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Author Chen, H.; Xiong, Y.; Li, J.; Abed, J.; Wang, D.; Pedrazo-Tardajos, A.; Cao, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, Y.; Shakouri, M.; Xiao, Q.; Hu, Y.; Bals, S.; Sargent, E.H.H.; Su, C.-Y.; Yang, Z. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Epitaxially grown silicon-based single-atom catalyst for visible-light-driven syngas production Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Nature communications Abbreviated Journal Nat Commun  
  Volume 14 Issue 1 Pages 1719-11  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Despite the natural abundance and promising properties of Si, there are few examples of crystalline Si-based catalysts. Here, the authors report an epitaxial growth method to construct Co single atoms on Si for light driven CO2 reduction to syngas. Improving the dispersion of active sites simultaneous with the efficient harvest of photons is a key priority for photocatalysis. Crystalline silicon is abundant on Earth and has a suitable bandgap. However, silicon-based photocatalysts combined with metal elements has proved challenging due to silicon's rigid crystal structure and high formation energy. Here we report a solid-state chemistry that produces crystalline silicon with well-dispersed Co atoms. Isolated Co sites in silicon are obtained through the in-situ formation of CoSi2 intermediate nanodomains that function as seeds, leading to the production of Co-incorporating silicon nanocrystals at the CoSi2/Si epitaxial interface. As a result, cobalt-on-silicon single-atom catalysts achieve an external quantum efficiency of 10% for CO2-to-syngas conversion, with CO and H-2 yields of 4.7 mol g((Co))(-1) and 4.4 mol g((Co))(-1), respectively. Moreover, the H-2/CO ratio is tunable between 0.8 and 2. This photocatalyst also achieves a corresponding turnover number of 2 x 10(4) for visible-light-driven CO2 reduction over 6 h, which is over ten times higher than previously reported single-atom photocatalysts.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000962607600018 Publication Date 2023-03-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2041-1723 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 16.6 Times cited (up) 6 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21821003, 21890380, 21905316), Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (2019A1515011748), the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province (2019A050510018), Pearl River Recruitment Program of Talent (2019QN01C108), the EU Infrastructure Project EUSMI (Grant No. E190700310), and Sun Yat-sen University. D.W. acknowledges an Individual Fellowship funded by the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in Horizon 2020 program (grant 894254 SuprAtom). S.B. and A.P.-T. acknowledge financial support from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme by grant no. 731019 (EUSMI) and ERC Consolidator grant no. 815128 (REALNANO). This project has received funding from the European Commission Grant (EUSMI E190700310). Synchrotron XAS data described in this paper was performed at the Canadian Light Source, a national research facility of the University of Saskatchewan, which is supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the National Research Council (NRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Government of Saskatchewan, and the University of Saskatchewan. Approved Most recent IF: 16.6; 2023 IF: 12.124  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:196062 Serial 7932  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Kelly, S.; Mercer, E.; De Meyer, R.; Ciocarlan, R.-G.; Bals, S.; Bogaerts, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Microwave plasma-based dry reforming of methane: Reaction performance and carbon formation Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Journal of CO2 utilization Abbreviated Journal Journal of CO2 Utilization  
  Volume 75 Issue Pages 102564  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract e investigate atmospheric pressure microwave (MW) plasma (2.45 GHz) conversion in CO2 and CH4 mixtures (i.e., dry reforming of methane, DRM) focusing on reaction performance and carbon formation. Promising energy costs of ~2.8–3.0 eV/molecule or ~11.1–11.9 kJ/L are amongst the best performance to date considering the current state-of-the-art for plasma-based DRM for all types of plasma. The conversion is in the range of ~46–49% and ~55–67% for CO2 and CH4, respectively, producing primarily syngas (i.e., H2 and CO) with H2/CO ratios of ~0.6–1 at CH4 fractions ranging from 30% to 45%. Water is the largest byproduct with levels ranging ~7–14% in the exhaust. Carbon particles visibly impact the plasma at higher CH4 fractions (> 30%), where they become heated and incandescent. Particle luminosity increases with increasing CH4 fractions, with the plasma becoming unstable near a 1:1 mixture (i.e., > 45% CH4). Electron microscopy of the carbon material reveals an agglomerated morphology of pure carbon nanoparticles. The mean particle size is determined as ~20 nm, free of any metal contamination, consistent with the electrode-less MW design.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001065310000001 Publication Date 2023-08-10  
  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 7.7 Times cited (up) 6 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes We acknowledge financial support by a European Space Agency (ESA) Open Science Innovation Platform study (contract no. 4000137001/21/NL/GLC/ov), 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 Program (grant no. 810182; SCOPE ERC Synergy project), the Excellence of Science FWOFNRS PLASyntH2 project (FWO grant no. G0I1822N and EOS no. 4000751) and the Methusalem project of the University of Antwerp Approved Most recent IF: 7.7; 2023 IF: 4.292  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:198155 Serial 8807  
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Author Breynaert, E.; Emmerich, J.; Mustafa, D.; Bajpe, S.R.; Altantzis, T.; Van Havenbergh, K.; Taulelle, F.; Bals, S.; Van Tendeloo, G.; Kirschhock, C.E.A.; Martens, J.A.; pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Enhanced self-assembly of metal oxides and metal-organic frameworks from precursors with magnetohydrodynamically induced long-lived collective spin states Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2014 Publication Advanced materials Abbreviated Journal Adv Mater  
  Volume 26 Issue 30 Pages 5173-5178  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Magneto-hydrodynamic generation of long-lived collective spin states and their impact on crystal morphology is demonstrated for three different, technologically relevant materials: COK-16 metal organic framework, manganese oxide nanotubes, and vanadium oxide nano-scrolls.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Weinheim Editor  
  Language Wos 000340546300015 Publication Date 2014-06-02  
  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 (up) 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes IAP-PAI; Marie Curie IEF; 262348 ESMI; 335078 COLOURATOM; 246791 COUNTATOMS; IWT; Methusalem; FWO; ECAS_Sara; (ROMEO:yellow; preprint:; postprint:restricted ; pdfversion:cannot); Approved Most recent IF: 19.791; 2014 IF: 17.493  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:118827 Serial 1053  
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Author Van Eyndhoven, G.; Kurttepeli, M.; van Oers, C.J.; Cool, P.; Bals, S.; Batenburg, K.J.; Sijbers, J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Pore REconstruction and Segmentation (PORES) method for improved porosity quantification of nanoporous materials Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 148 Issue 148 Pages 10-19  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Vision lab; Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA)  
  Abstract Electron tomography is currently a versatile tool to investigate the connection between the structure and properties of nanomaterials. However, a quantitative interpretation of electron tomography results is still far from straightforward. Especially accurate quantification of pore-space is hampered by artifacts introduced in all steps of the processing chain, i.e., acquisition, reconstruction, segmentation and quantification. Furthermore, most common approaches require subjective manual user input. In this paper, the PORES algorithm POre REconstruction and Segmentation is introduced; it is a tailor-made, integral approach, for the reconstruction, segmentation, and quantification of porous nanomaterials. The PORES processing chain starts by calculating a reconstruction with a nanoporous-specific reconstruction algorithm: the Simultaneous Update of Pore Pixels by iterative REconstruction and Simple Segmentation algorithm (SUPPRESS). It classifies the interior region to the pores during reconstruction, while reconstructing the remaining region by reducing the error with respect to the acquired electron microscopy data. The SUPPRESS reconstruction can be directly plugged into the remaining processing chain of the PORES algorithm, resulting in accurate individual pore quantification and full sample pore statistics. The proposed approach was extensively validated on both simulated and experimental data, indicating its ability to generate accurate statistics of nanoporous materials.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000345973000002 Publication Date 2014-08-23  
