Solarpaint” of the University of Antwerp and from the Flemish Research Fund (FWO) project G0F1320N. The Qu-Ant-EM microscope and the direct electron detector were partly funded by the Hercules fund from the Flemish Government Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183949 Serial (down) 6823
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Author Lebedev, N.; Stehno, M.; Rana, A.; Reith, P.; Gauquelin, N.; Verbeeck, J.; Hilgenkamp, H.; Brinkman, A.; Aarts, J.
Title Gate-tuned anomalous Hall effect driven by Rashba splitting in intermixed LaAlO3/GdTiO3/SrTiO3 Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Scientific Reports Abbreviated Journal Sci Rep-Uk
Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 10726
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract The Anomalous Hall Effect (AHE) is an important quantity in determining the properties and understanding the behaviour of the two-dimensional electron system forming at the interface of SrTiO<sub>3</sub>-based oxide heterostructures. The occurrence of AHE is often interpreted as a signature of ferromagnetism, but it is becoming more and more clear that also paramagnets may contribute to AHE. We studied the influence of magnetic ions by measuring intermixed LaAlO<sub>3</sub>/GdTiO<sub>3</sub>/SrTiO<sub>3</sub>at temperatures below 10 K. We find that, as function of gate voltage, the system undergoes a Lifshitz transition while at the same time an onset of AHE is observed. However, we do not observe clear signs of ferromagnetism. We argue the AHE to be due to the change in Rashba spin-orbit coupling at the Lifshitz transition and conclude that also paramagnetic moments which are easily polarizable at low temperatures and high magnetic fields lead to the presence of AHE, which needs to be taken into account when extracting carrier densities and mobilities.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000658820100014 Publication Date 2021-05-21
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2045-2322 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.259 Times cited 5 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes J.V. and N.G. acknowledge funding from the Geconcentreerde Onderzoekacties (GOA) project “Solarpaint” of the University of Antwerp and the European Union’s horizon 2020 research and innovation programme ESTEEM3 under grant agreement 823717. The Qu-Ant-EM microscope used in this study was partly funded by the Hercules fund from the Flemish Government.; esteem3TA; esteem3reported Approved Most recent IF: 4.259
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:179608 Serial (down) 6822
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Author Jannis, D.; Müller-Caspary, K.; Béché, A.; Verbeeck, J.
Title Coincidence Detection of EELS and EDX Spectral Events in the Electron Microscope Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Applied Sciences-Basel Abbreviated Journal Appl Sci-Basel
Volume 11 Issue 19 Pages 9058
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Recent advances in the development of electron and X-ray detectors have opened up the possibility to detect single events from which its time of arrival can be determined with nanosecond resolution. This allows observing time correlations between electrons and X-rays in the transmission electron microscope. In this work, a novel setup is described which measures individual events using a silicon drift detector and digital pulse processor for the X-rays and a Timepix3 detector for the electrons. This setup enables recording time correlation between both event streams while at the same time preserving the complete conventional electron energy loss (EELS) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) signal. We show that the added coincidence information improves the sensitivity for detecting trace elements in a matrix as compared to conventional EELS and EDX. Furthermore, the method allows the determination of the collection efficiencies without the use of a reference sample and can subtract the background signal for EELS and EDX without any prior knowledge of the background shape and without pre-edge fitting region. We discuss limitations in time resolution arising due to specificities of the silicon drift detector and discuss ways to further improve this aspect.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000710160300001 Publication Date 2021-09-28
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2076-3417 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 1.679 Times cited 9 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, G042920 ; Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, 101017720 ; Helmholtz-Fonds, VH-NG-1317 ; Approved Most recent IF: 1.679
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183336 Serial (down) 6821
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Author Arslan Irmak, E.; Liu, P.; Bals, S.; Van Aert, S.
