toggle visibility
Search within Results:
Display Options:

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

 
Author Muravev, V.; Parastaev, A.; van den Bosch, Y.; Ligt, B.; Claes, N.; Bals, S.; Kosinov, N.; Hensen, E.J.M. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Size of cerium dioxide support nanocrystals dictates reactivity of highly dispersed palladium catalysts Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Science Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 380 Issue 6650 Pages 1174-1179  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract The catalytic performance of heterogeneous catalysts can be tuned by modulation of the size and structure of supported transition metals, which are typically regarded as the active sites. In single-atom metal catalysts, the support itself can strongly affect the catalytic properties. Here, we demonstrate that the size of cerium dioxide (CeO2) support governs the reactivity of atomically dispersed palladium (Pd) in carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation. Catalysts with small CeO2 nanocrystals (~4 nanometers) exhibit unusually high activity in a CO-rich reaction feed, whereas catalysts with medium-size CeO2 (~8 nanometers) are preferred for lean conditions. Detailed spectroscopic investigations reveal support size–dependent redox properties of the Pd-CeO2 interface.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001010846100008 Publication Date 2023-06-16  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0036-8075 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 56.9 Times cited (down) 22 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes We thank the staff of the MAX IV Laboratory for time on beamline SPECIES under proposals 20200412 and 20190983; E. Kokkonen and A. Klyushin for assistance with NAP-XPS and RPES experiments conducted at SPECIES; staff of the MAX IV Laboratory for time on beamline BALDER under proposal 20200378; K. Klementiev for assistance with XAS measurements; J. Drnec at the ESRF for providing assistance in using beamline ID31; and V. Perez-Dieste and I. Villar Garcia at the CIRCE beamline at ALBA Synchrotron for help with acquiring preliminary RPES data obtained under proposal 2020024219. The synchrotron-based XRD measurements were performed on beamline ID31 at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble, France. Funding: This work was supported by the Netherlands Center for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion (MCEC), a NWO Gravitation program funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Government of the Netherlands (V.M. and E.J.M.H.); the European Research Council (ERC consolidator grant 815128 REALNANO to S.B. and N.C.); and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (grant 823717–ESTEEM to S.B. and N.C). Research conducted at MAX IV, a Swedish national user facility, is supported by the Swedish Research council under contract 2018-07152, the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems under contract 2018-04969, and Formas under contract 2019-02496 (VM). Approved Most recent IF: 56.9; 2023 IF: 37.205  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:197199 Serial 8801  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Ren, P.; Zhang, T.; Jain, N.; Ching, H.Y.V.; Jaworski, A.; Barcaro, G.; Monti, S.; Silvestre-Albero, J.; Celorrio, V.; Chouhan, L.; Rokicinska, A.; Debroye, E.; Kustrowski, P.; Van Doorslaer, S.; Van Aert, S.; Bals, S.; Das, S. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title An atomically dispersed Mn-photocatalyst for generating hydrogen peroxide from seawater via the Water Oxidation Reaction (WOR) Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Journal of the American Chemical Society Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 145 Issue 30 Pages 16584-16596  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Organic synthesis (ORSY); Theory and Spectroscopy of Molecules and Materials (TSM²)  
  Abstract In this work, we have fabricatedan aryl amino-substitutedgraphiticcarbon nitride (g-C3N4) catalyst with atomicallydispersed Mn capable of generating hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) directly from seawater. This new catalyst exhibitedexcellent reactivity, obtaining up to 2230 & mu;M H2O2 in 7 h from alkaline water and up to 1800 & mu;Mfrom seawater under identical conditions. More importantly, the catalystwas quickly recovered for subsequent reuse without appreciable lossin performance. Interestingly, unlike the usual two-electron oxygenreduction reaction pathway, the generation of H2O2 was through a less common two-electron water oxidation reaction(WOR) process in which both the direct and indirect WOR processesoccurred; namely, photoinduced h(+) directly oxidized H2O to H2O2 via a one-step 2e(-) WOR, and photoinduced h(+) first oxidized a hydroxide (OH-) ion to generate a hydroxy radical ((OH)-O-& BULL;), and H2O2 was formed indirectly by thecombination of two (OH)-O-& BULL;. We have characterized thematerial, at the catalytic sites, at the atomic level using electronparamagnetic resonance, X-ray absorption near edge structure, extendedX-ray absorption fine structure, high-resolution transmission electronmicroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, magic-angle spinningsolid-state NMR spectroscopy, and multiscale molecular modeling, combiningclassical reactive molecular dynamics simulations and quantum chemistrycalculations.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001034983300001 Publication Date 2023-07-24  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0002-7863 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 15 Times cited (down) 21 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes S.D. thanks the IOF grant and Francqui start up grant from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, for the financial support. P.R. thanks CSC and T.Z. thanks FWO for their financial assistance to finish this work. E.D. would like to thank the KU Leuven Research Fund for financial support through STG/21/010. J.S.A. acknowledges financial support from MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and EU NextGeneration/PRTR (Project PCI2020-111968/3D-Photocat) and Diamond Synchrotron (rapid access proposal SP32609). This work was supported by the European Research Council (grant 770887-PICOMETRICS to S.V.A. and Grant 815128-REALNANO to S.B.). S.B. and S.V.A. acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium, project G.0346.21 N). We also thank Mr. Jian Zhu and Mr. Shahid Ullah Khan from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, for helpful discussions. Approved Most recent IF: 15; 2023 IF: 13.858  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:198426 Serial 8831  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Yang, S.; An, H.; Arnouts, S.; Wang, H.; Yu, X.; de Ruiter, J.; Bals, S.; Altantzis, T.; Weckhuysen, B.M.; van der Stam, W. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Halide-guided active site exposure in bismuth electrocatalysts for selective CO₂ conversion into formic acid Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Nature Catalysis Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 6 Issue 9 Pages 796-806  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)  
  Abstract It remains a challenge to identify the active sites of bismuth catalysts in the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction. Here we show through in situ characterization that the activation of bismuth oxyhalide electrocatalysts to metallic bismuth is guided by the halides. In situ X-ray diffraction results show that bromide promotes the selective exposure of planar bismuth surfaces, whereas chloride and iodide result in more disordered active sites. Furthermore, we find that bromide-activated bismuth catalysts outperform the chloride and iodide counterparts, achieving high current density (>100 mA cm(-2)) and formic acid selectivity (>90%), suggesting that planar bismuth surfaces are more active for the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction. In addition, in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements reveal that the reconstruction proceeds rapidly in chloride-activated bismuth and gradually when bromide is present, facilitating the formation of ordered planar surfaces. These findings show the pivotal role of halogens on selective facet exposure in activated bismuth-based electrocatalysts during the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001050367400001 Publication Date 2023-08-17  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2520-1158 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 37.8 Times cited (down) 13 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes B.M.W. acknowledges support from the Strategic UU-TU/e Alliance project 'Joint Centre for Chemergy Research' as well as from the Netherlands Center for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion (MCEC), an NWO gravitation programme funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the government of the Netherlands. S.B. acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grant #815128 REALNANO). S.A. and T.A. acknowledge funding from the University of Antwerp Research fund (BOF). We also thank J. Wijten, J. Janssens and T. Prins (all from the Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group, Utrecht University) for helpful technical support. S. Deelen (Faculty of Science, Utrecht University) and L. Wu (Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis group, Utrecht University) are acknowledged for the design of the in situ XRD cell. We also acknowledge B. Detlefs, P. Glatzel and V. Paidi (ESRF) for the support during the HERFD-XANES measurements on the ID26 beamline of the ESRF. Approved Most recent IF: 37.8; 2023 IF: NA  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:199190 Serial 8877  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Benedet, M.; Andrea Rizzi, G.; Gasparotto, A.; Gauquelin, N.; Orekhov, A.; Verbeeck, J.; Maccato, C.; Barreca, D. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Functionalization of graphitic carbon nitride systems by cobalt and cobalt-iron oxides boosts solar water oxidation performances Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Applied surface science Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 618 Issue Pages 156652  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract The ever-increasing energy demand from the world population has made the intensive use of fossil fuels an overarching threat to global environment and human health. An appealing alternative is offered by sunlight-assisted photoelectrochemical water splitting to yield carbon-free hydrogen fuel, but kinetic limitations associated to the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) render the development of cost-effective, eco-friendly and stable electrocatalysts an imperative issue. In the present work, OER catalysts based on graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) were deposited on conducting glass substrates by a simple decantation procedure, followed by functionalization with low amounts of nanostructured CoO and CoFe2O4 by radio frequency (RF)-sputtering, and final annealing under inert atmosphere. A combination of advanced characterization tools was used to investigate the interplay between material features and electrochemical performances. The obtained results highlighted the formation of a p-n junction for the g-C3N4-CoO system, whereas a Z-scheme junction accounted for the remarkable performance enhancement yielded by g-C3N4-CoFe2O4. The intimate contact between the system components also afforded an improved electrocatalyst stability in comparison to various bare and functionalized g-C3N4-based systems. These findings emphasize the importance of tailoring g-C3N4 chemico-physical properties through the dispersion of complementary catalysts to fully exploit its applicative potential.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000950654300001 Publication Date 2023-02-04  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0169-4332 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 6.7 Times cited (down) 11 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from CNR (Progetti di Ricerca @CNR – avviso 2020 – ASSIST), Padova University (P-DiSC#04BIRD2020-UNIPD EUREKA, DOR 2020–2022), AMGA Foundation (NYMPHEA project), INSTM Consortium (INSTM21PDGASPAROTTO – NANOMAT, INSTM21PDBARMAC – ATENA) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 823717 – ESTEEM3. The FWO-Hercules fund G0H4316N 'Direct electron detector for soft matter TEM' is also acknowledged. Many thanks are due to Prof. Luca Gavioli (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Brescia, Italy) and Dr. Riccardo Lorenzin (Department of Chemical Sciences, Padova University, Italy) for their invaluable technical support.; esteem3reported; esteem3TA Approved Most recent IF: 6.7; 2023 IF: 3.387  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:196150 Serial 7376  
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 (down) 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 Bliokh, K.Y.; Karimi, E.; Padgett, M.J.; Alonso, M.A.; Dennis, M.R.; Dudley, A.; Forbes, A.; Zahedpour, S.; Hancock, S.W.; Milchberg, H.M.; Rotter, S.; Nori, F.; Ozdemir, S.K.; Bender, N.; Cao, H.; Corkum, P.B.; Hernandez-Garcia, C.; Ren, H.; Kivshar, Y.; Silveirinha, M.G.; Engheta, N.; Rauschenbeutel, A.; Schneeweiss, P.; Volz, J.; Leykam, D.; Smirnova, D.A.; Rong, K.; Wang, B.; Hasman, E.; Picardi, M.F.; Zayats, A.V.; Rodriguez-Fortuno, F.J.; Yang, C.; Ren, J.; Khanikaev, A.B.; Alu, A.; Brasselet, E.; Shats, M.; Verbeeck, J.; Schattschneider, P.; Sarenac, D.; Cory, D.G.; Pushin, D.A.; Birk, M.; Gorlach, A.; Kaminer, I.; Cardano, F.; Marrucci, L.; Krenn, M.; Marquardt, F. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Roadmap on structured waves Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Journal of optics Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 25 Issue 10 Pages 103001-103079  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Structured waves are ubiquitous for all areas of wave physics, both classical and quantum, where the wavefields are inhomogeneous and cannot be approximated by a single plane wave. Even the interference of two plane waves, or of a single inhomogeneous (evanescent) wave, provides a number of nontrivial phenomena and additional functionalities as compared to a single plane wave. Complex wavefields with inhomogeneities in the amplitude, phase, and polarization, including topological----- structures and singularities, underpin modern nanooptics and photonics, yet they are equally important, e.g. for quantum matter waves, acoustics, water waves, etc. Structured waves are crucial in optical and electron microscopy, wave propagation and scattering, imaging, communications, quantum optics, topological and non-Hermitian wave systems, quantum condensed-matter systems, optomechanics, plasmonics and metamaterials, optical and acoustic manipulation, and so forth. This Roadmap is written collectively by prominent researchers and aims to survey the role of structured waves in various areas of wave physics. Providing background, current research, and anticipating future developments, it will be of interest to a wide cross-disciplinary audience.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001061350200001 Publication Date 2023-07-26  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2040-8978 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.1 Times cited (down) 7 Open Access Not_Open_Access: Available from 30.03.2024  
  Notes This work is funded by the Royal Society and EPSRC under the Grant Number EP/M01326X/1.M A A acknowledges funding from the Excellence Initiative of Aix Marseille University-A*MIDEX, a French Investissements d'Avenir' programme, and from the Agence Nationale de Recherche (ANR) through project ANR-21-CE24-0014-01.M R D acknowledges support from the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Topological Design(EP/S02297X/1).S R acknowledges support by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF, Grant P32300 WAVELAND) and by the European Commission (Grant MSCA-RISE 691209 NHQWAVE). FN is supported in part by NTT Research, and S K OE by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) Award No. FA9550-21-1-0202.The authors thank their co-workers Yaron Bromberg, Hasan Yilmaz, and collaborators Joerg Bewersdorf and Mengyuan Sun for their contributions to the works presented here. They also acknowledge financial support from the Office of Naval Research (N00014-20-1-2197) and the National Science Foundation (DMR-1905465).H R acknowledges a support from the Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship DE220101085. Y K acknowledges a support from the Australian Research Council (Grant DP210101292).M G S acknowledges partial support from Simons Foundation/Collaboration on Extreme Wave Phenomena Based on Symmetries, from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) under the A F Harvey Research Prize 2018, and from Instituto de Telecomunicacoes under project UIDB/50008/2020. N E acknowledges partial support from Simons Foundation/Collaboration on Extreme Wave Phenomena Based on Symmetries, and from the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) grant number FA9550-21-1-0312.We