  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 (up) 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Colouratom; ECAS_Sara; (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:cannot); Approved Most recent IF: 2.843; 2015 IF: 2.436  
  Call Number c:irua:119083 Serial 2672  
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Author Smeulders, G.; van Oers, C.; Van Havenbergh, K.; Houthoofd, K.; Mertens, M.; Martens, J.A.; Bals, S.; Maes, B.U.W.; Meynen, V.; Cool, P. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Smart heating profiles for the synthesis of benzene bridged periodic mesoporous organosilicas Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2011 Publication Chemical engineering journal Abbreviated Journal Chem Eng J  
  Volume 175 Issue Pages 585-591  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA); Organic synthesis (ORSY)  
  Abstract In this study the effects of the heating rate and heating time on the formation of crystal-like benzene bridged periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) are investigated. The time needed to heat up an autoclave during the hydrothermal treatment has shown to be crucial in the synthesis of PMOs, while the total duration of heating gave rise to only minor differences. By choosing a smart heating profile, superior PMO materials can be obtained in a short time. Different heating profiles in a range from one minute to one hour are adopted by microwave equipment and compared with conventional heating methods. The heating rate has a large influence on the porosity characteristics and the uniformity of the obtained particles. Moreover, two new alternative synthetic strategies to adopt the smart heating profile are presented, in order to give some possible solutions for the expensive microwave equipment.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Lausanne Editor  
  Language Wos 000297875900069 Publication Date 2011-10-07  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1385-8947; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 6.216 Times cited (up) 7 Open Access  
  Notes Fwo; Goa-Bof Approved Most recent IF: 6.216; 2011 IF: 3.461  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:93630 Serial 3044  
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Author Chinchilla, L.E.; Olmos, C.; Kurttepeli, M.; Bals, S.; Van Tendeloo, G.; Villa, A.; Prati, L.; Blanco, G.; Calvino, J.J.; Chen, X.; Hungría, A.B. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Combined macroscopic, nanoscopic, and atomic-scale characterization of gold-ruthenium bimetallic catalysts for octanol oxidation Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Particle and particle systems characterization Abbreviated Journal Part Part Syst Char  
  Volume 33 Issue 33 Pages 419-437  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract A series of gold-ruthenium bimetallic catalysts of increasing Au:Ru molar ratios supported on a Ce0.62Zr0.38O2 mixed oxide are prepared and their structural and chemical features characterized by a combination of macroscopic and atomic-scale techniques based on scanning transmission electron microscopy. The influence of the temperature of the final reduction treatment used as activation step (350-700 degrees C range) is also investigated. The preparation method used allows catalysts to be successfully prepared where a major fraction of the metal nanoparticles is in the size range below 5 nm. The structural complexities characteristic of this type of catalysts are evidenced, as well as the capabilities and limitations of both the macroscopic and microscopic techniques in the characterization of the system of metal nanoparticles. A positive influence of the addition of Ru on both the resistance against sintering and the catalytic performance of the starting supported Au catalyst is evidenced.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Weinheim Editor  
  Language Wos 000379970000011 Publication Date 2016-05-24  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0934-0866 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.474 Times cited (up) 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes ; This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain/ FEDER Program of the EU (Project Nos.: MAT 2013-40823-R and CSD2009-00013), ESTEEM2 (FP7-INFRASTUCTURE-2012-1-312493), Junta de Andalucia (FQM334 and FQM110 and Project: FQM3994). S.B. acknowledges the European Research Council, ERC grant No. 335078 – Colouratom. M.K. is grateful to the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders. X.C. thanks the Ramon y Cajal Program. ; ecas_sara Approved Most recent IF: 4.474  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:134958 Serial 4150  
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Author Huybrechts, W.; Mali, G.; Kuśtrowski, P.; Willhammar, T.; Mertens, M.; Bals, S.; Van Der Voort, P.; Cool, P. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Post-synthesis bromination of benzene bridged PMO as a way to create a high potential hybrid material Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Microporous and mesoporous materials: zeolites, clays, carbons and related materials Abbreviated Journal Micropor Mesopor Mat  
  Volume 236 Issue 236 Pages 244-249  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA)  
  Abstract Periodic mesoporous organosilicas provide the best of two worlds: the strength and porosity of an inorganic framework combined with the infinite possibilities created by the organic bridging unit. In this work we focus on post-synthetical modification of benzene bridged PMO, in order to create bromobenzene PMO. In the past, this proved to be very challenging due to unwanted structural deterioration. However, now we have found a way to brominate this material whilst keeping the structure intact. In-depth structural analysis by solid state NMR and XPS shows both vast progress over previous attempts as well as potential for improvement.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000385899600028 Publication Date 2016-09-10  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1387-1811 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.615 Times cited (up) 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes ; The authors would like to thank financial support from the FWO-Flanders (project no G.0068.13). The authors further acknowledge financial support of the University of Antwerp through BOF GOA funding. S.B. acknowledges financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOM). ; ecas_Sara Approved Most recent IF: 3.615  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:135274 Serial 4228  
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Author Cremers, V.; Rampelberg, G.; Baert, K.; Abrahami, S.; Claes, N.; de Oliveira, T.M.; Terryn, H.; Bals, S.; Dendooven, J.; Detavernier, C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Corrosion protection of Cu by atomic layer deposition Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2019 Publication Journal of vacuum science and technology: A: vacuum surfaces and films Abbreviated Journal J Vac Sci Technol A  
  Volume 37 Issue 37 Pages 060902  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a vapor phase technique that is able to deposit uniform, conformal thin films with an excellent thickness control at the atomic scale. 18 nm thick Al2O3 and TiO2 coatings were deposited conformaly and pinhole-free onto micrometer-sized Cu powder, using trimethylaluminum and tetrakis(dimethylamido)titanium(IV), respectively, as a precursor and de-ionized water as a reactant. The capability of the ALD coating to protect the Cu powder against corrosion was investigated. Therefore, the stability of the coatings was studied in solutions with different pH in the range of 0–14, and in situ raman spectroscopy was used to detect the emergence of corrosion products of Cu as an indication that the protective coating starts to fail. Both ALD coatings provide good protection at standard pH values in the range of 5–7. In general, the TiO2 coating shows a better barrier protection against corrosion than the Al2O3 coating. However, for the most extreme pH conditions, pH 0 and pH 14, the TiO2 coating starts also to degrade.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000517925800003 Publication Date 2019-09-19  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0734-2101 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 1.374 Times cited (up) 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the Strategic Initiative Materials in Flanders (SIM, SBO-FUNC project) and the Special Research Fund BOF of Ghent University (No. GOA 01G01513). J.D. acknowledges the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen) for a postdoctoral fellowship. Approved Most recent IF: 1.374  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:162640 Serial 5361  
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Author Ben Dkhil, S.; Perkhun, P.; Luo, C.; Mueller, D.; Alkarsifi, R.; Barulina, E.; Quiroz, Y.A.A.; Margeat, O.; Dubas, S.T.; Koganezawa, T.; Kuzuhara, D.; Yoshimoto, N.; Caddeo, C.; Mattoni, A.; Zimmermann, B.; Wuerfel, U.; Pfannmöller, M.; Bals, S.; Ackermann, J.; Videlot-Ackermann, C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Direct correlation of nanoscale morphology and device performance to study photocurrent generation in donor-enriched phases of polymer solar cells Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Acs Applied Materials & Interfaces Abbreviated Journal Acs Appl Mater Inter  
