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Author Queralto, A.; Graf, D.; Frohnhoven, R.; Fischer, T.; Vanrompay, H.; Bals, S.; Bartasyte, A.; Mathur, S.
Title LaFeO3 nanofibers for high detection of sulfur-containing gases Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering Abbreviated Journal Acs Sustain Chem Eng
Volume 7 Issue 7 Pages 6023-6032
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Lanthanum ferrite nanofibers were electrospun from a chemical sol and calcined at 600 degrees C to obtain singlephase LaFeO3 (LFO) perovskite. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy in conjunction with 3D tomographic analysis confirmed an interwoven network of hollow and porous (surface) LFO nanofibers. Owing to their high surface area and p-type behavior, the nanofiber meshes showed high chemoselectivity toward reducing toxic gases (SO2, H2S) that could be reproducibly detected at very low concentrations (<1 ppm), well below the threshold values for occupational safety and health. An increased sensitivity was observed in the temperature range of 150-300 degrees C with maximum sensor response at 250 degrees C. The surface reaction at the heterogeneous solid (LFO)/gas (SO2) interface that confirmed the formation of La-2(SO4)(3) was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Moreover, the LFO fibers showed a high selectivity in the detection of oxidizing and reducing gases. Whereas superior detection of NH3 and H2S was measured, little response was observed for CO and NO2. Finally, the integration of nanowire meshes in commercial sensor platforms was successfully demonstrated.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000461978200047 Publication Date 2019-02-21
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2168-0485 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 5.951 Times cited 41 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes ; The authors kindly acknowledge the ERA.Net RUS Plus project FONSENS funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the grant no. 01DJ16017. A.Q. highly appreciates the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (grant no. AVH 1184642) and the BMBF for his postdoctoral fellowship. A.Q., D.G., R.F., T.F., and S.M. also kindly acknowledge the financial support of the University of Cologne. H.V. acknowledges financial support by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO grant 1S32617N). S.B. acknowledges financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOMS). We also express our gratitude to Prof. Dr. J. Hadermann from the Electron Microscopy for Materials Science group at the University of Antwerp for her assistance. A.B. is grateful for the EUR EIPHI program (grant no. ANR-17-EURE-0002). ; Approved Most recent IF: 5.951
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:158535 Serial 5263
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Author Albrecht, W.; Bladt, E.; Vanrompay, H.; Smith, J.D.; Skrabalak, S.E.; Bals, S.
Title Thermal Stability of Gold/Palladium Octopods Studied in Situ in 3D: Understanding Design Rules for Thermally Stable Metal Nanoparticles Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication ACS nano Abbreviated Journal Acs Nano
Volume 13 Issue 13 Pages 6522-6530
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Multifunctional metal nanoparticles (NPs) such as anisotropic multimetallic NPs are crucial for boosting nanomaterial based applications. Advanced synthetic protocols exist to make a large variety of such nanostructures. However, a major limiting factor for the usability of them in real life applications is their stability. Here, we show that Au/Pd octopods, 8-branched nanocrystals with Oh symmetry, with only a low amount of Pd exhibited a high thermal stability and maintained strong plasmon resonances up to 600 ◦C. Furthermore, we study the influence of the composition, morphology and environment on the thermal stability and define key parameters for the design of thermally stable multifunctional NPs.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000473248300038 Publication Date 2019-06-25
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 13.942 Times cited 46 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes W. A. acknowledges an Individual Fellowship funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in Horizon 2020. H. V. acknowledges financial support by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO grant 1S32617N). E. B. acknowledges a post-doctoral grant from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium). J. D. S. and S.E.S acknowledge funding from the US National Science Foundation (award number: CHE-1602476). The authors acknowledge funding from the European Commission Grant (EUSMI E180600101 to S. B. and S. E. S.) and European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOMS). Realnano 815128; sygma Approved Most recent IF: 13.942
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:161356 Serial 5285
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Author Blommaerts, N.; Vanrompay, H.; Nuti, S.; Lenaerts, S.; Bals, S.; Verbruggen, S.W.
Title Unraveling Structural Information of Turkevich Synthesized Plasmonic Gold-Silver Bimetallic Nanoparticles Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication Small Abbreviated Journal Small
Volume 15 Issue 15 Pages 1902791
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
Abstract For the synthesis of gold-silver bimetallic nanoparticles, the Turkevich method has been the state-of-the-art method for several decades. It has been presumed that this procedure results in a homogeneous alloy, although this has been debatable for many years. In this work, it is shown that neither a full alloy, nor a perfect core-shell particle is formed but rather a core-shell-like particle with altering metal composition along the radial direction. In-depth wet-chemical experiments are performed in combination with advanced transmission electron microscopy, including EDX tomography, and Finite Element Method modeling to support the observations. From the electron tomography results, the core-shell structure could be clearly visualized and the spatial distribution of gold and silver atoms could be quantified. Theoretical simulations are performed to demonstrate that even though UV-Vis spectra show only one plasmon band, this still originates from core-shell type structures. The simulations also indicate that the core-shell morphology does not so much affect the location of the plasmon band, but mainly results in significant band broadening. Wet-chemistry experiments provide the evidence that the synthesis pathway starts with gold enriched alloy cores, and later on in the synthesis mainly silver is incorporated to end up with a silver enriched alloy shell.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000482637100001 Publication Date 2019-08-25
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1613-6810 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 8.643 Times cited 26 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Universiteit Antwerpen; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 1S32617N G.0369.15N G.0381.16N ; Approved Most recent IF: 8.643
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:161636 Serial 5290
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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.
Title Corrosion protection of Cu by atomic layer deposition Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 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.
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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 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 Skorikov, A.; Albrecht, W.; Bladt, E.; Xie, X.; van der Hoeven, J.E.S.; van Blaaderen, A.; Van Aert, S.; Bals, S.
Title Quantitative 3D Characterization of Elemental Diffusion Dynamics in Individual Ag@Au Nanoparticles with Different Shapes Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication ACS nano Abbreviated Journal Acs Nano
Volume 13 Issue 13 Pages 13421-13429
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Anisotropic bimetallic nanoparticles are promising candidates for plasmonic and catalytic applications. Their catalytic performance and plasmonic properties are closely linked to the distribution of the two metals, which can change during applications in which the particles are exposed to heat. Due to this fact, correlating the thermal stability of complex heterogeneous nanoparticles to their microstructural properties is of high interest for the practical applications of such materials. Here, we employ quantitative electron tomography in high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADFSTEM) mode to measure the 3D elemental diffusion dynamics in individual anisotropic Au−Ag nanoparticles upon heating in situ. This approach allows us to study the elemental redistribution in complex, asymmetric nanoparticles on a single particle level, which has been inaccessible to other techniques so far. In this work, we apply the proposed method to compare the alloying dynamics of Au−Ag nanoparticles with different shapes and compositions and find that the shape of the nanoparticle does not exhibit a significant effect on the alloying speed whereas the composition does. Finally, comparing the experimental results to diffusion simulations allows us to estimate the diffusion coefficients of the metals for individual nanoparticles.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000500650000115 Publication Date 2019-10-25
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 13.942 Times cited 29 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes This project has received funding from the European Commission (grant 731019, EUSMI) and European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grants 815128, REALNANO; 770887, PICOMETRICS; 648991, 3MC; and ERC Advanced Grant 291667, HierarSACol). This project has also received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement 823717, ESTEEM3. W.A. acknowledges an Individual Fellowship funded by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) in Horizon 2020 program (grant 797153, SOPMEN). E.B. acknowledges a postdoctoral grant 12T2719N from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium). X.X. acknowledges financial support from the EU H2020-MSCAITN-2015 project 676045, MULTIMAT. The authors also acknowledge financial support by the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO grants G038116N, G026718N, and G036915N).; sygma; esteem3JRA; esteem3reported Approved Most recent IF: 13.942
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:164061 Serial 5379
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Author Ramachandran, R.K.; Filez, M.; Solano, E.; Poelman, H.; Minjauw, M.M.; Van Daele, M.; Feng, J.-Y.; La Porta, A.; Altantzis, T.; Fonda, E.; Coati, A.; Garreau, Y.; Bals, S.; Marin, G.B.; Detavernier, C.; Dendooven, J.
Title Chemical and Structural Configuration of Pt Doped Metal Oxide Thin Films Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication Chemistry of materials Abbreviated Journal Chem Mater
Volume 31 Issue 31 Pages 9673-9683
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)
Abstract Pt doped semiconducting metal oxides and Pt metal clusters embedded in an oxide matrix are of interest for applications such as catalysis and gas sensing, energy storage and memory devices. Accurate tuning of the dopant level is crucial for adjusting the properties of these materials. Here, a novel atomic layer deposition (ALD) based method for doping Pt into In2O3 in specific, and metals in metal oxides in general, is demonstrated. This approach combines alternating exposures of Pt and In2O3 ALD processes in a single ‘supercycle’, followed by supercycle repetition leading to multilayered nanocomposites. The atomic level control of ALD and its conformal nature make the method suitable for accurate dopant control even on high surface area supports. Oxidation state, local structural environment and crystalline phase of the embedded Pt dopants were obtained by means of X-ray characterization methods and high angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM). In addition, this approach allows characterization of the nucleation stages of metal ALD processes, by stacking those states multiple times in an oxide matrix. Regardless of experimental conditions, a few Pt ALD cycles leads to the formation of oxidized Pt species due to their highly dispersed nature, as proven by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) and highresolution scanning transmission electron microscopy, combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (HR-STEM/EDXS) show that Pt is evenly distributed in the In2O3 metal oxide matrix without the formation of clusters. For a larger number of Pt ALD