acknowledge funding by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in the framework of the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship endowed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Moreover, financial support from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 899275 (DAALI) is gratefully acknowledged.D L acknowledges a support from the National Research Foundation, Singapore and A*STAR under its CQT Bridging Grant. D A S acknowledges support from the Australian Research Council (FT230100058).The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Israel Science Foundation (ISF), the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-18-1-0208) through their program on Photonic Metamaterials, the Israel Ministry of Science, Technology and Space. The fabrication was performed at the Micro-Nano Fabrication & Printing Unit(MNF & PU), Technion.This work was supported by the European Research Council projects iCOMM (789340) and Starting Grant ERC-2016-STG-714151-PSINFONI.Our work in this area has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, and the Simons Foundation.This work was supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP190100406.J V acknowledges funding from the eBEAM Project supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101017720 (FET-Proactive EBEAM), FWO Project G042820N Exploring adaptive optics in transmission electron microscopy' and European Union's Horizon 2020 Research Infrastructure-Integrating Activities for Advanced Communities Grant Agreement No. 823717-ESTEEM3. P S acknowledges the support of the Austrian Science Fund under Project Nr. P29687-N36.; The authors would like to thank their many collaborators including Wangchun Chen, Charles W Clark, Lisa DeBeer-Schmitt, Huseyin Ekinci, Melissa Henderson, Michael Huber, Connor Kapahi, Ivar Taminiau, and Kirill Zhernenkov. The authors would also like to acknowledge their funding sources: the Canadian Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) program, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF).E K acknowledges the support of Canada Research Chairs, Ontario's Early Research Award, and NRC-uOttawa Joint Centre for Extreme Quantum Photonics (JCEP) via the High Throughput and Secure Networks Challenge Program at the National Research Council of Canada. Approved Most recent IF: 2.1; 2023 IF: 1.741  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:199327 Serial 8925  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
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 (down) 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 (down) 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  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Rivas-Murias, B.; Testa-Anta, M.; Skorikov, A.S.; Comesana-Hermo, M.; Bals, S.; Salgueirino, V. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Interfaceless exchange bias in CoFe₂O₄ nanocrystals Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Nano letters Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 23 Issue 5 Pages 1688-1695  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Oxidized cobalt ferrite nanocrystals with a modified distribution of the magnetic cations in their spinel structure give place to an unusual exchange-coupled system with a double reversal of the magnetization, exchange bias, and increased coercivity, but without the presence of a clear physical interface that delimits two well-differentiated magnetic phases. More specifically, the partial oxidation of cobalt cations and the formation of Fe vacancies at the surface region entail the formation of a cobalt-rich mixed ferrite spinel, which is strongly pinned by the ferrimagnetic background from the cobalt ferrite lattice. This particular configuration of exchange-biased magnetic behavior, involving two different magnetic phases but without the occurrence of a crystallographically coherent interface, revolu-tionizes the established concept of exchange bias phenomenology.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000940892000001 Publication Date 2023-02-27  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1530-6984 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 10.8 Times cited (down) 4 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes M.T.-A. acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci?n under grant FJC2021- 046680-I. S.B. acknowledges funding from the European Research Council under the European Union?s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (ERC Consolidator Grant N o 815128 REALNANO) . V.S. acknowledges the financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovaci?n under project PID2020-119242-I00 and from the European Union under project H2020-MSCA-RISE-2019 PEPSA-MATE (project number 872233) . Approved Most recent IF: 10.8; 2023 IF: 12.712  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:195186 Serial 7315  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Beckwee, E.J.; Watson, G.; Houlleberghs, M.; Arenas Esteban, D.; Bals, S.; Van Der Voort, P.; Breynaert, E.; Martens, J.; Baron, G.V.; Denayer, J.F.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Enabling hydrate-based methane storage under mild operating conditions by periodic mesoporous organosilica nanotubes Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Heliyon Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 9 Issue 7 Pages e17662-14  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Biomethane is a renewable natural gas substitute produced from biogas. Storage of this sustainable energy vector in confined clathrate hydrates, encapsulated in the pores of a host material, is a highly promising avenue to improve storage capacity and energy efficiency. Herein, a new type of periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) nanotubes, referred to as hollow ring PMO (HR-PMO), capable of promoting methane clathrate hydrate formation under mild working conditions (273 K, 3.5 MPa) and at high water loading (5.1 g water/g HR-PMO) is reported. Gravimetric uptake measurements reveal a steep single-stepped isotherm and a noticeably high methane storage capacity (0.55 g methane/g HR-PMO; 0.11 g methane/g water at 3.5 MPa). The large working capacity throughout consecutive pressure-induced clathrate hydrate formationdissociation cycles demonstrates the material's excellent recyclability (97% preservation of capacity). Supported by ex situ cryo-electron tomography and x-ray diffraction, HR-PMO nanotubes are hypothesized to promote clathrate hydrate nucleation and growth by distribution and confinement of water in the mesopores of their outer wall, along the central channels of the nanotubes and on the external nanotube surface. These findings showcase the potential for application of organosilica materials with hierarchical and interconnected pore systems for pressure-based storage of biomethane in confined clathrate hydrates.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001056264100001 Publication Date 2023-06-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2405-8440 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited (down) 4 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes E.J.B., G.W. and M.H. contributed equally to this work. M.H. acknowledges FWO for an FWO-SB fellowship. All authors acknowledge VLAIO for Moonshot funding (ARCLATH, n ? HBC.2019.0110, ARCLATH2, n ? HBC.2021.0254) . J.A.M. acknowledges the Flemish Government for long-term structural funding (Methusalem) and department EWI for infrastructure investment via the Hermes Fund (AH.2016.134) . NMRCoRe acknowledges the Flemish government, department EWI for financial support as International Research Infrastructure (I001321N: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Platform for Molecular Water Research) . J.A.M. acknowledges the European Research Council (ERC) for an Advanced Research Grant under the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 834134 (WATUSO) . S.B acknowledges financial support by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO grant G.0381.16N) . This project also received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 731019 (EUSMI) and No 815128 (REALNANO) . Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:199249 Serial 8862  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author De Backer, A.; Bals, S.; Van Aert, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title A decade of atom-counting in STEM: From the first results toward reliable 3D atomic models from a single projection Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Ultramicroscopy Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 113702  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Quantitative structure determination is needed in order to study and understand nanomaterials at the atomic scale. Materials characterisation resulting in precise structural information is a crucial point to understand the structure–property relation of materials. Counting the number of atoms and retrieving the 3D atomic structure of nanoparticles plays an important role here. In this paper, an overview will be given of the atom-counting methodology and its applications over the past decade. The procedure to count the number of atoms will be discussed in detail and it will be shown how the performance of the method can be further improved. Furthermore, advances toward mixed element nanostructures, 3D atomic modelling based on the atom-counting results, and quantifying the nanoparticle dynamics will be highlighted.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000953765800001 Publication Date 2023-02-10  