  Volume 12 Issue 25 Pages 28404-28415  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract The nanoscale morphology of polymer blends is a key parameter to reach high efficiency in bulk heterojunction solar cells. Thereby, research typically focusing on optimal blend morphologies while studying nonoptimized blends may give insight into blend designs that can prove more robust against morphology defects. Here, we focus on the direct correlation of morphology and device performance of thieno[3,4-b]-thiophene-alt-benzodithiophene (PTB7):[6,6]phenyl C-71 butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) bulk heterojunction (BHJ) blends processed without additives in different donor/acceptor weight ratios. We show that while blends of a 1:1.5 ratio are composed of large donor-enriched and fullerene domains beyond the exciton diffusion length, reducing the ratio below 1:0.5 leads to blends composed purely of polymer-enriched domains. Importantly, the photocurrent density in such blends can reach values between 45 and 60% of those reached for fully optimized blends using additives. We provide here direct visual evidence that fullerenes in the donor-enriched domains are not distributed homogeneously but fluctuate locally. To this end, we performed compositional nanoscale morphology analysis of the blend using spectroscopic imaging of low-energy-loss electrons using a transmission electron microscope. Charge transport measurement in combination with molecular dynamics simulations shows that the fullerene substructures inside the polymer phase generate efficient electron transport in the polymer-enriched phase. Furthermore, we show that the formation of densely packed regions of fullerene inside the polymer phase is driven by the PTB7:PC71BM enthalpy of mixing. The occurrence of such a nanoscale network of fullerene clusters leads to a reduction of electron trap states and thus efficient extraction of photocurrent inside the polymer domain. Suitable tuning of the polymer-acceptor interaction can thus introduce acceptor subnetworks in polymer-enriched phases, improving the tolerance for high-efficiency BHJ toward morphological defects such as donor-enriched domains exceeding the exciton diffusion length.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000543780900058 Publication Date 2020-06-01  
  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 9.5 Times cited (up) 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes ; J.A., O.M., and C.V.-A. acknowledge 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, Grant Number: 287594). J.A., C.V.-A., and E.B. acknowledge the Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie (ANRT) and the Ministere de l'Enseignement Superieur, de la Recherche et de l'Innovation, awarded through the company Dracula Technologies (Valence, France), for framework of a CIFRE Ph.D. grant 2017/0529. J.A. and P.P. received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Grant agreement no. 713750. They further acknowledge support of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, A*MIDEX (no. ANR-11-IDEX-0001-02), and the Investissements d'Avenir project funded by the French Government, managed by the French National Research Agency (ANR). J.A. and Y.A.A.Q. acknowledge the French Research Agency for funding through the project NFA-15 (ANR-17-CE05-0020-01). N.Y. acknowledges that the synchrotron radiation experiments were performed at BL19B2 in SPring-8 with the approval of Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute (JASRI) (proposal nos. 2017B1629 and 2018B1791). S.B. acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grant 815128-REALNANO) and from FWO (G.0381.16N). M.P. gratefully acknowledges funding by the Ministerium fur Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Wurttemberg through the HEiKA materials research centre FunTECH-3D (MWK, 33-753-30-20/3/3) and the Large-Scale-Data-Facility (LSDF) sds@hd through grant INST 35/1314-1 FUGG. A.M. acknowledges Italian MIUR for funding through the project PON04a2 00490 M2M Netergit, PRACE, for awarding access to Marconi KNL at CINECA, Italy, through projects DECONVOLVES (2018184466) and PROVING-IL (2019204911). C.C. acknowledges the CINECA award under the ISCRA initiative for the availability of high-performance computing resources and support (project MITOMASC). ; sygma Approved Most recent IF: 9.5; 2020 IF: 7.504  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:170703 Serial 6484  
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Author Dingenen, F.; Blommaerts, N.; Van Hal, M.; Borah, R.; Arenas-Esteban, D.; Lenaerts, S.; Bals, S.; Verbruggen, S.W. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Layer-by-Layer-Stabilized Plasmonic Gold-Silver Nanoparticles on TiO2: Towards Stable Solar Active Photocatalysts Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Nanomaterials Abbreviated Journal Nanomaterials-Basel  
  Volume 11 Issue 10 Pages 2624  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)  
  Abstract To broaden the activity window of TiO2, a broadband plasmonic photocatalyst has been designed and optimized. This plasmonic ‘rainbow’ photocatalyst consists of TiO2 modified with gold–silver composite nanoparticles of various sizes and compositions, thus inducing a broadband interaction with polychromatic solar light. However, these nanoparticles are inherently unstable, especially due to the use of silver. Hence, in this study the application of the layer-by-layer technique is introduced to create a protective polymer shell around the metal cores with a very high degree of control. Various TiO2 species (pure anatase, PC500, and P25) were loaded with different plasmonic metal loadings (0–2 wt %) in order to identify the most solar active composite materials. The prepared plasmonic photocatalysts were tested towards stearic acid degradation under simulated sunlight. From all materials tested, P25 + 2 wt % of plasmonic ‘rainbow’ nanoparticles proved to be the most promising (56% more efficient compared to pristine P25) and was also identified as the most cost-effective. Further, 2 wt % of layer-by-layer-stabilized ‘rainbow’ nanoparticles were loaded on P25. These layer-by-layer-stabilized metals showed superior stability under a heated oxidative atmosphere, as well as in a salt solution. Finally, the activity of the composite was almost completely retained after 1 month of aging, while the nonstabilized equivalent lost 34% of its initial activity. This work shows for the first time the synergetic application of a plasmonic ‘rainbow’ concept and the layer-by-layer stabilization technique, resulting in a promising solar active, and long-term stable photocatalyst.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000712759800001 Publication Date 2021-10-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2079-4991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.553 Times cited (up) 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Research was funded by Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO), FN 700300001— Aspirant F. Dingenen. Approved Most recent IF: 3.553  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183281 Serial 6812  
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Author Salzmann, B.B.V.; Vliem, J.F.; Maaskant, D.N.; Post, L.C.; Li, C.; Bals, S.; Vanmaekelbergh, D. url  doi
openurl 
  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.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  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 (up) 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 6839  
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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. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Inverse heavy-atom effect in near infrared photoluminescent gold nanoclusters Type A1 Journal Article
  Year 2021 Publication Nanoscale Abbreviated Journal Nanoscale  
  Volume 13 Issue 23 Pages 10462-10467  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article; Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (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 (<italic>τ</italic><sup>PL</sup>). This phenomenon is known as the heavy-atom effect (HAE). Here, we report the observation of increased<italic>τ</italic><sup>PL</sup>upon functionalisation of near-infrared photoluminescent gold nanoclusters with iodine. The heavy atom-mediated increase in<italic>τ</italic><sup>PL</sup>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.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos Publication Date 2021-05-24  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2040-3364 ISBN Additional Links  
  Impact Factor 7.367 Times cited (up) 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge support from GACR project Nr.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 EMAT @ emat @ Serial 6950  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Wang, D.; Hermes, M.; Najmr, S.; Tasios, N.; Grau-Carbonell, A.; Liu, Y.; Bals, S.; Dijkstra, M.; Murray, C.B.; van Blaaderen, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Structural diversity in three-dimensional self-assembly of nanoplatelets by spherical confinement Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication Nature communications Abbreviated Journal Nat Commun  