Title 3D Atomic Structure of Supported Metallic Nanoparticles Estimated from 2D ADF STEM Images: A Combination of Atom – Counting and a Local Minima Search Algorithm Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Small methods Abbreviated Journal Small Methods
Volume Issue Pages 2101150
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Determining the three-dimensional (3D) atomic structure of nanoparticles (NPs) is critical to understand their structure-dependent properties. It is hereby important to perform such analyses under conditions relevant for the envisioned application. Here, we investigate the 3D structure of supported Au NPs at high temperature, which is of importance to understand their behavior during catalytic reactions. To overcome limitations related to conventional high-resolution electron tomography at high temperature, 3D characterization of NPs with atomic resolution has been performed by applying atom-counting using atomic resolution annular darkfield scanning transmission electron microscopy (ADF STEM) images followed by structural relaxation. However, at high temperatures, thermal displacements, which affect the ADF STEM intensities, should be taken into account. Moreover, it is very likely that the structure of a NP investigated at elevated temperature deviates from a ground state configuration, which is difficult to determine using purely computational energy minimization approaches. In this paper, we therefore propose an optimized approach using an iterative local minima search algorithm followed by molecular dynamics (MD) structural relaxation of candidate structures associated with each local minimum. In this manner, it becomes possible to investigate the 3D atomic structure of supported NPs, which may deviate from their ground state configuration.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000716511600001 Publication Date 2021-11-10
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2366-9608 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited 12 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes This work was supported by the European Research Council (Grant 815128 REALNANO to SB, Grant 770887 PICOMETRICS to SVA, Grant 823717 ESTEEM3). The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project funding (G.0267.18N, G.0502.18N, G.0346.21N).; sygmaSB; esteem3jra; esteem3reported Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183289 Serial (down) 6820
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Author Velazco, A.; Béché, A.; Jannis, D.; Verbeeck, J.
Title Reducing electron beam damage through alternative STEM scanning strategies, Part I: Experimental findings Type A1 Journal article
Year 2022 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy
Volume 232 Issue Pages 113398
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract The highly energetic electrons in a transmission electron microscope (TEM) can alter or even completely destroy the structure of samples before sufficient information can be obtained. This is especially problematic in the case of zeolites, organic and biological materials. As this effect depends on both the electron beam and the sample and can involve multiple damage pathways, its study remained difficult and is plagued with irreproducibility issues, circumstantial evidence, rumors, and a general lack of solid data. Here we take on the experimental challenge to investigate the role of the STEM scan pattern on the damage behavior of a commercially available zeolite sample with the clear aim to make our observations as reproducible as possible. We make use of a freely programmable scan engine that gives full control over the tempospatial distribution of the electron probe on the sample and we use its flexibility to obtain multiple repeated experiments under identical conditions comparing the difference in beam damage between a conventional raster scan pattern and a newly proposed interleaved scan pattern that provides exactly the same dose and dose rate and visits exactly the same scan points. We observe a significant difference in beam damage for both patterns with up to 11 % reduction in damage (measured from mass loss). These observations demonstrate without doubt that electron dose, dose rate and acceleration voltage are not the only parameters affecting beam damage in (S)TEM experiments and invite the community to rethink beam damage as an unavoidable consequence of applied electron dose.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000714819200002 Publication Date 2021-10-02
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0304-3991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.2 Times cited 18 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes A.V., D.J., A.B. and J.V. acknowledge funding from FWO project G093417N (’Compressed sensing enabling low dose imaging in transmission electron microscopy’) and G042920N (’Coincident event detection for advanced spectroscopy in transmission electron microscopy’). This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 823717 ESTEEM3. The Qu-Ant-EM microscope was partly funded by the Hercules fund from the Flemish Government. J.V. acknowledges funding from GOA project “Solarpaint” of the University of Antwerp.; JRA; reported Approved Most recent IF: 2.2
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183282 Serial (down) 6818
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Author Hudry, D.; De Backer, A.; Popescu, R.; Busko, D.; Howard, I.A.; Bals, S.; Zhang, Y.; Pedrazo‐Tardajos, A.; Van Aert, S.; Gerthsen, D.; Altantzis, T.; Richards, B.S.