cycles, typ. > 10, the oxidation state gradually evolves towards fully metallic, and metallic Pt clusters are obtained within the In2O3 metal oxide matrix. This work reveals how tuning of the ALD supercycle approach for Pt doping allows controlled engineering of the Pt compositional and structural configuration within a metal oxide matrix.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000502418000010 Publication Date 2019-11-11
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 9.466 Times cited 6 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes This research was supported by the Flemish Research Foundation (FWO-Vlaanderen), the Flemish Government (Long term structural funding – Methusalem funding and Medium scale research infrastructure funding-Hercules funding), the Special Research Fund BOF of Ghent University (GOA 01G01513) and the CALIPSO Trans National Access Program funded by the European Commission in supplying financing of travel costs. We are grateful to the SIXS and SAMBA-SOLEIL staff for smoothly running the beamline facilities. J.D. and R.K.R. are postdoctoral fellows of the FWO. Approved Most recent IF: 9.466
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:164056 Serial 5380
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Author Smolders, S.; Willhammar, T.; Krajnc, A.; Şentosun, K.; Wharmby, M.T.; Lomachenko, K.A.; Bals, S.; Mali, G.; Roeffaers, M.B.J.; De Vos, D.E.; Bueken, B.
Title A titanium(IV)-based metal-organic framework featuring defect-rich Ti-O sheets as an oxidative desulfurization catalyst Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication Angewandte Chemie: international edition in English Abbreviated Journal Angew Chem Int Edit
Volume 58 Issue 58 Pages 9160-9165
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract While titanium-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely studied for their (photo) catalytic potential, only a few Ti-IV MOFs have been reported owing to the high reactivity of the employed titanium precursors. The synthesis of COK-47 is now presented, the first Ti carboxylate MOF based on sheets of (TiO6)-O-IV octahedra, which can be synthesized with a range of different linkers. COK-47 can be synthesized as an inherently defective nanoparticulate material, rendering it a highly efficient catalyst for the oxidation of thiophenes. Its structure was determined by continuous rotation electron diffraction and studied in depth by X-ray total scattering, EXAFS, and solid-state NMR. Furthermore, its photoactivity was investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance and demonstrated by catalytic photodegradation of rhodamine 6G.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000476691200034 Publication Date 2019-05-06
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1433-7851; 0570-0833 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 11.994 Times cited 97 Open Access Not_Open_Access
Notes ; S.S., B.B., and D.E.D.V. gratefully acknowledge the FWO for funding (Aspirant grant, postdoctoral grant, project funding). T.W. acknowledges a grant from the Swedish research council (VR, 2014-06948). He acknowledges financial support from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation through the project grant 3DEM-NATUR (no. 2012.0112) as well as for purchasing the TEMs. A.K. and G.M. acknowledge the financial support from the Slovenian Research Agency (research core funding No. P1-0021 and project No. N1-0079). We thank beamline I15-1 (XPDF), Diamond Light Source, for collection of X-ray total scattering data as part of the in-house research program (M.T.W.). A. Venier and O. Mathon are kindly acknowledged for the help during the XAS experiment at BM23 beamline of ESRF. We thank C. Lamberti and L. Braglia for providing the reference EXAFS spectrum of anatase. ; Approved Most recent IF: 11.994
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:161932 Serial 5382
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Author Crippa, F.; Rodriguez-Lorenzo, L.; Hua, X.; Goris, B.; Bals, S.; Garitaonandia, J.S.; Balog, S.; Burnand, D.; Hirt, A.M.; Haeni, L.; Lattuada, M.; Rothen-Rutishauser, B.; Petri-Fink, A.
Title Phase transformation of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles via thermal annealing : implications for hyperthermia applications Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication ACS applied nano materials Abbreviated Journal
Volume 2 Issue 2 Pages 4462-4470
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Magnetic hyperthermia has the potential to play an important role in cancer therapy and its efficacy relies on the nanomaterials selected. Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are excellent candidates due to the ability of producing enough heat to kill tumor cells by thermal ablation. However, their heating properties depend strongly on crystalline structure and size, which may not be controlled and tuned during the synthetic process; therefore, a postprocessing is needed. We show how thermal annealing can be simultaneously coupled with ligand exchange to stabilize the SPIONs in polar solvents and to modify their crystal structure, which improves hyperthermia behavior. Using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Mossbauer spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and lock-in thermography, we systematically investigate the impact of size and ligand exchange procedure on crystallinity, their magnetism, and heating ability. We describe a valid and simple approach to optimize SPIONs for hyperthermia by carefully controlling the size, colloidal stability, and crystallinity.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000477917700048 Publication Date 2019-06-27
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 18 Open Access Not_Open_Access
Notes ; This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation through the National Center of Competence in Research Bio-Inspired Materials, the Adolphe Merkle Foundation, the University of Fribourg, and the European Society for Molecular Imaging (Grant E141200643). ; Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:161927 Serial 5393
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Author Kirkwood, N.; De Backer, A.; Altantzis, T.; Winckelmans, N.; Longo, A.; Antolinez, F.V.; Rabouw, F.T.; De Trizio, L.; Geuchies, J.J.; Mulder, J.T.; Renaud, N.; Bals, S.; Manna, L.; Houtepen, A.J.
Title Locating and controlling the Zn content in In(Zn)P quantum dots Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication Chemistry of materials Abbreviated Journal Chem Mater
Volume 32 Issue 32 Pages 557-565
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Zinc is routinely employed in the synthesis of InP quantum dots (QDs) to improve the photoluminescence efficiency and carrier mobility of the resulting In(Zn)P alloy nanostructures. The exact location of Zn in the final structures and the mechanism by which it enhances the optoelectronic properties of the QDs is debated. We use synchrotron X-ray absorbance spectroscopy to show that the majority of Zn in In(Zn)P QDs is located at their surface as Zn-carboxylates. However, a small amount of Zn is present inside the bulk of the QDs with the consequent contraction of their lattice, as confirmed by combining high resolution high-angle annular dark-field imaging scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) with statistical parameter estimation theory. We further demonstrate that the Zn content and its incorporation into the QDs can be tuned by the ligation of commonly employed Zn carboxylate precursors: the use of highly reactive Zn-acetate leads to the formation of undesired Zn3P2 and the final nanostructures being characterized by broad optical features, whereas Zn-carboxylates with longer carbon chains lead to InP crystals with much lower zinc content and narrow optical features. These results can explain the differences between structural and optical properties of In(Zn)P samples reported across the literature, and provide a rational method to tune the amount of Zn in InP nanocrystals and to drive the incorporation of Zn either as surface Zn-carboxylate, as a substitutional dopant inside the InP crystal lattice, or even predominantly as Zn3P2.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000507721600056 Publication Date 2019-12-13
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 9.466 Times cited 39 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes A.J.H. acknowledges support from the European Research Council Horizon 2020 ERC Grant Agreement No. 678004 (Doping on Demand). This research is supported by the Dutch Technology Foundation TTW, which is part of The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), and which is partly funded by Ministry of Economic Affairs. SB acknowledges funding from the European Research Council (grant 815128 REALNANO). The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project funding G.0381.16N and a postdoctoral grant to A.D.B. AJH, LM and JM acknowledge support from the H2020 Collaborative Project TEQ (Grant No. 766900).; sygma Approved Most recent IF: 9.466