  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 (down) 3 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This work was supported by the European Research Council (Grant 770887 PICOMETRICS to S. Van Aert, Grant 815128 REALNANO to S. Bals, and Grant 823717 ESTEEM3). The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project fundings (G.0267.18N, G.0502.18N, G.0346.21N, and EOS 30489208) and a postdoctoral grant to A. De Backer. S. Van Aert acknowledges funding from the University of Antwerp Research fund (BOF) . The authors also thank the colleagues who have contributed to this work over the years, including T. Altantzis, E. Arslan Irmak, K.J. Batenburg, E. Bladt, A. De wael, R. Erni, C. Faes, B. Goris, L. Jones, L.M. Liz-Marzán, I. Lobato, G.T. Martinez, P.D. Nellist, M.D. Rosell, A. Rosenauer, K.H.W. van den Bos, A. Varambhia, and Z. Zhang.; esteem3reported; esteem3JRA Approved Most recent IF: 2.2; 2023 IF: 2.843  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:195896 Serial 7236  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Bhatia, H.; Martin, C.; Keshavarz, M.; Dovgaliuk, I.; Schrenker, N.J.; Ottesen, M.; Qiu, W.; Fron, E.; Bremholm, M.; Van de Vondel, J.; Bals, S.; Roeffaers, M.B.J.; Hofkens, J.; Debroye, E. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Deciphering the role of water in promoting the optoelectronic performance of surface-engineered lead halide perovskite nanocrystals Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication ACS applied materials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 15 Issue 5 Pages 7294-7307  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Lead halide perovskites are promising candidates for applicability is limited by their structural instability toward moisture. Although a deliberate addition of water to the precursor solution has recently been shown to improve the crystallinity and optical properties of perovskites, the corresponding thin films still do not exhibit a near-unity quantum yield. Herein, we report that the direct addition of a minute amount of water to post-treated substantially enhances the stability while achieving a 95% photoluminescence quantum yield in a NC thin film. We unveil the mechanism of how moisture assists in the formation of an additional NH4Br component. Alongside, we demonstrate the crucial role of moisture in assisting localized etching of the perovskite crystal, facilitating the partial incorporation of NH4+, which is key for improved performance under ambient conditions. Finally, as a proof-of-concept, the application of post-treated and watertreated perovskites is tested in LEDs, with the latter exhibiting a superior performance, offering opportunities toward commercial application in moisture-stable optoelectronics.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000931729400001 Publication Date 2023-01-27  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1944-8244 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 9.5 Times cited (down) 3 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes H.B. would like to express her sincere gratitude to Dr. Peter Erk (formerly BASF SE, Germany) for very insightful discussions. The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO grant numbers S002019N, 1514220N, G.0B39.15, G.0B49.15, G098319N, and ZW15_09-GOH6316) , the KU Leuven Research Fund (C14/19/079, iBOF-21-085 PERSIST, and STG/21/010) , the Flemish government through long-term structural funding Methusalem (CASAS2, Meth/15/04) , the Hercules Founda-tion (HER/11/14) , and the ERC through the Marie Curie ITN iSwitch Ph.D. fellowship to H.B. (grant number 642196) . C.M. acknowledges the financial support from grants PID2021-128761OA-C22 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 by the ?European Union? and SBPLY/21/180501/000127 funded by JCCM and by the EU through Fondo Europeo de Desarollo Regional? (FEDER) . Martin Bremholm and Martin Ottesen acknowledge funding from the Danish Council for Independent Research, Natural Sciences, under the Sapere Aude program (grant no. 7027-00077B) and VILLUM FONDEN through the Centre of Excellence for Dirac Materials (grant no. 11744) . Affiliation with the Center for Integrated Materials Research (iMAT) at Aarhus University is gratefully acknowledged.-N.J.S. acknowledges financial support from the research foundation Flanders (FWO) through a postdoctoral fellowship (FWO grant no. 1238622N) . S.B. acknowledges financial support from the European Commission by the ERC Consolidator grant REALNANO (no. 815128) . Approved Most recent IF: 9.5; 2023 IF: 7.504  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:195375 Serial 7293  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Mulder, J.T.; Meijer, M.S.; van Blaaderen, J.J.; du Fosse, I.; Jenkinson, K.; Bals, S.; Manna, L.; Houtepen, A.J. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Understanding and preventing photoluminescence quenching to achieve unity photoluminescence quantum yield in Yb:YLF nanocrystals Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication ACS applied materials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 3274-3286  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Ytterbium-doped LiYF4 (Yb:YLF) is a commonly used material for laser applications, as a photon upconversion medium, and for optical refrigeration. As nanocrystals (NCs), the material is also of interest for biological and physical applications. Unfortunately, as with most phosphors, with the reduction in size comes a large reduction of the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY), which is typically associated with an increase in surface-related PL quenching. Here, we report the synthesis of bipyramidal Yb:YLF NCs with a short axis of similar to 60 nm. We systematically study and remove all sources of PL quenching in these NCs. By chemically removing all traces of water from the reaction mixture, we obtain NCs that exhibit a near-unity PLQY for an Yb3+ concentration below 20%. At higher Yb3+ concentrations, efficient concentration quenching occurs. The surface PL quenching is mitigated by growing an undoped YLF shell around the NC core, resulting in near-unity PLQY values even for fully Yb3+-based LiYbF4 cores. This unambiguously shows that the only remaining quenching sites in core-only Yb:YLF NCs reside on the surface and that concentration quenching is due to energy transfer to the surface. Monte Carlo simulations can reproduce the concentration dependence of the PLQY. Surprisingly, Fo''rster resonance energy transfer does not give satisfactory agreement with the experimental data, whereas nearest-neighbor energy transfer does. This work demonstrates that Yb3+-based nanophosphors can be synthesized with a quality close to that of bulk single crystals. The high Yb3+ concentration in the LiYbF4/LiYF4 core/shell nanocrystals increases the weak Yb3+ absorption, making these materials highly promising for fundamental studies and increasing their effectiveness in bioapplications and optical refrigeration.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000912997300001 Publication Date 2023-01-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1944-8244 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 9.5 Times cited (down) 3 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 766900 (Testing the Large-Scale Limit of Quantum Mechanics). A.J.H. and I.d.F. further acknowledge the European Research Council Horizon 2020 ERC Grant Agreement No. 678004 (Doping on Demand) for financial support. The authors thank Freddy Rabouw and Andries Meijerink (Utrecht University) for very fruitful discussions and extremely useful advice. The author s thank Jos Thieme for his help with the laser setups used . The authors furthermore thank Niranjan Saikumar for proofreading the manuscript. Approved Most recent IF: 9.5; 2023 IF: 7.504  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:194317 Serial 7348  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Benedoue, S.; Benedet, M.; Gasparotto, A.; Gauquelin, N.; Orekhov, A.; Verbeeck, J.; Seraglia, R.; Pagot, G.; Rizzi, G.A.; Balzano, V.; Gavioli, L.; Noto, V.D.; Barreca, D.; Maccato, C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Insights into the Photoelectrocatalytic Behavior of gCN-Based Anode Materials Supported on Ni Foams Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Nanomaterials Abbreviated Journal Nanomaterials-Basel  