Title Interface Pattern Engineering in Core‐Shell Upconverting Nanocrystals: Shedding Light on Critical Parameters and Consequences for the Photoluminescence Properties Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Small Abbreviated Journal Small
Volume Issue Pages 2104441
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)
Abstract Advances in controlling energy migration pathways in core-shell lanthanide (Ln)-based hetero-nanocrystals (HNCs) have relied heavily on assumptions about how optically active centers are distributed within individual HNCs. In this article, it is demonstrated that different types of interface patterns can be formed depending on shell growth conditions. Such interface patterns are not only identified but also characterized with spatial resolution ranging from the nanometer- to the atomic-scale. In the most favorable cases, atomic-scale resolved maps of individual particles are obtained. It is also demonstrated that, for the same type of core-shell architecture, the interface pattern can be engineered with thicknesses of just 1 nm up to several tens of nanometers. Total alloying between the core and shell domains is also possible when using ultra-small particles as seeds. Finally, with different types of interface patterns (same architecture and chemical composition of the core and shell domains) it is possible to modify the output color (yellow, red, and green-yellow) or change (improvement or degradation) the absolute upconversion quantum yield. The results presented in this article introduce an important paradigm shift and pave the way toward the emergence of a new generation of core-shell Ln-based HNCs with better control over their atomic-scale organization.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000710758000001 Publication Date 2021-10-25
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1613-6810 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 8.643 Times cited 17 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Helmholtz Recruitment Initiative Fellowship (B.S.R.) and the Helmholtz Association's Research Field Energy (Materials and Technologies for the Energy Transition program, Topic 1 Photovoltaics and Wind Energy). The authors would like to thank the Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility (KNMF) for STEM access. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Grant agreement no. 770887 PICOMETRICS to S.V.A. and Grant agreement no. 815128 REALNANO to S.B.). The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through Projects no. G.0502.18N, G.0267.18N, and a postdoctoral grant to A.D.B. T.A. acknowledges funding from the University of Antwerp Research fund (BOF). This project had received funding (EUSMI proposal #E181100205) from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant agreement no 731019 (EUSMI). D.H. would like to thank “CGFigures” for helpful tutorials on 3D graphics with Blender.; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 8.643
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183285 Serial (down) 6817
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Author Prabhakara, V.; Nuytten, T.; Bender, H.; Vandervorst, W.; Bals, S.; Verbeeck, J.
Title Linearized radially polarized light for improved precision in strain measurements using micro-Raman spectroscopy Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Optics Express Abbreviated Journal Opt Express
Volume 29 Issue 21 Pages 34531
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Strain engineering in semiconductor transistor devices has become vital in the semiconductor industry due to the ever-increasing need for performance enhancement at the nanoscale. Raman spectroscopy is a non-invasive measurement technique with high sensitivity to mechanical stress that does not require any special sample preparation procedures in comparison to characterization involving transmission electron microscopy (TEM), making it suitable for inline strain measurement in the semiconductor industry. Indeed, at present, strain measurements using Raman spectroscopy are already routinely carried out in semiconductor devices as it is cost effective, fast and non-destructive. In this paper we explore the usage of linearized radially polarized light as an excitation source, which does provide significantly enhanced accuracy and precision as compared to linearly polarized light for this application. Numerical simulations are done to quantitatively evaluate the electric field intensities that contribute to this enhanced sensitivity. We benchmark the experimental results against TEM diffraction-based techniques like nano-beam diffraction and Bessel diffraction. Differences between both approaches are assigned to strain relaxation due to sample thinning required in TEM setups, demonstrating the benefit of Raman for nondestructive inline testing.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000708940500144 Publication Date 2021-10-11
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1094-4087 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.307 Times cited 2 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, 823717 – ESTEEM3 ; GOA project, “Solarpaint” ; Herculesstichting;; esteem3jra; esteem3reported; Approved Most recent IF: 3.307
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:182472 Serial (down) 6816
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Author Gorbanev, Y.; Engelmann, Y.; van’t Veer, K.; Vlasov, E.; Ndayirinde, C.; Yi, Y.; Bals, S.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Al2O3-Supported Transition Metals for Plasma-Catalytic NH3 Synthesis in a DBD Plasma: Metal Activity and Insights into Mechanisms Type A1 Journal article
Year 2021 Publication Catalysts Abbreviated Journal Catalysts
Volume 11 Issue 10 Pages 1230
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Movement Antwerp (MOVANT)
Abstract N2 fixation into NH3 is one of the main processes in the chemical industry. Plasma catalysis is among the environmentally friendly alternatives to the industrial energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. However, many questions remain open, such as the applicability of the conventional catalytic knowledge to plasma. In this work, we studied the performance of Al2O3-supported Fe, Ru, Co and Cu catalysts in plasma-catalytic NH3 synthesis in a DBD reactor. We investigated the effects of different active metals, and different ratios of the feed gas components, on the concentration and production rate of NH3, and the energy consumption of the plasma system. The results show that the trend of the metal activity (common for thermal catalysis) does not appear in the case of plasma catalysis: here, all metals exhibited similar performance. These findings are in good agreement with our recently published microkinetic model. This highlights the virtual independence of NH3 production on the metal catalyst material, thus validating the model and indicating the potential contribution of radical adsorption and Eley-Rideal reactions to the plasma-catalytic mechanism of NH3 synthesis.
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Language Wos 000715656300001 Publication Date 2021-10-13
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2073-4344 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.082 Times cited 19 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Catalisti, Moonshot P2C ; Research Foundation – Flanders, GoF9618n ; European Research Council, 810182 SCOPE 815128 REALNANO ; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 3.082
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183279 Serial (down) 6815
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