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:165234 Serial 5438
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Author Daems, N.; De Mot, B.; Choukroun, D.; Van Daele, K.; Li, C.; Hubin, A.; Bals, S.; Hereijgers, J.; Breugelmans, T.
Title Nickel-containing N-doped carbon as effective electrocatalysts for the reduction of CO2 to CO in a continuous-flow electrolyzer Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication Sustainable energy & fuels Abbreviated Journal
Volume 4 Issue 4 Pages 1296-1311
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT)
Abstract Nickel-containing N-doped carbons were synthesized for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO, which is a promising approach to reduce the atmospheric CO2 levels and its negative impact on the environment. Unfortunately, poor performance (activity, selectivity and/or stability) is still a major hurdle for the economical implementation of this type of materials. The electrocatalysts were prepared through an easily up-scalable and easily tunable method based on the pyrolysis of Ni-containing N-doped carbons. Ni–N–AC–B1 synthesized with a high relative amount of nitrogen and nickel with respect to carbon, was identified as the most promising candidate for this reaction based on its partial CO current density (4.2 mA cm−2), its overpotential (0.57 V) and its faradaic efficiency to CO (>99%). This results in unprecedented values for the current density per g active sites (690 A g−1 active sites). Combined with its decent stability and its high performance in an actual electrolyzer setup, this makes it a promising candidate for the electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO on a larger scale. Finally, the evaluation of this kind of material in a flow-cell setup has been limited and to the best of our knowledge never included an evaluation of several crucial parameters (e.g. electrolyte type, anode composition and membrane type) and is an essential investigation in the move towards up-scaling and ultimately industrial application of this technique. This study resulted in an optimal cell configuration, consisting of Pt as an anode, Fumatech® as the membrane and 1 M KHCO3 and 2 M KOH as catholyte and anolyte, respectively. In conclusion, this research offers a unique combination of electrocatalyst development and reactor optimization.
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Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000518690900030 Publication Date 2019-12-20
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 14 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes ; The authors acknowledge sponsoring from the research foundation of Flanders (FWO) in the frame of a post-doctoral grant (12Y3919N – ND). J. Hereijgers was supported through a postdoctoral fellowship (28761) of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). This project was co-funded by the Interreg 2 Seas-Program 2014-2020, co-.nanced by the European Fund for Regional Development in the frame of subsidiary contract nr 2S03-019. This work was further performed in the framework of the Catalisti cluster SBO project CO2PERATE (“All renewable CCU based on formic acid integrated in an industrial microgrid”), with the.nancial support of VLAIO (Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship). This project.nally received funding from the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grant 815128, REALNANO). We thank Karen Leyssens for helping with the N<INF>2</INF> physisorption measurements and Kitty Baert (VUB) for analyzing the samples with XPS and Raman. ; sygma Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:165482 Serial 6311
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Author Hinterding, S.O.M.; Berends, A.C.; Kurttepeli, M.; Moret, M.-E.; Meeldijk, J.D.; Bals, S.; van der Stam, W.; de Donega, C.M.
Title Tailoring Cu+ for Ga3+ cation exchange in Cu2-xS and CuInS2 nanocrystals by controlling the Ga precursor chemistry Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication ACS nano Abbreviated Journal Acs Nano
Volume 13 Issue 13 Pages 12880-12893
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Nanoscale cation exchange (CE) has resulted in colloidal nanomaterials that are unattainable by direct synthesis methods. Aliovalent CE is complex and synthetically challenging because the exchange of an unequal number of host and guest cations is required to maintain charge balance. An approach to control aliovalent CE reactions is the use of a single reactant to both supply the guest cation and extract the host cation. Here, we study the application of GaCl3-L complexes [L = trioctylphosphine (TOP), triphenylphosphite (TPP), diphenylphosphine (DPP)] as reactants in the exchange of Cu+ for Ga3+ in Cu2-xS nanocrystals. We find that noncomplexed GaCl3 etches the nanocrystals by S2- extraction, whereas GaCl3-TOP is unreactive. Successful exchange of Cu+ for Ga3+ is only possible when GaCl3 is complexed with either TPP or DPP. This is attributed to the pivotal role of the Cu2-xS-GaCl3-L activated complex that forms at the surface of the nanocrystal at the onset of the CE reaction, which must be such that simultaneous Ga3+ insertion and Cu+ extraction can occur. This requisite is only met if GaCl3 is bound to a phosphine ligand, with a moderate bond strength, to allow facile dissociation of the complex at the nanocrystal surface. The general validity of this mechanism is demonstrated by using GaCl3-DPP to convert CuInS2 into (Cu,Ga,In)S-2 nanocrystals, which increases the photoluminescence quantum yield 10 -fold, while blue -shifting the photoluminescence into the NIR biological window. This highlights the general applicability of the mechanistic insights provided by our work.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000500650000061 Publication Date 2019-10-16
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1936-0851 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 13.942 Times cited 27 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes ; S.O.M.H., W.v.d.S., A.C.B., and C.d.M.D. acknowledge financial support from the division of Chemical Sciences (CW) of The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) under Grant Nos. ECHO.712.012.0001 and ECHO.712.014.001. S.B. acknowledges financial support from the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grant No. 815128-REALNANO). S.O.M.H. is supported by 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. DFT calculations were carried out on the Dutch national e-infrastructure with the support of SURF Cooperative. This work was sponsored by NWO Physical Sciences for the use of supercomputer facilities. The authors thank Jessi van der Hoeven for EDS and TEM measurements. ; sygma Approved Most recent IF: 13.942
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:165149 Serial 6324
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Author Tang, Z.; Liu, P.; Cao, H.; Bals, S.; Heeres, H.J.; Pescarmona, P.P.
Title Pr/ZrO2 prepared by atomic trapping : an efficient catalyst for the conversion of glycerol to lactic acid with concomitant transfer hydrogenation of cyclohexene Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication ACS catalysis Abbreviated Journal Acs Catal
Volume 9 Issue 9 Pages 9953-9963
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract A series of heterogeneous catalysts consisting of highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles supported on nanosized ZrO2 (20 to 60 nm) was synthesized and investigated for the one-pot transfer hydrogenation between glycerol and cyclohexene to produce lactic acid and cyclohexane, without any additional H-2. Different preparation methods were screened, by varying the calcination and reduction procedures with the purpose of optimizing the dispersion of Pt species (i.e., as single-atom sites or extra-fine Pt nanoparticles) on the ZrO2 support. The Pt/ZrO2 catalysts were characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy techniques (HAADF-STEM, TEM), elemental analysis (ICP-OES, EDX mapping), N-2-physisorption, H-2 temperature-programmed-reduction (H-2-TPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Based on this combination of techniques it was possible to correlate the temperature of the calcination and reduction treatments with the nature of the Pt species. The best catalyst consisted of subnanometer Pt clusters (<1 nm) and atomically dispersed Pt (as Pt2+ and Pt4+) on the ZrO2 support, which were converted into extra-fine Pt nanoparticles (average size = 1.4 nm) upon reduction. These nanoparticles acted as catalytic species for the transfer hydrogenation of glycerol with cyclohexene, which gave an unsurpassed 95% yield of lactic acid salt at 96% glycerol conversion (aqueous glycerol solution, NaOH as promoter, 160 degrees C, 4.5 h, at 20 bar N-2). This is the highest yield and selectivity of lactic acid (salt) reported in the literature so far. Reusability experiments showed a partial and gradual loss of activity of the Pt/ZrO2 catalyst, which was attributed to the experimentally observed aggregation of Pt nanoparticles.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000494549700025 Publication Date 2019-09-16