  Volume 13 Issue 6 Pages 1035  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Graphitic carbon nitride (gCN) is a promising n-type semiconductor widely investigated for photo-assisted water splitting, but less studied for the (photo)electrochemical degradation of aqueous organic pollutants. In these fields, attractive perspectives for advancements are offered by a proper engineering of the material properties, e.g., by depositing gCN onto conductive and porous scaffolds, tailoring its nanoscale morphology, and functionalizing it with suitable cocatalysts. The present study reports on a simple and easily controllable synthesis of gCN flakes on Ni foam substrates by electrophoretic deposition (EPD), and on their eventual decoration with Co-based cocatalysts [CoO, CoFe2O4, cobalt phosphate (CoPi)] via radio frequency (RF)-sputtering or electrodeposition. After examining the influence of processing conditions on the material characteristics, the developed systems are comparatively investigated as (photo)anodes for water splitting and photoelectrocatalysts for the degradation of a recalcitrant water pollutant [potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHP)]. The obtained results highlight that while gCN decoration with Co-based cocatalysts boosts water splitting performances, bare gCN as such is more efficient in KHP abatement, due to the occurrence of a different reaction mechanism. The related insights, provided by a multi-technique characterization, may provide valuable guidelines for the implementation of active nanomaterials in environmental remediation and sustainable solar-to-chemical energy conversion.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000960297000001 Publication Date 2023-03-13  
  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 5.3 Times cited (down) 3 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The present work was financially supported by CNR (Progetti di Ricerca @CNR—avviso 2020—ASSIST), Padova University (P-DiSC#04BIRD2020-UNIPD EUREKA, DOR 2020–2022), AMGA Foundation (NYMPHEA project), INSTM Consortium (INSTM21PDGASPAROTTO—NANOMAT, INSTM21PDBARMAC—ATENA) and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 823717—ESTEEM3. The FWO-Hercules fund G0H4316N ‘Direct electron detector for soft matter TEM’ is also acknowledged. Many thanks are also due to Dr. Riccardo Lorenzin for his support to experimental activities.; esteem3reported; esteem3TA Approved Most recent IF: 5.3; 2023 IF: 3.553  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:196115 Serial 7378  
Permanent link to this record
 

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

 
Author van der Sluijs, M.M.; Salzmann, B.B.V.; Arenas Esteban, D.; Li, C.; Jannis, D.; Brafine, L.C.; Laning, T.D.; Reinders, J.W.C.; Hijmans, N.S.A.; Moes, J.R.; Verbeeck, J.; Bals, S.; Vanmaekelbergh, D. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Study of the Mechanism and Increasing Crystallinity in the Self-Templated Growth of Ultrathin PbS Nanosheets Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Chemistry of materials Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Colloidal 2D semiconductor nanocrystals, the analogue of solid-state quantum wells, have attracted strong interest in material science and physics. Molar quantities of suspended quantum objects with spectrally pure absorption and emission can be synthesized. For the visible region, CdSe nanoplatelets with atomically precise thickness and tailorable emission have been (almost) perfected. For the near-infrared region, PbS nanosheets (NSs) hold strong promise, but the photoluminescence quantum yield is low and many questions on the crystallinity, atomic structure, intriguing rectangular shape, and formation mechanism remain to be answered. Here, we report on a detailed investigation of the PbS NSs prepared with a lead thiocyanate single source precursor. Atomically resolved HAADF-STEM imaging reveals the presence of defects and small cubic domains in the deformed orthorhombic PbS crystal lattice. Moreover, variations in thickness are observed in the NSs, but only in steps of 2 PbS monolayers. To study the reaction mechanism, a synthesis at a lower temperature allowed for the study of reaction intermediates. Specifically, we studied the evolution of pseudo-crystalline templates towards mature, crystalline PbS NSs. We propose a self-induced templating mechanism based on an oleylamine-lead-thiocyanate (OLAM-Pb-SCN) complex with two Pb-SCN units as a building block; the interactions between the long-chain ligands regulate the crystal structure and possibly the lateral dimensions.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000959572100001 Publication Date 2023-03-25  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0897-4756 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 8.6 Times cited (down) 2 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes H2020 Research Infrastructures, 731019 ; H2020 European Research Council, 692691 815128 ; Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 715.016.002 ; Approved Most recent IF: 8.6; 2023 IF: 9.466  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:195894 Serial 7255  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Skorikov, A.; Batenburg, K.J.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Analysis of 3D elemental distribution in nanomaterials : towards higher throughput and dose efficiency Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Journal of microscopy Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 289 Issue 3 Pages 157-163  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Many advanced nanomaterials rely on carefully designed morphology and elemental distribution to achieve their functionalities. Among the few experimental techniques that can directly visualise the 3D elemental distribution on the nanoscale are approaches based on electron tomography in combination with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Unfortunately, these highly informative methods are severely limited by the fundamentally low signal-to-noise ratio, which makes long experimental times and high electron irradiation doses necessary to obtain reliable 3D reconstructions. Addressing these limitations has been the major research question for the development of these techniques in recent years. This short review outlines the latest progress on the methods to reduce experimental time and electron irradiation dose requirements for 3D elemental distribution analysis and gives an outlook on the development of this field in the near future.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000910532600001 Publication Date 2022-12-26  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-2720 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2 Times cited (down) 2 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes ERC Consolidator Grant, Grant/Award Number: 815128 Approved Most recent IF: 2; 2023 IF: 1.692  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:193428 Serial 7281  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Gauquelin, N.; Forte, F.; Jannis, D.; Fittipaldi, R.; Autieri, C.; Cuono, G.; Granata, V.; Lettieri, M.; Noce, C.; Miletto-Granozio, F.; Vecchione, A.; Verbeeck, J.; Cuoco, M. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Pattern Formation by Electric-Field Quench in a Mott Crystal Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Nano letters Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract The control of Mott phase is intertwined with the spatial reorganization of the electronic states. Out-of-equilibrium driving forces typically lead to electronic patterns that are absent at equilibrium, whose nature is however often elusive. Here, we unveil a nanoscale pattern formation in the Ca2 RuO4 Mott insulator. We demonstrate how an applied electric field spatially reconstructs the insulating phase that, uniquely after switching off the electric field, exhibits nanoscale stripe domains. The stripe pattern has regions with inequivalent octahedral distortions that we directly observe through high-resolution scanning transmission electron