  Volume 13 Issue 1 Pages 6001-6012  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Nanoplatelets offer many possibilities to construct advanced materials due to new properties associated with their (semi)two-dimensional shapes. However, precise control of both positional and orientational order of the nanoplatelets in three dimensions, which is required to achieve emerging and collective properties, is challenging to realize. Here, we combine experiments, advanced electron tomography and computer simulations to explore the structure of supraparticles self-assembled from nanoplatelets in slowly drying emulsion droplets. We demonstrate that the rich phase behaviour of nanoplatelets, and its sensitivity to subtle changes in shape and interaction potential can be used to guide the self-assembly into a wide range of different structures, offering precise control over both orientation and position order of the nanoplatelets. Our research is expected to shed light on the design of hierarchically structured metamaterials with distinct shape- and orientation- dependent properties. Nanoplatelets can be used as anisotropic building blocks for constructing novel optoelectronic materials. Here, Wang et al. show a route of assembling nanoplatelets with controllable positional and orientational order in three dimensions facilitated by the surface tension of drying emulsion droplets.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000867312100031 Publication Date 2022-10-12  
  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 16.6 Times cited (up) 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes We thank A. Kadu, M. Chiappini, F. Rabouw, S. Paliwal, X. Xie, C. Xia and Z. Wang for fruitful discussions. D.W. and A.v.B. acknowledge partial financial support from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP-2007-2013)/ERC Advanced Grant Agreement 291667 HierarSACol. M.H. was supported by the Netherlands Center for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion (MCEC). D.W. acknowledges an Individual Fellowship funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in Horizon 2020 program (grant 894254 SuprAtom). Y.L. acknowledges the Sustainability project between the faculties of Science and Geosciences of Utrecht University. M.D. acknowledges financial support from European Research Council (Grant No. ERC-2019-ADV-H2020 884902 SoftML). S.B. acknowledges financial support from ERC Consolidator Grant No. 815128 REALNANO. C.B.M. acknowledges support for materials synthesis from the Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative Award ONR N00014-18-1-2497. The authors acknowledge the EM square center at Utrecht University for the access to the microscopes. Approved Most recent IF: 16.6  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:191387 Serial 7214  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Yang, S.; An, H.; Anastasiadou, D.; Xu, W.; Wu, L.; Wang, H.; de Ruiter, J.; Arnouts, S.; Figueiredo, M.C.; Bals, S.; Altantzis, T.; van der Stam, W.; Weckhuysen, B.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Waste-derived copper-lead electrocatalysts for CO₂ reduction Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication ChemCatChem Abbreviated Journal Chemcatchem  
  Volume 14 Issue 18 Pages e202200754-11  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract It remains a real challenge to control the selectivity of the electrocatalytic CO2 reduction (eCO(2)R) reaction to valuable chemicals and fuels. Most of the electrocatalysts are made of non-renewable metal resources, which hampers their large-scale implementation. Here, we report the preparation of bimetallic copper-lead (CuPb) electrocatalysts from industrial metallurgical waste. The metal ions were extracted from the metallurgical waste through simple chemical treatment with ammonium chloride, and CuxPby electrocatalysts with tunable compositions were fabricated through electrodeposition at varying cathodic potentials. X-ray spectroscopy techniques showed that the pristine electrocatalysts consist of Cu-0, Cu1+ and Pb2+ domains, and no evidence for alloy formation was found. We found a volcano-shape relationship between eCO(2)R selectivity toward two electron products, such as CO, and the elemental ratio of Cu and Pb. A maximum Faradaic efficiency towards CO was found for Cu9.00Pb1.00, which was four times higher than that of pure Cu, under the same electrocatalytic conditions. In situ Raman spectroscopy revealed that the optimal amount of Pb effectively improved the reducibility of the pristine Cu1+ and Pb2+ domains to metallic Cu and Pb, which boosted the selectivity towards CO by synergistic effects. This work provides a framework of thinking to design and tune the selectivity of bimetallic electrocatalysts for CO2 reduction through valorization of metallurgical waste.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000853941300001 Publication Date 2022-06-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1867-3880; 1867-3899 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.5 Times cited (up) 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes S.Y and B.M.W. acknowledge support from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (SOCRATES-721385; project website: http://etn-socrates.eu/). W.v.d.S., M.C.F. and B.M.W. acknowledge support from the Strategic UU-TU/e Alliance project 'Joint Centre for Chemergy Research'. S.B. acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grant #815128 REALNANO). S.A. and T.A. acknowledge funding from the University of Antwerp Research fund (BOF). The Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility (1W1B, BSRF) is acknowledged for the beamtime. We are grateful to Annelies van der Bok and Bas Salzmann (Condensed Matter and Interfaces, Utrecht University, UU) for the support with the ICP-OES measurements. The authors thank dr. Robin Geitenbeek, Nikos Nikolopoulos, Ioannis Nikolopoulos, Jochem Wijten and Joris Janssens (Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis, UU) for helpful discussions and technical support. The authors also thank Yuang Piao (Materials Chemistry and Catalysis, UU) for the help in the preparation of the figures of the article. Approved Most recent IF: 4.5  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:190703 Serial 7226  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author He, Z.; Ke, X.; Bals, S.; Van Tendeloo, G. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Direct evidence for the existence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes with hexagonal cross-sections Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2012 Publication Carbon Abbreviated Journal Carbon  
  Volume 50 Issue 7 Pages 2524-2529  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with a polygonal cross-section have been paid increasing attention since their three-dimensional structure is related to specific physical properties, which are found to be different in comparison to CNTs with a circular cross-section. Here, we report the existence of novel multi-walled CNTs yielding walls with a rounded-hexagonal configuration. This structure was directly confirmed for the first time by both cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and electron tomography. The morphology of the Fe catalytic particle also exhibits hexagonal characteristics, and is proposed as the origin of the formation of the rounded-hexagonal walls of the CNT. This observation is of great importance with respect to the design of polygonal (such as pentagonal or hexagonal) cross-sectional CNTs. By controlling the morphology of the catalytic nanoparticles it will be possible to grow CNTs with desired electronic and mechanical properties.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Oxford Editor  
  Language Wos 000303038400015 Publication Date 2012-02-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0008-6223; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 6.337 Times cited (up) 8 Open Access  
  Notes Fwo Approved Most recent IF: 6.337; 2012 IF: 5.868  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:96956 Serial 711  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Ribbens, S.; Beyers, E.; Schellens, K.; Mertens, M.; Ke, X.; Bals, S.; Van Tendeloo, G.; Meynen, V.; Cool, P. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Systematic evaluation of thermal and mechanical stability of different commercial and synthetic photocatalysts in relation to their photocatalytic activity Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2012 Publication Microporous and mesoporous materials: zeolites, clays, carbons and related materials Abbreviated Journal Micropor Mesopor Mat  
  Volume 156 Issue Pages 62-72  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA)  