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2155-5435 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 10.614 Times cited 46 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Zhenchen Tang acknowledges the financial support from the China Scholarship Council for his Ph.D. grant. All the authors are grateful for the technical support from Erwin Wilbers, Anne Appeldoorn, and Marcel de Vries, the TEM support from Dr. Marc Stuart, and the ICP-OES support from Johannes van der Velde. Pei Liu and Sara Bals acknowledge financial support from the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 Programme by means of grant agreement No. 731019 EUSMI. Approved Most recent IF: 10.614
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:164643 Serial 6326
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Author Bae, J.; Cichocka, M.O.; Zhang, Y.; Bacsik, Z.; Bals, S.; Zou, X.; Willhammar, T.; Hong, S.B.
Title Phase transformation behavior of a two-dimensional zeolite Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2019 Publication Angewandte Chemie: international edition in English Abbreviated Journal
Volume 58 Issue 30 Pages 10230-10235
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Understanding the molecular-level mechanisms of phase transformation in solids is of fundamental interest for functional materials such as zeolites. Two-dimensional (2D) zeolites, when used as shape-selective catalysts, can offer improved access to the catalytically active sites and a shortened diffusion length in comparison with their 3D analogues. However, few materials are known to maintain both their intralayer microporosity and structure during calcination for organic structure-directing agent (SDA) removal. Herein we report that PST-9, a new 2D zeolite which has been synthesized via the multiple inorganic cation approach and fulfills the requirements for true layered zeolites, can be transformed into the small-pore zeolite EU-12 under its crystallization conditions through the single-layer folding process, but not through the traditional dissolution/recrystallization route. We also show that zeolite crystal growth pathway can differ according to the type of organic SDAs employed.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000476452700030 Publication Date 2019-05-22
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1433-7851; 0570-0833 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor Times cited 2 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes We acknowledge financial support from National Creative Research Initiative Program (2012R1A3A-2048833) through the National Research Foundation of Korea, the National Research Council of Science & Technology (CRC-14-1-KRICT) grant by the Korea government (MSIP), the Swedish Research Council (2017-04321), and the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (KAW) through the project grant 3DEM-NATUR (2012.0112). T.W. acknowledges an international postdoc grant from the Swedish Research Council (2014-06948). Approved no
Call Number UA @ admin @ c:irua:181233 Serial 6878
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Author Liao, T.-W.; Verbruggen, S.; Claes, N.; Yadav, A.; Grandjean, D.; Bals, S.; Lievens, P.
Title TiO2 Films Modified with Au Nanoclusters as Self-Cleaning Surfaces under Visible Light Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Nanomaterials Abbreviated Journal Nanomaterials-Basel
Volume 8 Issue 8 Pages 30
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
Abstract In this study, we applied cluster beam deposition (CBD) as a new approach for fabricating efficient plasmon-based photocatalytic materials. Au nanoclusters (AuNCs) produced in the gas phase were deposited on TiO2 P25-coated silicon wafers with coverage ranging from 2 to 8 atomic monolayer (ML) equivalents. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) images of the AuNCs modified TiO2 P25 films show that the surface is uniformly covered by the AuNCs that remain isolated at low coverage (2 ML, 4 ML) and aggregate at higher coverage (8 ML). A clear relationship between AuNCs coverage and photocatalytic activity towards stearic acid photo-oxidation was measured, both under ultraviolet and green light illumination. TiO2 P25 covered with 4 ML AuNCs showed the best stearic acid photo-oxidation performance under green light illumination (Formal Quantum Efficiency 1.6 x 10-6 over a period of 93 h). These results demonstrate the large potential of gas-phase AuNCs beam deposition technology for the fabrication of visible light active plasmonic photocatalysts.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000424131600030 Publication Date 2018-01-08
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 29 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n 607417 (Catsense). We also thank the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO, Belgium), the Flemish Concerted Action (BOF KU Leuven, Project No. GOA/14/007) research program, and the microscope was partly funded by the Hercules Fund from the Flemish Government for the support. N.C. and S.B. acknowledge financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOM). ECAS_Sara (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:can); Approved Most recent IF: 3.553
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:147898UA @ admin @ c:irua:147898 Serial 4805
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Author Winckelmans, N.; Altantzis, T.; Grzelczak, M.; Sánchez-Iglesias, A.; Liz-Marzán, L.M.; Bals, S.
Title Multimode Electron Tomography as a Tool to Characterize the Internal Structure and Morphology of Gold Nanoparticles Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C
Volume 122 Issue 122 Pages 13522-13528
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Three dimensional (3D) characterization of structural defects in nanoparticles by transmission electron microscopy is far from straightforward. We propose the use of a dose-efficient approach, so-called multimode tomography, during which tilt series of low and high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy projection images are acquired simultaneously. In this manner, not only reliable information can be obtained concerning the shape of the nanoparticles, but also the twin planes can be clearly visualized in 3D. As an example, we demonstrate the application of this approach to identify the position of the seeds with respect to the twinning planes in anisotropic gold nanoparticles synthesized using a seed mediated growth approach.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000437811500036 Publication Date 2018-01-16
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 23 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes S.B. and N.W. acknowledge funding from the European Research Council under the Seventh Framework Program (FP7), ERC Grant No. 335078 COLOURATOM. S.B. and T.A. acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium) through project fundings (G.0369.15N and G.0218.14N) and a postdoctoral research grant to T.A. L.M.L.-M. and M.G. acknowledge funding from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (grant MAT2013-46101-R). L.M.L.-M. and S.B. acknowledge funding from the European Commission (grant EUSMI 731019). (ROMEO:white; preprint:; postprint:restricted 12 months embargo; pdfversion:cannot); saraecas; ECAS_Sara; Approved Most recent IF: 4.536
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:148164UA @ admin @ c:irua:148164 Serial 4807
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Author Yang, Z.; Altantzis, T.; Bals, S.; Tendeloo, G.V.; Pileni, M.-P.
Title Do Binary Supracrystals Enhance the Crystal Stability? Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C
Volume 122 Issue 122 Pages 13515-13521
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract We study the oxygen thermal stability of two binary