microscopy. The nanotexture depends on the orientation of the electric field, it is non-volatile and rewritable. We theoretically simulate the charge and orbital reconstruction induced by a quench dynamics of the applied electric field providing clear-cut mechanisms for the stripe phase formation. Our results open the path for the design of non-volatile electronics based on voltage-controlled nanometric phases.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001012061600001 Publication Date 2023-05-18  
  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 10.8 Times cited (down) 2 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innova- tion programme under grant agreement No 823717 – ESTEEM3. The Merlin camera used in the experiment received funding from the FWO-Hercules fund G0H4316N ’Direct electron detector 15for soft matter TEM’. C. A. and G. C. 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. and G. C. acknowledge the access to the computing facil- ities of the Interdisciplinary Center of Modeling at the University of Warsaw, Grant No. GB84-0, GB84-1 and GB84-7 and GB84-7 and Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center Grant No. 609.. C. A. and G. C. acknowledge the CINECA award under the ISCRA initiative IsC85 “TOP- MOST” Grant, for the availability of high-performance computing resources and support. We acknoweldge A. Guarino and C. Elia for providing support about the electrical characterization of the sample. M.C., R.F., and A.V. acknowledge support from the EU’s Horizon 2020213 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No. 964398 (SUPERGATE). Approved Most recent IF: 10.8; 2023 IF: 12.712  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:196970 Serial 8789  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Kavak, S.; Kadu, A.A.; Claes, N.; Sánchez-Iglesias, A.; Liz-Marzán, L.M.; Batenburg, K.J.; Bals, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Quantitative 3D Investigation of Nanoparticle Assemblies by Volumetric Segmentation of Electron Tomography Data Sets Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 127 Issue 20 Pages 9725-9734  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Morphological characterization of nanoparticle assemblies and hybrid nanomaterials is critical in determining their structure-property relationships as well as in the development of structures with desired properties. Electron tomography has become a widely utilized technique for the three-dimensional characterization of nanoparticle assemblies. However, the extraction of quantitative morphological parameters from the reconstructed volume can be a complex and labor-intensive task. In this study, we aim to overcome this challenge by automating the volumetric segmentation process applied to three-dimensional reconstructions of nanoparticle assemblies. The key to enabling automated characterization is to assess the performance of different volumetric segmentation methods in accurately extracting predefined quantitative descriptors for morphological characterization. In our methodology, we compare the quantitative descriptors obtained through manual segmentation with those obtained through automated segmentation methods, to evaluate their accuracy and effectiveness. To show generality, our study focuses on the characterization of assemblies of CdSe/CdS quantum dots, gold nanospheres and CdSe/CdS encapsulated in polymeric micelles, and silica-coated gold nanorods decorated with both CdSe/CdS or PbS quantum dots. We use two unsupervised segmentation algorithms: the watershed transform and the spherical Hough transform. Our results demonstrate that the choice of automated segmentation method is crucial for accurately extracting the predefined quantitative descriptors. Specifically, the spherical Hough transform exhibits superior performance in accurately extracting quantitative descriptors, such as particle size and interparticle distance, thereby allowing for an objective, efficient, and reliable volumetric segmentation of complex nanoparticle assemblies.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000991752700001 Publication Date 2023-05-25  
  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 3.7 Times cited (down) 2 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 1181122N ; Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, 861950 ; H2020 European Research Council, 815128 ; Approved Most recent IF: 3.7; 2023 IF: 4.536  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:196971 Serial 8793  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Vega-Paredes, M.; Aymerich-Armengol, R.; Arenas Esteban, D.; Marti-Sanchez, S.; Bals, S.; Scheu, C.; Manjon, A.G. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Electrochemical stability of rhodium-platinum core-shell nanoparticles : an identical location scanning transmission electron microscopy study Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication ACS nano Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 17 Issue 17 Pages 16943-16951  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Rhodium-platinum core-shell nanoparticleson a carbonsupport (Rh@Pt/C NPs) are promising candidates as anode catalystsfor polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. However, their electrochemicalstability needs to be further explored for successful applicationin commercial fuel cells. Here we employ identical location scanningtransmission electron microscopy to track the morphological and compositionalchanges of Rh@Pt/C NPs during potential cycling (10 000 cycles,0.06-0.8 V-RHE, 0.5 H2SO4)down to the atomic level, which are then used for understanding thecurrent evolution occurring during the potential cycles. Our resultsreveal a high stability of the Rh@Pt/C system and point toward particledetachment from the carbon support as the main degradation mechanism.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001051495900001 Publication Date 2023-08-21  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 17.1 Times cited (down) 2 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors would like to thank C. Bodirsky for providing the samples, N. Rivas Rivas for his corrections on the manuscript, and D. Chatain for providing her expertise on the equilibrium shape of nanoparticles. Special thanks to B. Breitbach for performing the XRD experiments. A.G.M. acknowledges the Grant RYC2021-033479- I funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and, as appropriate, by European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. Approved Most recent IF: 17.1; 2023 IF: 13.942  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:199253 Serial 8859  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Manzaneda-Gonzalez, V.; Jenkinson, K.; Pena-Rodriguez, O.; Borrell-Grueiro, O.; Trivino-Sanchez, S.; Banares, L.; Junquera, E.; Espinosa, A.; Gonzalez-Rubio, G.; Bals, S.; Guerrero-Martinez, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title From multi- to single-hollow trimetallic nanocrystals by ultrafast heating Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Chemistry of materials Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 35 Issue 22 Pages 9603-9612  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Metal nanocrystals (NCs) display unique physicochemical features that are highly dependent on nanoparticle dimensions, anisotropy, structure, and composition. The development of synthesis methodologies that allow us to tune such parameters finely emerges as crucial for the application of metal NCs in catalysis, optical materials, or biomedicine. Here, we describe a synthetic methodology to fabricate hollow multimetallic heterostructures using a combination of seed-mediated growth routes and femtosecond-pulsed laser irradiation. The envisaged methodology relies on the coreduction of Ag and Pd ions on gold nanorods (Au NRs) to form Au@PdAg core-shell nanostructures containing small cavities at the Au-PdAg interface. The excitation of Au@PdAg NRs with low fluence femtosecond pulses was employed to induce the coalescence and growth of large cavities, forming multihollow anisotropic Au@PdAg nanostructures. Moreover, single-hollow alloy AuPdAg could be achieved in high yield by increasing the irradiation energy. Advanced electron microscopy techniques, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) tomography, X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, and finite differences in the time domain (FDTD) simulations allowed us to characterize the morphology, structure, and elemental distribution of the irradiated NCs in detail. The ability of the reported synthesis route to fabricate multimetallic NCs with unprecedented hollow nanostructures offers attractive prospects for the fabrication of tailored high-entropy alloy nanoparticles.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001110623500001 Publication Date 2023-11-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0897-4756; 1520-5002 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 8.6 Times cited (down) 2 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 8.6; 2023 IF: 9.466  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:202144 Serial 9040  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Johnson, G.; Yang, M.Y.; Liu, C.; Zhou, H.; Zuo, X.; Dickie, D.A.; Wang, S.; Gao, W.; Anaclet, B.; Perras, F.A.; Ma, F.; Zeng, C.; Wang, D.; Bals, S.; Dai, S.; Xu, Z.; Liu, G.; Goddard III, W.A.; Zhang, S. doi  openurl