  Abstract The effect of thermal treatment and mechanical stress on the structural and photocatalytic properties of eight different (synthetic and commercial) photocatalysts has been thoroughly investigated. Different mesoporous Ti-based materials were prepared via surfactant based synthesis routes (e.g. Pluronic 123, CTMABr = Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) or via template-free synthesis routes (e.g. trititanate nanotubes). Also, the stabilizing effect of the NaOH/NH4OH post-treatment on the templated mesoporous materials and their photocatalytic activity was investigated. Furthermore, the thermal and mechanical properties of commercially available titanium dioxides such as P25 Evonik® and Millenium PC500® were studied. The various photocatalysts were analyzed with N2-sorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) to obtain information concerning the specific surface area, pore volume, crystal structure, morphology, phase transitions, etc. In general, results show that the NaOH post-treatment leads to an increased control of the crystallization process during calcination resulting in a higher thermal stability, but at the same time diminishes the photocatalytic activity. Mesoporous materials in which pre-synthesized nanoparticles are used as titania source have the best mechanical stability whereas the mechanical stability of the nanotubes is the most limited. At increased temperatures and pressures, the tested commercial titanium dioxides lose their superior photocatalytic activity caused by a decreased accessibility of the active sites. The observed changes in adsorption capacities and photocatalytic activities cannot be assigned to one single phenomenon. In this respect, it shows the need to define a general/standard method to compare different photocatalysts. Furthermore, it is shown that the photocatalytic properties do not necessarily deteriorate under thermal stress, but can be improved due to crystallization, even though the initial material is (partially) destroyed. It is shown that the usefulness of a specific type of photocatalyst strongly depends on the application and the temperature/pressure to which it needs to resist.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000303625200010 Publication Date 2012-02-08  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1387-1811; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.615 Times cited (up) 8 Open Access  
  Notes Fwo Approved Most recent IF: 3.615; 2012 IF: 3.365  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:96910 Serial 3466  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Roose, D.; Leroux, F.; De Vocht, N.; Guglielmetti, C.; Pintelon, I.; Adriaensen, D.; Ponsaerts, P.; Van der Linden, A.; Bals, S. doi  openurl
  Title Multimodal imaging of micron-sized iron oxide particles following in vitro and in vivo uptake by stem cells: down to the nanometer scale Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2014 Publication Contrast Media & Molecular Imaging Abbreviated Journal Contrast Media Mol I  
  Volume 9 Issue 6 Pages 400-408  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT);  
  Abstract In this study, the interaction between cells and micron-sized paramagnetic iron oxide (MPIO) particles was investigated by characterizing MPIO in their original state, and after cellular uptake in vitro as well as in vivo. Moreover, MPIO in the olfactory bulb were studied 9 months after injection. Using various imaging techniques, cell-MPIO interactions were investigated with increasing spatial resolution. Live cell confocal microscopy demonstrated that MPIO co-localize with lysosomes after in vitro cellular uptake. In more detail, a membrane surrounding the MPIO was observed by high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). Following MPIO uptake in vivo, the same cell-MPIO interaction was observed by HAADF-STEM in the subventricular zone at 1 week and in the olfactory bulb at 9 months after MPIO injection. These findings provide proof for the current hypothesis that MPIO are internalized by the cell through endocytosis. The results also show MPIO are not biodegradable, even after 9 months in the brain. Moreover, they show the possibility of HAADF-STEM generating information on the labeled cell as well as on the MPIO. In summary, the methodology presented here provides a systematic route to investigate the interaction between cells and nanoparticles from the micrometer level down to the nanometer level and beyond.  
  Address EMAT, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium; Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language English Wos 000346172100002 Publication Date 2014-04-22  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1555-4309; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.307 Times cited (up) 8 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes IAP-PAI; 262348 ESMI; Hercules Type 1: AUHA 09/001 and AUHA 11/01 Approved Most recent IF: 3.307; 2014 IF: 2.923  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ Serial 3938  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Yuan, R.; Claes, N.; Verheyen, E.; Tuel, A.; Bals, S.; Breynaert, E.; Martens, J.; Kirschhock, C.E.A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Synthesis of IWW-type germanosilicate zeolite using 5-azonia-spiro[4, 4]nonane as structure directing agent Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication New journal of chemistry Abbreviated Journal New J Chem  
  Volume 40 Issue 40 Pages 4319-4324  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract IWW-type zeolite with Si/Ge of 4.9 is obtained using 5-azonia-spiro[4,4]nonane as template in fluoride-free medium under hydrothermal conditions at 175 °C. In an otherwise identical synthesis, using the related 5-azonia-spiro[4,5]decane as structure directing agent, a mixture of IWW and NON zeolite types was formed. In absence of GeO2 from the reactant mixture, pure NON formed. The IWW zeolite was characterized by XRD, SEM, and HRTEM. IWW zeolite displayed a unique morphology and could be calcined at 600 °C without loss of crystallinity. The Si/Ge ratio of the IWW zeolite was increased by postsynthesis modification. Part of the germanium could be eliminated from the as-synthesized IWW zeolite by acid leaching using 6 M HCl solution. Also the calcined material could be degermanated. Here the presence of a silicon source in the acidic leaching solution minimized structural damage. This way the Si/Ge ratio of the IWW zeolite was increased from 4.9 up to 10.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000375586400038 Publication Date 2016-02-19  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1144-0546 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.269 Times cited (up) 8 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge FWO/NWO and ESRF for providing beam time at the DUBBLE and SNBL beamlines (ESRF, Grenoble) and P. Abdala for her assistance during the use of the beamline. The authors are grateful to L. Van Tendeloo for taking SEM images. I. Cuppens and K. Houthoofd are thanked for the ICP and AAS measurements. R.Y. acknowledges Chinese Scholarship Council for a CSC doctoral fellowship. JAM and CEAK acknowledge the Flemish government for long-term structural funding (Methusalem). N.C. and S.B. acknowledge financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOMS).; ECAS_Sara; (ROMEO:yellow; preprint:; postprint:restricted ; pdfversion:cannot); Approved Most recent IF: 3.269  
  Call Number c:irua:133671 Serial 4027  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Garzia Trulli, M.; Claes, N.; Pype, J.; Bals, S.; Baert, K.; Terryn, H.; Sardella, E.; Favia, P.; Vanhulsel, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Deposition of aminosilane coatings on porous Al2O3microspheres by means of dielectric barrier discharges Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Plasma processes and polymers Abbreviated Journal Plasma Process Polym  
  Volume 14 Issue 14 Pages 1600211  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA)  
  Abstract Advances in the synthesis of porous microspheres and in their functionalization are increasing the interest in applications of alumina. This paper deals with coatings plasma deposited from 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane by means of dielectric barrier discharges on alumina porous microspheres, shaped by a vibrational droplet coagulation technique. Aims of the work are the functionalization of the particles with active amino groups, as well as the evaluation of their surface coverage and of the penetration of the coatings into their pores. A multi-diagnostic approach was used for the chemical/morphological characterization of the particles. It was found that 5 min exposure to plasma discharges promotes the deposition of homogeneous coatings onto the microspheres and within their pores, down to 1 μm.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000410773200003 Publication Date 2017-01-05  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1612-8850 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.846 Times cited (up) 8 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The technical assistance of the VITO staff (Materials Dpt.) is gratefully acknowledged, especially D. Havermans, E. Van Hoof, R. Kemps (SEM-EDX), and A. De Wilde (Hg Porosimetry). Drs. S. Mullens and G. Scheltjens are kindly acknowledged for constructive discussions. Strategic Initiative Materials in Flanders (SIM) is gratefully acknowledged for its financial support. This research was carried out in the framework of the SIM-TRAP program (Tools for rational processing of nano-particles: controlling and tailoring nanoparticle based or nanomodified particle based materials). N. Claes and S. Bals acknowledge financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOM). (ROMEO:white; preprint:; postprint:restricted ; pdfversion:cannot); saraecas; ECAS_Sara; Approved Most recent IF: 2.846  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @ c:irua:139511UA @ admin @ c:irua:139511 Serial 4342  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Altantzis, T.; Zanaga, D.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Advanced electron tomography of nanoparticle assemblies Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Europhysics letters Abbreviated Journal Epl-Europhys Lett  
  Volume 119 Issue 119 Pages 38001  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Nanoparticle assemblies have attracted enormous scientific interest during the last

years, due to their unique properties compared to those of their building blocks. To understand

the origin of these properties and to establish the connection with their structure, a detailed and

quantitative structural characterization is essential. Transmission electron microscopy has been

widely used to investigate nano-assemblies. However, TEM images only correspond to a twodimensional

projection of a three-dimensional object. Therefore, in order to obtain the necessary

3D structural information electron tomography has to be applied. By means of advanced electron

tomography, both qualitative and quantitative information can be obtained, which can be used

for detailed theoretical studies.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000415019400023 Publication Date 2017-10-12  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0295-5075 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 1.957 Times cited (up) 8 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes We would like to thank the colleagues who have contributed to this work over the years, including L. M. Liz- Marzan, M. Grzelczak, A. Sanchez-Iglesias, D. Vanmaekelbergh, M. P. Boneschanscher, W. H. Evers, J. J. Geuchies, B. Goris, A. de Backer, S. van Aert, M.-P. Pileni, Z. Yang, K. J. Batenburg, J. Sijbers, F. Bleichrodt, W. J. Palenstijn, A. van Blaaderen, M. A. van Huis, F. M. Peeters, N. Winckelmans and D. Wang. The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Research Foundation Flanders (G.0381.16N, G.036915 G.0374.13 and funding of a postdoctoral grant to TA). SB and DZ acknowledge funding from the European Research Council, ERC grant No. 335078 – Colouratom. (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:cannot); saraecas; ECAS_Sara; Approved Most recent IF: 1.957  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:146096UA @ admin @ c:irua:146096 Serial 4733  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zhong, Z.; Aveyard, R.; Rieger, B.; Bals, S.; Palenstijn, W.J.; Batenburg, K.J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Automatic correction of nonlinear damping effects in HAADF-STEM tomography for nanomaterials of discrete compositions Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal Ultramicroscopy  
  Volume 184 Issue 184 Pages 57-65  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract <script type='text/javascript'>document.write(unpmarked('HAADF-STEM tomography is a common technique for characterizing the three-dimensional morphology of nanomaterials. In conventional tomographic reconstruction algorithms, the image intensity is assumed to be a linear projection of a physical property of the specimen. However, this assumption of linearity is not completely valid due to the nonlinear damping of signal intensities. The nonlinear damping effects increase w.r.t the specimen thickness and lead to so-called \u0022cupping artifacts\u0022, due to a mismatch with the linear model used in the reconstruction algorithm. Moreover, nonlinear damping effects can strongly limit the applicability of advanced reconstruction approaches such as Total Variation Minimization and discrete tomography. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for automatically correcting the nonlinear effects and the subsequent cupping artifacts. It is applicable to samples in which chemical compositions can be segmented based on image gray levels. The correction is realized by iteratively estimating the nonlinear relationship between projection intensity and sample thickness, based on which the projections are linearized. The correction and reconstruction algorithms are tested on simulated and experimental data. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.'));  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000417779800008 Publication Date 2017-10-31  
  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 (up) 8 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes ; This research is supported by the Dutch Technology Foundation STW (http:// www.stw.nl/), which is part of the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and which is partly funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation under project number 13314. Funding from the European Research Council (Starting grant no. COLOURATOMS 335078) is acknowledged by S. Bals. The authors would like to thank Dr. Thomas Altantzis and Dr. Bart Goris for providing the experimental data, and Prof. Dr. Luis M. Liz-Marzan for providing the investigated samples. ; ecas_sara Approved Most recent IF: 2.843  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:148501UA @ admin @ c:irua:148501 Serial 4867  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author van den Bos, K.H.W.; Altantzis, T.; De Backer, A.; Van Aert, S.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Recent breakthroughs in scanning transmission electron microscopy of small species Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Advances in Physics: X Abbreviated Journal Advances in Physics: X  
  Volume 3 Issue 3 Pages 1480420  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Over the last decade, scanning transmission electron microscopy has become one of the most powerful tools to characterise nanomaterials at the atomic scale. Often, the ultimate goal is to retrieve the three-dimensional structure, which is very challenging since small species are typically sensitive to electron irradiation. Nevertheless, measuring individual atomic positions is crucial to understand the relation between the structure and physicochemical properties of these (nano)materials. In this review, we highlight the latest approaches that are available to reveal the 3D atomic structure of small species. Finally, we will provide an outlook and will describe future challenges where the limits of electron microscopy will be pushed even further.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000441619500001 Publication Date 2018-08-13  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2374-6149 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited (up) 8 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This work was supported by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) under Grant G.0368.15N, G.0369.15N, and G.0267.18N, by personal FWO Grants to K. H. W. van den Bos, T. Altantzis, and A. De Backer, and the European Research Council under Grant 335078 COLOURATOM to S. Bals. The authors would like to thank the colleagues who have contributed to this work over the years, including A. M. Abakumov, K. J. Batenburg, E. Countiño-Gonzalez, C. de Mello Donega, R. Erni, J. J. Geuchies, B. Goris, J. Hofkens, L. Jones, P. Lievens, L. M. Liz-Marzán, I. Lobato, G. T. Martinez, P. D. Nellist, B. Partoens, M. B. J. Roeffaers, M.D. Rossell, B. Schoeters, M. J. Van Bael, W. van der Stam, M. van Huis, G. Van Tendeloo, D. Vanmaekelbergh, and N. Winckelmans. (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:can); saraecas; ECAS_Sara; Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:152820UA @ admin @ c:irua:152820 Serial 5007  
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Author Mychinko, M.; Skorikov, A.; Albrecht, W.; Sánchez‐Iglesias, A.; Zhuo, X.; Kumar, V.; Liz‐Marzán, L.M.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title The Influence of Size, Shape, and Twin Boundaries on Heat‐Induced Alloying in Individual Au@Ag Core–Shell Nanoparticles Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Small Abbreviated Journal Small  
  Volume Issue Pages 2102348  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Environmental conditions during real-world application of bimetallic core–shell nanoparticles (NPs) often include the use of elevated temperatures, which are known to cause elemental redistribution, in turn significantly altering the properties of these nanomaterials. Therefore, a thorough understanding of such processes is of great importance. The recently developed combination of fast electron tomography with in situ heating holders is a powerful approach to investigate heat-induced processes at the single NP level, with high spatial resolution in 3D. In combination with 3D finite-difference diffusion simulations, this method can be used to disclose the influence of various NP parameters on the diffusion dynamics in Au@Ag core–shell systems. A detailed study of the influence of heating on atomic diffusion and alloying for Au@Ag NPs with varying core morphology and crystallographic details is carried out. Whereas the core shape and aspect ratio of the NPs play a minor role, twin boundaries are found to have a strong influence on the elemental diffusion.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000673326600001 Publication Date 2021-07-14  
  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 (up) 8 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The funding for this project was provided by European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grant 815128, REALNANO) and European Commission (grant 731019, EUSMI and grant 26019, ESTEEM). This work was performed under the Maria de Maeztu Units of Excellence Programme-Grant No. MDM-2017-0720, Ministry of Science and Innovation.; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 8.643  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:179856 Serial 6804  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Albrecht, W.; Arslan Irmak, E.; Altantzis, T.; Pedrazo‐Tardajos, A.; Skorikov, A.; Deng, T.‐S.; van der Hoeven, J.E.S.; van Blaaderen, A.; Van Aert, S.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title 3D Atomic‐Scale Dynamics of Laser‐Light‐Induced Restructuring of Nanoparticles Unraveled by Electron Tomography Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Advanced Materials Abbreviated Journal Adv Mater  
  Volume Issue Pages 2100972  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract Understanding light–matter interactions in nanomaterials is crucial for

optoelectronic, photonic, and plasmonic applications. Specifically, metal

nanoparticles (NPs) strongly interact with light and can undergo shape

transformations, fragmentation and ablation upon (pulsed) laser excitation.

Despite being vital for technological applications, experimental insight into

the underlying atomistic processes is still lacking due to the complexity of

such measurements. Herein, atomic resolution electron tomography is performed

on the same mesoporous-silica-coated gold nanorod, before and after

femtosecond laser irradiation, to assess the missing information. Combined

with molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on the experimentally

determined 3D atomic-scale morphology, the complex atomistic rearrangements,

causing shape deformations and defect generation, are unraveled.

These rearrangements are simultaneously driven by surface diffusion, facet

restructuring, and strain formation, and are influenced by subtleties in the

atomic distribution at the surface.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000671662000001 Publication Date 2021-07-11  
  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 (up) 8 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes W.A. and E.A.I. contributed equally to this work. The authors acknowledge funding from the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (ERC Consolidator Grants No. 815128 – REALNANO and No. 770887 – PICOMETRICS), the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (ERC Advanced Grant No. 291667 – HierarSACol), and the European Commission (EUSMI). W.A. acknowledges an Individual Fellowship funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in the Horizon2020 program (Grant 797153, SOPMEN). T.-S.D. acknowledges financial support from the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Grant No. 61905056). The authors also acknowledge financial support by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO Grant G.0267.18N).; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 19.791  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:179781 Serial 6805  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Windels, S.; Diefenhardt, T.; Jain, N.; Marquez, C.; Bals, S.; Schlummer, M.; De Vos, D.E. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Catalytic upcycling of PVC waste-derived phthalate esters into safe, hydrogenated plasticizers Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication Green chemistry : cutting-edge research for a greener sustainable future Abbreviated Journal Green Chem  
  Volume 24 Issue 2 Pages 754-766  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Recycling of end-of-life polyvinyl chloride (PVC) calls for solutions to deal with the vast amounts of harmful phthalate plasticizers that have historically been incorporated in PVC. Here, we report on the upcycling of such waste-extracted phthalate esters into analogues of the much safer diisononyl 1,2-cyclohexanedicarboxylate plasticizer (DINCH), via a catalytic one-pot (trans)esterification-hydrogenation process. For most of the virgin phthalates, Ru/Al2O3 is a highly effective hydrogenation catalyst, yielding >99% ring-hydrogenated products under mild reaction conditions (0.1 mol% Ru, 80 degrees C, 50 bar H-2). However, applying this reaction to PVC-extracted phthalates proved problematic, (1) as benzyl phthalates are hydrogenolyzed to benzoic acids that inhibit the Ru-catalyst, and (2) because impurities in the plasticizer extract (PVC, sulfur) further retard the hydrogenation. These complications were solved by coupling the hydrogenation to an in situ (trans)esterification with a higher alcohol, and by pretreating the extract with an activated carbon adsorbent. In this way, a real phthalate extract obtained from post-consumer PVC waste was eventually completely (>99%) hydrogenated to phthalate-free, cycloaliphatic plasticizers.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000726865200001 Publication Date 2021-11-30  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1463-9262; 1463-9270 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 9.8 Times cited (up) 8 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement no. 821366 (programma acronym: Circular Flooring). D. E. D. V. thanks FWO for project funding (SBO project S001819N Triple Cycle); N. J. and S. B. acknowledge the financial support from FWO and FNRS (EOS 30489208). Finally, the authors also thank S. Smolders for assistance with the TGA-MS experiments and D. Paredaens for his experimental contribution Approved Most recent IF: 9.8  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:184746 Serial 6958  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Pedrazo-Tardajos, A.; Arslan Irmak, E.; Kumar, V.; Sánchez-Iglesias, A.; Chen, Q.; Wirix, M.; Freitag, B.; Albrecht, W.; Van Aert, S.; Liz-Marzán, L.M.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Thermal Activation of Gold Atom Diffusion in Au@Pt Nanorods Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication ACS nano Abbreviated Journal Acs Nano  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Understanding the thermal stability of bimetallic nanoparticles is of vital importance to preserve their functionalities during their use in a variety of applications. In contrast to well-studied bimetallic systems such as Au@Ag, heat-induced morphological and compositional changes in Au@Pt nanoparticles are insufficiently understood, even though Au@Pt is an important material for catalysis. To investigate the thermal instability of Au@Pt nanorods at temperatures below their bulk melting point, we combined in situ heating with two- and three-dimensional electron microscopy techniques, including three-dimensional energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The experimental results were used as input for molecular dynamics simulations, to unravel the mechanisms behind the morphological transformation of Au@Pt core–shell nanorods. We conclude that thermal stability is influenced not only by the degree of coverage of Pt on Au but also by structural details of the Pt shell.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000819246800001 Publication Date 2022-06-10  
  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 17.1 Times cited (up) 8 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes S.B., S.V.A., L.M.L.-M. and A.P.-T. acknowledge financial support from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme by grant nos. 731019 (EUSMI) and 823717 (ESTEEM3) and ERC Consolidator grant nos. 815128 (REALNANO) and 770887 (PICOMETRICS). L.M.L.-M. acknowledges funding from MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 through grants no. PID2020-117779RB-I00 and Maria de Maeztu Unit of Excellence no. MDM-2017-0720. The authors acknowledge the resources and services used for the simulations in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and the Flemish Government.; esteem3reported; esteem3JRA Approved Most recent IF: 17.1  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:188540 Serial 7072  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Yao, Y.; Ugras, T.J.; Meyer, T.; Dykes, M.; Wang, D.; Arbe, A.; Bals, S.; Kahr, B.; Robinson, R.D. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Extracting pure circular dichroism from hierarchically structured CdS magic cluster films Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication ACS nano Abbreviated Journal Acs Nano  
  Volume 16 Issue 12 Pages 20457-20469  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Chiroptically active, hierarchically structured materials are difficult to accurately characterize due to linear anisotropic contributions (i.e., linear dichroism (LD) and linear birefringence (LB)) and parasitic ellipticities that produce artifactual circular dichroism (CD) signals, in addition to chiral analyte contributions ranging from molecular-scale clusters to micron-sized assemblies. Recently, we have shown that CdS magic-sized clusters (MSC) can self-assemble into ordered films that have a hierarchical structure spanning seven orders of length-scale. These films have a strong CD response, but the chiral origins are obfuscated by the hierarchical architecture and LDLB contributions. Here, we derive and demonstrate a method for extracting the “pure” CD signal (CD generated by structural dissymmetry) from hierarchical MSC films and identified the chiral origin. The theory behind the method is derived using Mueller matrix and Stokes vector conventions and verified experimentally before being applied to hierarchical MSC and nanoparticle films with varying macroscopic orderings. Each film's extracted “true CD” shares a bisignate profile aligned with the exciton peak, indicating the assemblies adopt a chiral arrangement and form an exciton coupled system. Interestingly, the linearly aligned MSC film possesses one of the highest g-factors (0.05) among semiconducting nanostructures reported. Additionally, we find that films with similar electronic transition dipole alignment can possess greatly different g-factors, indicating chirality change rather than anisotropy is the cause of the difference in the CD signal. The difference in g-factor is controllable via film evaporation geometry. This study provides a simple means to measure “true” CD and presents an example of experimentally understanding chiroptic interactions in hierarchical nanostructures.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000888219600001 Publication Date 2022-11-17  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 17.1 Times cited (up) 8 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Award Nos. DMR-2003431 and CHE-2003586. This work made use of the Cornell Center for Materials Research Shared Facilities, which are supported through the NSF MRSEC program (DMR-1719875). This work is partly supported by Grant PID2021-123438NB-I00 (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and “ERDF vA way of making Europe”) and Grant IT1566-22 (Eusko Jaurlaritza). D.W. acknowledges an Individual Fellowship funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in the Horizon 2020 program (Grant 894254 SuprAtom). S.B. acknowledges financial support from ERC Consolidator Grant No. 815128 REALNANO. B.K. acknowledges NSF award DMR-2003968. We would like to thank Dr. Mark August Pfeifer for help with circular dichroism measurements. Additionally, we would like to thank Professor Luis M. Liz-Marzan for invaluable discussions on chirality. Approved Most recent IF: 17.1  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:192070 Serial 7305  
Permanent link to this record
 

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

 
Author Musolino, N.; Bals, S.; Van Tendeloo, G.; Clayton, N.; Walker, E.; Flukiger, R. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Investigation of (Bi,Pb)2212 crystals : observation of modulation-free phase Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2004 Publication Physica: C : superconductivity Abbreviated Journal Physica C  
  Volume 401 Issue 1-4 Pages 270-272  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract We report the complete disappearance of the structural modulation in heavily lead-doped Bi2-xPbxSr2CaCu2O8+delta crystals observed by transmission electron microscopy. Crystals with a nominal lead content of x = 0.8, corresponding to an effective lead content of x = 0.39, yield the non-modulated phase. The superconducting properties of this modulation-free phase (beta phase) have been studied and compared to those of undoped crystals displaying the modulated phase (alpha phase). Magnetisation measurements reveal that the irreversibility field H-irr(T) and relaxation rates are strongly improved within the beta phase. Measurements of the lower critical field, H-cl, show that the anisotropy factor, E, is considerably reduced in the modulation-free crystals. This is the signature of stronger coupling between CuO2 layers which in turn deeply influences the effectiveness of the pinning. These measurements explain the enhanced pinning properties in moderately Pb-doped crystals in which the a phase and P phase coexist. The enhanced pinning is not only due to the alpha/beta interfaces, which act as effective pinning centers: the emergence of modulation-free domains, characterized by a strongly reduced anisotropy, also significantly contribute to this effect. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000187852100050 Publication Date 2003-10-17  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0921-4534; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 1.404 Times cited (up) 9 Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 1.404; 2004 IF: 1.072  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:94809 Serial 1730  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author De Schutter, B.; Devulder, W.; Schrauwen, A.; van Stiphout, K.; Perkisas, T.; Bals, S.; Vantomme, A.; Detavernier, C. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Phase formation in intermixed NiGe thin films : influence of Ge content and low-temperature nucleation of hexagonal nickel germanides Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2014 Publication Microelectronic engineering Abbreviated Journal Microelectron Eng  
  Volume 120 Issue Pages 168-173  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract In this study, we focus on phase formation in intermixed NiGe thin films as they represent a simplified model of the small intermixed interface layer that is believed to form upon deposition of Ni on Ge and where initial phase formation happens. A combinatorial sputter deposition technique was used to co-deposit a range of intermixed NiGe thin films with Ge concentrations varying between 0 and 50 at.%Ge in a single deposition on both Ge (100) and inert SiO2 substrates. In situ X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy where used to study phase formation. In almost the entire composition range under investigation, crystalline phases where found to be present in the as-deposited films. Between 36 and 48 at.%Ge, high-temperature hexagonal nickel germanides were found to occur metastabily below 300 °C, both on SiO2 and Ge (100) substrates. For Ge concentrations in the range between 36 and 42 at.%, this hexagonal germanide phase was even found to be present at room temperature in the as-deposited films. The results obtained in this work could provide more insight in the phase sequence of a pure Ni film on Ge.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Amsterdam Editor  
  Language Wos 000336697300028 Publication Date 2013-09-20  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0167-9317; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 1.806 Times cited (up) 9 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes FWO project Nr. G076112N Approved Most recent IF: 1.806; 2014 IF: 1.197  
  Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:116958 Serial 2584  
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