systems. The larger particles are magnetic amorphous Co (7.2 nm) or

Fe3O4 (7.5 nm) nanocrystals, whereas the smaller ones (3.7 nm) are

Au nanocrystals. The nanocrystal ordering as well as the choice of the

magnetic nanoparticles very much influence the stability of the binary

system. A perfect crystalline structure is obtained with the Fe3O4/Au

binary supracrystals. For the Co/Au binary system, oxidation of Co

results in the chemical transformation from Co to CoO, where the size

of the amorphous Co nanoparticles increases from 7.2 to 9.8 nm in

diameter. During the volume expansion of the Co nanoparticles, Au

nanoparticles within the binary assemblies coalesce and are at the

origin of the instability of the binary nanoparticle supracrystals. On the

other hand, for the Fe3O4/Au binary system, the oxidation of Fe3O4 to

γ-Fe2O3 does not lead to a size change of the nanoparticles, which

maintains the stability of the binary nanoparticle supracrystals. A similar behavior is observed for an AlB2-type Co−Ag binary

system: The crystalline structure is maintained, whereas in disordered assemblies, coalescence of Ag nanocrystals is observed.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000437811500035 Publication Date 2018-01-30
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 5 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The research leading to these results has been supported by an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council under Grant 267129. The authors appreciate financial support by the European Union under the Framework 7 program under a contract for an Integrated Infrastructure Initiative (Reference No. 262348 ESMI). S.B. acknowledges funding from ERC Starting Grant COLOURATOMS (335078). T.A. acknowledges a postdoctoral grant from the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, Belgium). (ROMEO:white; preprint:; postprint:restricted 12 months embargo; pdfversion:cannot); ecas_sara Approved Most recent IF: 4.536
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:149388UA @ admin @ c:irua:149388 Serial 4812
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Author Zhong, Z.; Aveyard, R.; Rieger, B.; Bals, S.; Palenstijn, W.J.; Batenburg, K.J.
Title Automatic correction of nonlinear damping effects in HAADF-STEM tomography for nanomaterials of discrete compositions Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 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 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
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Author Loreto, S.; Vanrompay, H.; Mertens, M.; Bals, S.; Meynen, V.
Title The influence of acids on tuning the pore size of mesoporous TiO2 templated by non-ionic block copolymers Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication European journal of inorganic chemistry Abbreviated Journal Eur J Inorg Chem
Volume 2018 Issue 2018 Pages 62-65
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA)
Abstract <script type='text/javascript'>document.write(unpmarked('We show the possibility to tune the pore size of mesoporous TiO2 templated by non-ionic block copolymers by adding different inorganic acids at well-chosen concentration. The effect of the inorganic anions on both the TiO2 cluster formation and the non-ionic block copolymers micelles is investigated to explain the experimental results.'));
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Weinheim Editor
Language Wos 000419706000008 Publication Date 2017-12-19
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1434-1948 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.444 Times cited 6 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes ; This work was supported by the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) (grant G.0687.13) and the University of Antwerp (BOF project). Hans Vanrompay gratefully acknowledges financial support by the Flemish Fund for Scientific Research (FWO grant 1S32617N). Sara Bals acknowledges financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOMS). ; ecas_Sara Approved Most recent IF: 2.444
Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:147897UA @ admin @ c:irua:147897 Serial 4881
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Author Sánchez-Iglesias, A.; Claes, N.; Solís, D.M.; Taboada, J.M.; Bals, S.; Liz-Marzán, L.M.; Grzelczak, M.
Title Reversible Clustering of Gold Nanoparticles under Confinement Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Angewandte Chemie: international edition in English Abbreviated Journal Angew Chem Int Edit
Volume 57 Issue 57 Pages 3183-3186
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract A limiting factor of solvent-induced nanoparticle self-assembly is the need for constant sample dilution in assembly/disassembly cycles. Changes in the nanoparticle concentration alter the kinetics of the subsequent assembly process, limiting optical signal recovery. Herein, we show that upon confining hydrophobic nanoparticles in permeable silica nanocapsules, the number of nanoparticles participating in cyclic aggregation remains constant despite bulk changes in solution, leading to highly reproducible plasmon band shifts at different solvent compositions.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000426759900031 Publication Date 2018-02-21
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1433-7851 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 11.994 Times cited 53 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes L.M.L.-M. and M.G. acknowledge funding from the Spanish MINECO (Grant #MAT2013-46101R). N.C. and S.B. acknowledge financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOM). D.M.S., and J.M.T, acknowledge funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Spanish MINECO (Projects TEC2017-85376-C2-1-R, TEC2017-85376-C2-2-R), and from the ERDF and the Galician Regional Government under agreement for funding the Atlantic Research Center for Information and Communication Technologies (AtlantTIC). (ROMEO:yellow; preprint:; postprint:restricted ; pdfversion:cannot); ECAS_Sara Approved Most recent IF: 11.994
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:149558UA @ admin @ c:irua:149558 Serial 4911
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Author Xia, C.; Winckelmans, N.; Prins, P.T.; Bals, S.; Gerritsen, H.C.; de Mello Donegá, C.
Title Near-Infrared-Emitting CuInS2/ZnS Dot-in-Rod Colloidal Heteronanorods by Seeded Growth Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Journal of the American Chemical Society Abbreviated Journal J Am Chem Soc
Volume 140 Issue 140 Pages 5755-5763
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Synthesis protocols for anisotropic CuInX2 (X = S, Se, Te)-based heteronanocrystals (HNCs) are scarce due to the difficulty in balancing the reactivities of multiple precursors and the high solid-state diffusion rates of the cations involved in the CuInX2 lattice. In this work, we report a multistep seeded growth synthesis protocol that yields colloidal wurtzite CuInS2/ZnS dot core/rod shell HNCs with photoluminescence in the NIR (∼800 nm). The wurtzite CuInS2 NCs used as seeds are obtained by topotactic partial Cu+ for In3+ cation exchange in template Cu2–xS NCs. The seed NCs are injected in a hot solution of zinc oleate and hexadecylamine in octadecene, 20 s after the injection of sulfur in octadecene. This results in heteroepitaxial growth of wurtzite ZnS primarily on the Sulfur-terminated polar facet of the CuInS2 seed NCs, the other facets being overcoated only by a thin (∼1 monolayer) shell. The fast (∼21 nm/min) asymmetric axial growth of the nanorod proceeds by addition of [ZnS] monomer units, so that the polarity of the terminal (002) facet is preserved throughout the growth. The delayed injection of the CuInS2 seed NCs is crucial to allow the concentration of [ZnS] monomers to build up, thereby maximizing the anisotropic heteroepitaxial growth rates while minimizing the rates of competing processes (etching, cation exchange, alloying). Nevertheless, a mild etching still occurred, likely prior to the onset of heteroepitaxial overgrowth, shrinking the core size from 5.5 to ∼4 nm. The insights provided by this work open up new possibilities in designing multifunctional Cu-chalcogenide based colloidal heteronanocrystals.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000431600000016 Publication Date 2018-03-29
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0002-7863 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 13.858 Times cited 43 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Chenghui Xia acknowledges China Scholarship Council (CSC) for financial support (NO. 201406330055). S.B and N.W. acknowledge funding from the European Research Council (Starting Grant No. COLOURATOMS 335078). C.d.M.D. acknowledge financial support from the division of Chemical Sciences (CW) of The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) under Grant Number ECHO.712.014.001. The authors thank Xiaobin Xie and Da Wang for some TEM measurements, Donglong Fu for XRD measurements, Christina H. M. van Oversteeg for ICP-OES measurements, and Chun-Che Lin for suggestions regarding the synthesis. ECAS_Sara (ROMEO:white; preprint:; postprint:restricted 12 months embargo; pdfversion:cannot); Approved Most recent IF: 13.858
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:150362UA @ admin @ c:irua:150362 Serial 4917
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Author Kumar, J.; Eraña, H.; López-Martínez, E.; Claes, N.; Martín, V.F.; Solís, D.M.; Bals, S.; Cortajarena, A.L.; Castilla, J.; Liz-Marzán, L.M.
Title Detection of amyloid fibrils in Parkinson’s disease using plasmonic chirality Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Abbreviated Journal P Natl Acad Sci Usa
Volume 115 Issue 115 Pages 3225-3230
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Amyloid fibrils, which are closely associated with various neurodegenerative

diseases, are the final products in many protein aggregation pathways. The identification of fibrils at low concentration is, therefore, pivotal in disease diagnosis and development of therapeutic strategies. We report a methodology for the specific identification of amyloid fibrils using chiroptical effects in plasmonic nanoparticles. The formation of amyloid fibrils based on α-synuclein was probed using gold nanorods, which showed no

apparent interaction with monomeric proteins but effective adsorption onto fibril structures via noncovalent interactions. The amyloid structure drives a helical nanorod arrangement, resulting in intense optical activity at the surface plasmon resonance wavelengths. This sensing technique was successfully applied to human brain homogenates of patients affected by Parkinson’s disease,

wherein protein fibrils related to the disease were identified through chiral signals from Au nanorods in the visible and near IR, whereas healthy brain samples did not exhibit any meaningful optical activity. The technique was additionally extended to the specific detection of infectious amyloids formed by prion proteins, thereby confirming the wide potential of the technique. The intense chiral response driven by strong dipolar coupling in helical Au nanorod arrangements allowed us to detect amyloid fibrils down to nanomolar concentrations.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000428382400032 Publication Date 2018-03-12
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0027-8424 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 9.661 Times cited 187 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes We thank Prof. Dr. J.-P. Timmermans and the Antwerp Centre of Advanced Microscopy for providing access to the Tecnai G2 Spirit BioTWIN TEM. We also thank the Basque Biobank (Basque Foundation for Health Innovation and Research, BIOEF) for providing us with Parkinson’s disease-affected brain samples. J.K. acknowledges financial support from the European Commission under Marie Sklodowska-Curie Program H2020- MSCA-IF-2015708321. S.B. and A.L.C. acknowledge European Research Council Grants 335078 COLOURATOM and 648071 ProNANO. S.B. and L.M.L.-M. acknowledge funding from European Commission Grant EUSMI 731019. A.L.C., J.C., and L.M.L.-M. acknowledge funding from Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) Grants MAT2013-46101- R, AGL2015-65046-C2-1-R, and BIO2016-77367-C2-1-R. (ROMEO:yellow; preprint:; postprint:restricted ; pdfversion:restricted); saraecas; ECASSara; Approved Most recent IF: 9.661
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:150355UA @ admin @ c:irua:150355 Serial 4918
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Author Geenen, F.A.; van Stiphout, K.; Nanakoudis, A.; Bals, S.; Vantomme, A.; Jordan-Sweet, J.; Lavoie, C.; Detavernier, C.
Title Controlling the formation and stability of ultra-thin nickel silicides : an alloying strategy for preventing agglomeration Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Journal of applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Appl Phys
Volume 123 Issue 123 Pages 075303
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract The electrical contact of the source and drain regions in state-of-the-art CMOS transistors is nowadays facilitated through NiSi, which is often alloyed with Pt in order to avoid morphological agglomeration of the silicide film. However, the solid-state reaction between as-deposited Ni and the Si substrate exhibits a peculiar change for as-deposited Ni films thinner than a critical thickness of t(c) = 5 nm. Whereas thicker films form polycrystalline NiSi upon annealing above 450 degrees C, thinner films form epitaxial NiSi2 films that exhibit a high resistance toward agglomeration. For industrial applications, it is therefore of utmost importance to assess the critical thickness with high certainty and find novel methodologies to either increase or decrease its value, depending on the aimed silicide formation. This paper investigates Ni films between 0 and 15 nm initial thickness by use of “thickness gradients,” which provide semi-continuous information on silicide formation and stability as a function of as-deposited layer thickness. The alloying of these Ni layers with 10% Al, Co, Ge, Pd, or Pt renders a significant change in the phase sequence as a function of thickness and dependent on the alloying element. The addition of these ternary impurities therefore changes the critical thickness t(c). The results are discussed in the framework of classical nucleation theory. Published by AIP Publishing.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher American Institute of Physics Place of Publication New York, N.Y. Editor
Language Wos 000425807400018 Publication Date 2018-02-21
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0021-8979; 1089-7550 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.068 Times cited 23 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes ; The authors acknowledge the FWO Vlaanderen, the Hercules Foundation, and BOF-UGent (GOA 01G01513) for providing financial support for this work. This research used resources of the National Synchrotron Light Source, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Brookhaven National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC02-98CH10886. ; Approved Most recent IF: 2.068
Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:149912UA @ admin @ c:irua:149912 Serial 4929
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Author Pramanik, G.; Humpolickova, J.; Valenta, J.; Kundu, P.; Bals, S.; Bour, P.; Dracinsky, M.; Cigler, P.
Title Gold nanoclusters with bright near-infrared photoluminescence Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Nanoscale Abbreviated Journal Nanoscale
Volume 10 Issue 10 Pages 3792-3798
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract The increase in nonradiative pathways with decreasing emission energy reduces the luminescence quantum yield (QY) of near-infrared photoluminescent (NIR PL) metal nanoclusters. Efficient surface ligand chemistry can significantly improve the luminescence QY of NIR PL metal nanoclusters. In contrast to the widely reported but modestly effective thiolate ligand-to-metal core charge transfer, we show that metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) can be used to greatly enhance the luminescence QY of NIR PL gold nanoclusters (AuNCs). We synthesized water-soluble and colloidally stable NIR PL AuNCs with unprecedentedly high QY (similar to 25%) upon introduction of triphenylphosphonium moieties into the surface capping layer. By using a combination of spectroscopic and theoretical methods, we provide evidence for gold core-to-ligand charge transfer occurring in AuNCs. We envision that this work can stimulate the development of these unusually bright AuNCs for promising optoelectronic, bioimaging, and other applications.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Cambridge Editor
Language Wos 000426148500026 Publication Date 2018-01-08
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2040-3364 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 7.367 Times cited 97 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes ; The authors acknowledge support from the GACR project Nr. 18-12533S. J. V. acknowledges funding from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic via the V4+Japan project No. 8F15001 (cofinanced by the International Visegrad Fund). P. B. acknowledges GACR project No. 16-05935S and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic project No. LTC17012. ; Approved Most recent IF: 7.367
Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:149901UA @ admin @ c:irua:149901 Serial 4935
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Author Ben Dkhil, S.; Pfannmöller, M.; Schroeder, R.R.; Alkarsifi, R.; Gaceur, M.; Koentges, W.; Heidari, H.; Bals, S.; Margeat, O.; Ackermann, J.; Videlot-Ackermann, C.
Title Interplay of interfacial layers and blend composition to reduce thermal degradation of polymer solar cells at high temperature Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication ACS applied materials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal Acs Appl Mater Inter
Volume 10 Issue 10 Pages 3874-3884
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract The thermal stability of printed polymer solar cells at elevated temperatures needs to be improved to achieve high-throughput fabrication including annealing steps as well as long-term stability. During device processing, thermal annealing impacts both the organic photoactive layer, and the two interfacial layers make detailed studies of degradation mechanism delicate. A recently identified thermally stable poly[[4,8-bis[(2-ethylhexyl)oxy]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b'-dithiopherie-2,6-diyl] [3-fluoro-2-[(2-ethylhexyl) carbonyl] thieno [3,4-b]thiophenediyl]] : [6,6]-phenyl- C-71-butyric acid methyl ester (PTB7:PC70BM) blend as photoactive layer in combination with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate as hole extraction layer is used here to focus on the impact of electron extraction layer (EEL) on the thermal stability of solar cells. Solar cells processed with densely packed ZnO nanoparticle layers still show 92% of the initial efficiency after constant annealing during 1 day at 140 degrees C, whereas partially covering ZnO layers as well as an evaporated calcium layer leads to performance losses of up to 30%. This demonstrates that the nature and morphology of EELs highly influence the thermal stability of the device. We extend our study to thermally unstable PTB7:[6,6]-phenyl-C-61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC60BM) blends to highlight the impact of ZnO on the device degradation during annealing. Importantly, only 12% loss in photocurrent density is observed after annealing at 140 degrees C during 1 day when using closely packed ZnO. This is in stark contrast to literature and addressed here to the use of a stable double-sided confinement during thermal annealing. The underlying mechanism of the inhibition of photocurrent losses is revealed by electron microscopy imaging and spatially resolved spectroscopy. We found that the double-sided confinement suppresses extensive fullerene diffusion during the annealing step, but with still an increase in size and distance of the enriched donor and acceptor domains inside the photoactive layer by an average factor of 5. The later result in combination with comparably small photocurrent density losses indicates the existence of an efficient transport of minority charge carriers inside the donor and acceptor enriched phases in PTB7:PC60BM blends.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000424728800082 Publication Date 2018-01-12
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1944-8244 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 7.504 Times cited 9 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes ; We acknowledge the financial support by the French Fond Unique Interministeriel (FUI) under the project “SFUMATO” (grant number: F1110019V/201308815) as well as by the European Commission under the Project “SUNFLOWER” (FP7-ICT-2011-7-contract number: 287594). M.P. and R.R.S. acknowledge support by the HeiKA (Heidelberg Karlsruhe Research Partnership) FunTech-3D materials science program. ; Approved Most recent IF: 7.504
Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:149309UA @ admin @ c:irua:149309 Serial 4939
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Author Claes, N.; Asapu, R.; Blommaerts, N.; Verbruggen, S.W.; Lenaerts, S.; Bals, S.
Title Characterization of silver-polymer core–shell nanoparticles using electron microscopy Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Nanoscale Abbreviated Journal Nanoscale
Volume 10 Issue 10 Pages 9186-9191
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Sustainable Energy, Air and Water Technology (DuEL)
Abstract Silver-polymer core–shell nanoparticles show interesting optical properties, making them widely applicable in the field of plasmonics. The uniformity, thickness and homogeneity of the polymer shell will affect the properties of the system which makes a thorough structural characterization of these core–shell silver-polymer nanoparticles of great importance. However, visualizing the shell and the particle simultaneously is far from straightforward due to the sensitivity of the polymer shell towards the electron beam. In this study, we use different 2D and 3D electron microscopy techniques to investigate different structural aspects of the polymer coating.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000437007700028 Publication Date 2018-04-16
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2040-3364 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 7.367 Times cited 11 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes N. C. and S. B. acknowledge financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOMS) and from the FWO through project funding (G038116N). R. A. and S. L. acknowledge the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) for financial support. (ROMEO:yellow; preprint:; postprint:restricted ; pdfversion:cannot); ECAS_Sara Approved Most recent IF: 7.367
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:151290UA @ admin @ c:irua:151290 Serial 4959
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Author Yuan, H.; Debroye, E.; Bladt, E.; Lu, G.; Keshavarz, M.; Janssen, K.P.F.; Roeffaers, M.B.J.; Bals, S.; Sargent, E.H.; Hofkens, J.
Title Imaging heterogeneously distributed photo-active traps in perovskite single crystals Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Advanced materials Abbreviated Journal Adv Mater
Volume 30 Issue 30 Pages 1705494
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Organic-inorganic halide perovskites (OIHPs) have demonstrated outstanding energy conversion efficiency in solar cells and light-emitting devices. In spite of intensive developments in both materials and devices, electronic traps and defects that significantly affect their device properties remain under-investigated. Particularly, it remains challenging to identify and to resolve traps individually at the nanoscopic scale. Here, photo-active traps (PATs) are mapped over OIHP nanocrystal morphology of different crystallinity by means of correlative optical differential super-resolution localization microscopy (Delta-SRLM) and electron microscopy. Stochastic and monolithic photoluminescence intermittency due to individual PATs is observed on monocrystalline and polycrystalline OIHP nanocrystals. Delta-SRLM reveals a heterogeneous PAT distribution across nanocrystals and determines the PAT density to be 1.3 x 10(14) and 8 x 10(13) cm(-3) for polycrystalline and for monocrystalline nanocrystals, respectively. The higher PAT density in polycrystalline nanocrystals is likely related to an increased defect density. Moreover, monocrystalline nanocrystals that are prepared in an oxygen and moisture-free environment show a similar PAT density as that prepared at ambient conditions, excluding oxygen or moisture as chief causes of PATs. Hence, it is conduded that the PATs come from inherent structural defects in the material, which suggests that the PAT density can be reduced by improving crystalline quality of the material.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Weinheim Editor
Language Wos 000428793600009 Publication Date 2018-02-21
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 29 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes ; The authors acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO, grant G.0197.11, G.0962.13, G0B39.15, ZW1509 GOH6316N, postdoctoral fellowships to H.Y., E.D., and K.P.F.J., doctoral fellowship to E.B.), KU Leuven Research Fund (C14/15/053), the Flemish government through long term structural funding Methusalem (CASAS2, Meth/15/04), the Hercules foundation (HER/11/14), the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (IAP-PH05), the EC through the Marie Curie ITN project iSwitch (GA-642196), and the ERC project LIGHT (GA-307523). S.B. acknowledges financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant #335078-COLOURATOMS). G.L. acknowledges Key University Science Research Project of Jiangsu Province (No. 17KJA150005). E.H.S. acknowledges support from the Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence Program. ; ecassara Approved Most recent IF: 19.791
Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:150826UA @ admin @ c:irua:150826 Serial 4970
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Author Berends, A.C.; van der Stam, W.; Hofmann, J.P.; Bladt, E.; Meeldijk, J.D.; Bals, S.; de Donega, C.M.
Title Interplay between surface chemistry, precursor reactivity, and temperature determines outcome of ZnS shelling reactions on CuInS2 nanocrystals Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Chemistry of materials Abbreviated Journal Chem Mater
Volume 30 Issue 30 Pages 2400-2413
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract ZnS shelling of I-III-VI(2 )nanocrystals (NCs) invariably leads to blue-shifts in both the absorption and photoluminescence spectra. These observations imply that the outcome of ZnS shelling reactions on I-III-VI2 colloidal NCs results from a complex interplay between several processes taking place in solution, at the surface of, and within the seed NC. However, a fundamental understanding of the factors determining the balance between these different processes is still lacking. In this work, we address this need by investigating the impact of precursor reactivity, reaction temperature, and surface chemistry (due to the washing procedure) on the outcome of ZnS shelling reactions on CuInS2 NCs using a seeded growth approach. We demonstrate that low reaction temperatures (150 degrees C) favor etching, cation exchange, and alloying regardless of the precursors used. Heteroepitaxial shell overgrowth becomes the dominant process only if reactive S- and Zn-precursors (S-ODE/OLAM and ZnI2 ) and high reaction temperatures (210 degrees C) are used, although a certain degree of heterointerfacial alloying still occurs. Remarkably, the presence of residual acetate at the surface of CIS seed NCs washed with ethanol is shown to facilitate heteroepitaxial shell overgrowth, yielding for the first time CIS/ZnS core/shell NCs displaying red-shifted absorption spectra, in agreement with the spectral shifts expected for a type-I band alignment. The insights provided by this work pave the way toward the design of improved synthesis strategies to CIS/ZnS core/shell and alloy NCs with tailored elemental distribution profiles, allowing precise tuning of the optoelectronic properties of the resulting materials.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher American Chemical Society Place of Publication Washington, D.C Editor
Language Wos 000430023700027 Publication Date 2018-03-25
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 9.466 Times cited 85 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes ; Annelies van der Bok is gratefully acknowledged for performing the ICP measurements. A.C.B. and C.d.M.D. acknowledge financial support from the division of Chemical Sciences (CW) of The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) under Grant No. ECHO.712.014.001. S.B. and E.B. acknowledge financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant No. 335078-COLOURATOMS). ; Ecas_Sara Approved Most recent IF: 9.466
Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:150772UA @ admin @ c:irua:150772 Serial 4972
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Author Mayer, J.A.; Offermans, T.; Chrapa, M.; Pfannmöller, M.; Bals, S.; Ferrini, R.; Nisato, G.
Title Optical enhancement of a printed organic tandem solar cell using diffractive nanostructures Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Optics express Abbreviated Journal Opt Express
Volume 26 Issue 26 Pages A240
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Solution processable organic tandem solar cells offer a promising approach to achieve cost-effective, lightweight and flexible photovoltaics. In order to further enhance the efficiency of optimized organic tandem cells, diffractive light-management nanostructures were designed for an optimal redistribution of the light as function of both wavelength and propagation angles in both sub-cells. As the fabrication of these optical structures is compatible with roll-to-roll production techniques such as hot-embossing or UV NIL imprinting, they present an optimal cost-effective solution for printed photovoltaics. Tandem cells with power conversion efficiencies of 8-10% were fabricated in the ambient atmosphere by doctor blade coating, selected to approximate the conditions during roll-to-roll manufacturing. Application of the light management structure onto an 8.7% efficient encapsulated tandem cell boosted the conversion efficiency of the cell to 9.5%. (C) 2018 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000427900400003 Publication Date 2018-02-26
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 1094-4087 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.307 Times cited 9 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes ; FP7 European collaborative project SUNFLOWER (FP7-ICT-2011-7, grant number 287594); German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (03xEK3504, project TAURUS); FP7 European project ESTEEM2 (grant number 312483); HEiKA centre FunTECH-3D. ; Approved Most recent IF: 3.307
Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:150839UA @ admin @ c:irua:150839 Serial 4975
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Author Cremers, V.; Rampelberg, G.; Barhoum, A.; Walters, P.; Claes, N.; Oliveira, T.M. de; Assche, G.V.; Bals, S.; Dendooven, J.; Detavernier, C.
Title Oxidation barrier of Cu and Fe powder by Atomic Layer Deposition Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 2018 Publication Surface and coatings technology Abbreviated Journal Surf Coat Tech
Volume 349 Issue 349 Pages 1032-1041
Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT)
Abstract Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a vapor based technique which allows to deposit uniform, conformal films with a thickness control at the atomic scale. In this research, Al 2 O 3 coatings were deposited on micrometer-sized Fe and Cu powder (particles) using the thermal trimethylaluminum (TMA)/ water (H 2 O) process in a rotary pump-type ALD reactor. Rotation of the powder during deposition was required to obtain a pinhole-free ALD coating. The protective nature of the coating was evaluated by quantifying its effectiveness in protecting the metal particles during oxidative annealing treatments. The Al 2 O 3 coated powders were annealed in ambient air while in-situ thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and in-situ x-ray diffraction (XRD) data were acquired. The thermal stability of a series of Cu and Fe powder with different Al 2 O 3 thicknesses were determined with TGA. In both samples a clear shift in oxidation temperature is visible. For Cu and Fe powder coated with 25 nm Al 2 O 3 , we observed an increase of the oxidation temperature with 300-400°C. For the Cu powder a thin film of only 8 nm is required to obtain an initial increase in oxidation temperature of 200°C. In contrast, for Fe powder a thicker coating of 25 nm is required. In both cases, the oxidation temperature increases with increasing thickness of the Al 2 O 3 coating. These results illustrate that the Al 2 O 3 thin film, deposited by the thermal ALD process (TMA/H 2 O) can be an efficient and pinhole-free barrier layer for micrometer-sized powder particles, provided that the powder is properly agitated during the process to ensure sufficient vapour-solid interaction.
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Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000441492600108 Publication Date 2018-06-25
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 0257-8972 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.589 Times cited 10 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 (GOA 01G01513). J. D. acknowledges the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO-Vlaanderen) for a postdoctoral fellowship. N.C. and S.B. acknowledge financial support from European Research Council (ERC Starting Grant 335078-COLOURATOMS). The authors acknowledge S. Goeteyn for the assistance in preliminary depositions. (ROMEO:green; preprint:; postprint:can ; pdfversion:cannot); ecas_sara Approved Most recent IF: 2.589
Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:152174UA @ admin @ c:irua:152174 Serial 4994
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Author van den Bos, K.H.W.; Altantzis, T.; De Backer, A.; Van Aert, S.; Bals, S.
Title Recent breakthroughs in scanning transmission electron microscopy of small species Type A1 Journal article
Year (down) 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 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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