  Title Nanocluster superstructures assembled via surface ligand switching at high temperature Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Nature synthesis Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 2 Issue 9 Pages 828-837  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Superstructures with nanoscale building blocks, when coupled with precise control of the constituent units, open opportunities in rationally designing and manufacturing desired functional materials. Yet, synthetic strategies for the large-scale production of superstructures are scarce. We report a scalable and generalized approach to synthesizing superstructures assembled from atomically precise Ce24O28(OH)8 and other rare-earth metal-oxide nanoclusters alongside a detailed description of the self-assembly mechanism. Combining operando small-angle X-ray scattering, ex situ molecular and structural characterizations, and molecular dynamics simulations indicates that a high-temperature ligand-switching mechanism, from oleate to benzoate, governs the formation of the nanocluster assembly. The chemical tuning of surface ligands controls superstructure disassembly and reassembly, and furthermore, enables the synthesis of multicomponent superstructures. This synthetic approach, and the accurate mechanistic understanding, are promising for the preparation of superstructures for use in electronics, plasmonics, magnetics and catalysis. Synthesizing superstructures with precisely controlled nanoscale building blocks is challenging. Here the assembly of superstructures is reported from atomically precise Ce24O28(OH)8 and other rare-earth metal-oxide nanoclusters and their multicomponent combinations. A high-temperature ligand-switching mechanism controls the self-assembly.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001124824000001 Publication Date 2023-05-01  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited (down) 2 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:202180 Serial 9060  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Marchetti, A.; Gori, A.; Ferretti, A.M.; Esteban, D.A.; Bals, S.; Pigliacelli, C.; Metrangolo, P. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Templated Out‐of‐Equilibrium Self‐Assembly of Branched Au Nanoshells Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Small Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 2206712  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Out-of-equilibrium self-assembly of metal nanoparticles (NPs) has been devised using different types of strategies and fuels, but the achievement of finite 3D structures with a controlled morphology through this assembly mode is still rare. Here we used a spherical peptide-gold superstructure (PAuSS) as a template to control the out-of-equilibrium self-assembly of Au NPs, obtaining a transient 3D branched Au-nanoshell (BAuNS) stabilized by sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). The BAuNS dismantled upon concentration gradient equilibration over time in the solution, leading to NPs disassembly. Notably, BAuNS assembly and disassembly favoured temporary interparticle plasmonic coupling, leading to a remarkable oscillation of their optical properties.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000914725800001 Publication Date 2023-01-17  
  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 13.3 Times cited (down) 1 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes European Research Council, ERC‐2017‐PoC MINIRES 789815 ERC‐2012‐StG_20111012 FOLDHALO 307108 815128 ; Approved Most recent IF: 13.3; 2023 IF: 8.643  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:194299 Serial 7247  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Chowdhury, M.S.; Rösch, E.L.; Esteban, D.A.; Janssen, K.-J.; Wolgast, F.; Ludwig, F.; Schilling, M.; Bals, S.; Viereck, T.; Lak, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Decoupling the Characteristics of Magnetic Nanoparticles for Ultrahigh Sensitivity Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Nano letters Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 23 Issue 1 Pages 58-65  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Immunoassays exploiting magnetization dynamics of magnetic nanoparticles are highly promising for mix-and-measure, quantitative, and point-of-care diagnostics. However, how single-core magnetic nanoparticles can be employed to reduce particle concentration and concomitantly maximize assay sensitivity is not fully understood. Here, we design monodisperse Néel and Brownian relaxing magnetic nanocubes (MNCs) of different sizes and compositions. We provide insights into how to decouple physical properties of these MNCs to achieve ultrahigh sensitivity. We find that tri-component-based Zn0.06 Co0.80Fe2.14 O4 particles, with out-of-phase to initial magnetic susceptibility χ /χ ratio of 0.47 out of 0.50 for magnetically blocked ideal particles, show the ultrahigh magnetic sensitivity by providing rich magnetic particle spectroscopy (MPS) harmonics spectrum despite bearing lower saturation magnetization than di-component Zn0.1Fe2.9O4 having high saturation magnetization. The Zn0.06Co0.80Fe2.14O4 MNCs, coated with catechol-based polyethylene glycol ligands, measured by our benchtop MPS show three orders of magnitude better particle LOD than that of commercial nanoparticles of comparable size.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000907816300001 Publication Date 2023-01-11  
  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 10.8 Times cited (down) 1 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG RTG 1952 ; Joachim Herz Stiftung; H2020 Research Infrastructures, 823717 ; Approved Most recent IF: 10.8; 2023 IF: 12.712  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:193406 Serial 7248  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Vlasov, E.; Denisov, N.; Verbeeck, J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Low-cost electron detector for scanning electron microscope Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication HardwareX Abbreviated Journal HardwareX  
  Volume 14 Issue Pages e00413  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Electron microscopy is an indispensable tool for the characterization of (nano) materials. Electron microscopes are typically very expensive and their internal operation is often shielded from the user. This situation can provide fast and high quality results for researchers focusing on e.g. materials science if they have access to the relevant instruments. For researchers focusing on technique development, wishing to test novel setups, however, the high entry price can lead to risk aversion and deter researchers from innovating electron microscopy technology further. The closed attitude of commercial entities about how exactly the different parts of electron microscopes work, makes it even harder for newcomers in this field. Here we propose an affordable, easy-to-build electron detector for use in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The aim of this project is to shed light on the functioning of such detectors as well as show that even a very modest design can lead to acceptable performance while providing high flexibility for experimentation and customization.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 001042486000001 Publication Date 2023-03-10  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2468-0672 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited (down) 1 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) project SBO [Grant No. S000121N]. JV acknowledges funding from the HORIZON-INFRA-2022-TECH-01-01 project IMPRESS [Grant No. 101094299]. Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:195886 Serial 7252  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Craig, T.M.; Kadu, A.A.; Batenburg, K.J.; Bals, S. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Real-time tilt undersampling optimization during electron tomography of beam sensitive samples using golden ratio scanning and RECAST3D Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Nanoscale Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 15 Issue 11 Pages 5391-5402  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Electron tomography is a widely used technique for 3D structural analysis of nanomaterials, but it can cause damage to samples due to high electron doses and long exposure times. To minimize such damage, researchers often reduce beam exposure by acquiring fewer projections through tilt undersampling. However, this approach can also introduce reconstruction artifacts due to insufficient sampling. Therefore, it is important to determine the optimal number of projections that minimizes both beam exposure and undersampling artifacts for accurate reconstructions of beam-sensitive samples. Current methods for determining this optimal number of projections involve acquiring and post-processing multiple reconstructions with different numbers of projections, which can be time-consuming and requires multiple samples due to sample damage. To improve this process, we propose a protocol that combines golden ratio scanning and quasi-3D reconstruction to estimate the optimal number of projections in real-time during a single acquisition. This protocol was validated using simulated and realistic nanoparticles, and was successfully applied to reconstruct two beam-sensitive metal–organic framework complexes.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000937908900001 Publication Date 2023-02-13  
  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 6.7 Times cited (down) 1 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes H2020 European Research Council, 815128 ; H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, 860942 ; Approved Most recent IF: 6.7; 2023 IF: 7.367  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:195235 Serial 7260  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author de la Encarnación, C.; Jungwirth, F.; Vila-Liarte, D.; Renero-Lecuna, C.; Kavak, S.; Orue, I.; Wilhelm, C.; Bals, S.; Henriksen-Lacey, M.; Jimenez de Aberasturi, D.; Liz-Marzán, L.M. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Hybrid core–shell nanoparticles for cell-specific magnetic separation and photothermal heating Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Journal of materials chemistry B : materials for biology and medicine Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract Hyperthermia, as the process of heating a malignant site above 42 °C to trigger cell death, has emerged as an effective and selective cancer therapy strategy. Various modalities of hyperthermia have been proposed, among which magnetic and photothermal hyperthermia are known to benefit from the use of nanomaterials. In this context, we introduce herein a hybrid colloidal nanostructure comprising plasmonic gold nanorods (AuNRs) covered by a silica shell, onto which iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) are subsequently grown. The resulting hybrid nanostructures are responsive to both external magnetic fields and near-infrared irradiation. As a result, they can be applied for the targeted magnetic separation of selected cell populations – upon targeting by antibody functionalization – as well as for photothermal heating. Through this combined functionality, the therapeutic effect of photothermal heating can be enhanced. We demonstrate both the fabrication of the hybrid system and its application for targeted photothermal hyperthermia of human glioblastoma cells.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000968908400001 Publication Date 2023-04-05  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2050-750X ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 7 Times cited (down) 1 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, PID2019-108854RA-I00 ; H2020 European Research Council, ERC AdG 787510, 4DBIOSERS ERC CoG 815128, REALNANO ; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, PhD research grant 1181122N ; Approved Most recent IF: 7; 2023 IF: 4.543  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:195879 Serial 7261  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Andelkovic, M.; Rakhimov, K.Y.; Chaves, A.; Berdiyorov, G.R.; Milošević, M.V. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Wave-packet propagation in a graphene geometric diode Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Physica. E: Low-dimensional systems and nanostructures Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 147 Issue Pages 115607-4  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT)  
  Abstract Dynamics of electron wave-packets is studied using the continuum Dirac model in a graphene geometric diode where the propagation of the wave packet is favored in certain direction due to the presence of geometric constraints. Clear rectification is obtained in the THz frequency range with the maximum rectification level of 3.25, which is in good agreement with recent experiments on graphene ballistic diodes. The rectification levels are considerably higher for systems with narrower channels. In this case, the wave packet transmission probabilities and rectification rate also strongly depend on the energy of the incident wave packet, as a result of the quantum nature of energy levels along such channels. These findings can be useful for fundamental understanding of the charge carrier dynamics in graphene geometry diodes.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000903737000003 Publication Date 2022-12-10  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1386-9477 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.3 Times cited (down) 1 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 3.3; 2023 IF: 2.221  
  Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:193497 Serial 7351  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Jain, N.; Hao, Y.; Parekh, U.; Kaltenegger, M.; Pedrazo-Tardajos, A.; Lazzaroni, R.; Resel, R.; Geerts, Y.H.; Bals, S.; Van Aert, S. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Exploring the effects of graphene and temperature in reducing electron beam damage: A TEM and electron diffraction-based quantitative study on Lead Phthalocyanine (PbPc) crystals Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2023 Publication Micron Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 169 Issue Pages 103444  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)  
  Abstract High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of organic crystals, such as Lead Phthalocyanine (PbPc), is very challenging since these materials are prone to electron beam damage leading to the breakdown of the crystal structure during investigation. Quantification of the damage is imperative to enable high-resolution imaging of PbPc crystals with minimum structural changes. In this work, we performed a detailed electron diffraction study to quantitatively measure degradation of PbPc crystals upon electron beam irradiation. Our study is based on the quantification of the fading intensity of the spots in the electron diffraction patterns. At various incident dose rates (e/Å2/s) and acceleration voltages, we experimentally extracted the decay rate (1/s), which directly correlates with the rate of beam damage. In this manner, a value for the critical dose (e/Å2) could be determined, which can be used as a measure to quantify beam damage. Using the same methodology, we explored the influence of cryogenic temperatures, graphene TEM substrates, and graphene encapsulation in prolonging the lifetime of the PbPc crystal structure during TEM investigation. The knowledge obtained by diffraction experiments is then translated to real space high-resolution TEM imaging of PbPc.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000965998800001 Publication Date 2023-03-21  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0968-4328 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.4 Times cited (down) 1 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes This work is supported by FWO and FNRS within the 2Dto3D network of the EOS (Excellence of Science) program (grant number 30489208) and ERC-CoGREALNANO-815128 (to Prof. Dr. Sara Bals). N.J. would like to thank Dr. Kunal S. Mali and Dr. Da Wang for useful and interesting discussions on sample preparation procedures. Approved Most recent IF: 2.4; 2023 IF: 1.98  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:196069 Serial 7379  
Permanent link to this record
Select All    Deselect All
 |   | 
Details
   print

Save Citations:
Export Records: