Search Results

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Item
    Erratum: Exploring the 3D structure and defects of a self-assembled gold mesocrystal by coherent X-ray diffraction imaging (Nanoscale (2021) DOI: 10.1039/D1NR01806J)
    (Cambridge : RSC Publ., 2021) Carnis, Jerome; Kirner, Felizitas; Lapkin, Dmitry; Sturm, Sebastian; Kim, Young Yong; Baburin, Igor A.; Khubbutdinov, Ruslan; Ignatenko, Alexandr; Iashina, Ekaterina; Mistonov, Alexander; Steegemans, Tristan; Wieck, Thomas; Gemming, Thomas; Lubk, Axel; Lazarev, Sergey; Sprung, Michael; Vartanyants, Ivan A.; Sturm, Elena V.
    Correction for ‘Exploring the 3D structure and defects of a self-assembled gold mesocrystal by coherent X-ray diffraction imaging’ by Jerome Carnis et al., Nanoscale, 2021, DOI: 10.1039/D1NR01806J.
  • Item
    Colloidal PbS nanoplatelets synthesized via cation exchange for electronic applications
    (Cambridge : RSC Publ., 2019) Sonntag, Luisa; Shamraienko, Volodymyr; Fan, Xuelin; Samadi Khoshkhoo, Mahdi; Kneppe, David; Koitzsch, Andreas; Gemming, Thomas; Hiekel, Karl; Leo, Karl; Lesnyak, Vladimir; Eychmüller, Alexander
    In this work, we present a new synthetic approach to colloidal PbS nanoplatelets (NPLs) utilizing a cation exchange (CE) strategy starting from CuS NPLs synthesized via the hot-injection method. Whereas the thickness of the resulting CuS NPLs was fixed at approx. 5 nm, the lateral size could be tuned by varying the reaction conditions, such as time from 6 to 16 h, the reaction temperature (120 °C, 140 °C), and the amount of copper precursor. In a second step, Cu+ cations were replaced with Pb2+ ions within the crystal lattice via CE. While the shape and the size of parental CuS platelets were preserved, the crystal structure was rearranged from hexagonal covellite to PbS galena, accompanied by the fragmentation of the monocrystalline phase into polycrystalline one. Afterwards a halide mediated ligand exchange (LE) was carried out in order to remove insulating oleic acid residues from the PbS NPL surface and to form stable dispersions in polar organic solvents enabling thin-film fabrication. Both CE and LE processes were monitored by several characterization techniques. Furthermore, we measured the electrical conductivity of the resulting PbS NPL-based films before and after LE and compared the processing in ambient to inert atmosphere. Finally, we fabricated field-effect transistors with an on/off ratio of up to 60 and linear charge carrier mobility for holes of 0.02 cm2 V−1 s−1.
  • Item
    Human spermbots for patient-representative 3D ovarian cancer cell treatment
    (Cambridge : RSC Publ., 2020) Xu, Haifeng; Medina-Sánchez, Mariana; Zhang, Wunan; Seaton, Melanie P. H.; Brison, Daniel R.; Edmondson, Richard J.; Taylor, Stephen S.; Nelson, Louisa; Zeng, Kang; Bagley, Steven; Ribeiro, Carla; Restrepo, Lina P.; Lucena, Elkin; Schmidt, Christine K.; Schmidt, Oliver G.
    Cellular micromotors are attractive for locally delivering high concentrations of drug, and targeting hard-to-reach disease sites such as cervical cancer and early ovarian cancer lesions by non-invasive means. Spermatozoa are highly efficient micromotors perfectly adapted to traveling up the female reproductive system. Indeed, bovine sperm-based micromotors have shown potential to carry drugs toward gynecological cancers. However, due to major differences in the molecular make-up of bovine and human sperm, a key translational bottleneck for bringing this technology closer to the clinic is to transfer this concept to human material. Here, we successfully load human sperm with Doxorubicin (DOX) and perform treatment of 3D cervical cancer and patient-representative ovarian cancer cell cultures, resulting in strong anticancer cell effects. Additionally, we define the subcellular localization of the chemotherapeutic drug within human sperm, using high-resolution optical microscopy. We also assess drug effects on sperm motility and viability over time, employing sperm samples from healthy donors as well as assisted reproduction patients. Finally, we demonstrate guidance and release of human drug-loaded sperm onto cancer tissues using magnetic microcaps, and show the sperm microcap loaded with a second anticancer drug, camptothecin (CPT), which unlike DOX is not suitable for directly loading into sperm due to its hydrophobic nature. This co-drug delivery approach opens up novel targeted combinatorial drug therapies for future applications. © 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
  • Item
    Mixed dysprosium-lanthanide nitride clusterfullerenes DyM2N@C80-: I h and Dy2MN@C80- i h (M = Gd, Er, Tm, and Lu): Synthesis, molecular structure, and quantum motion of the endohedral nitrogen atom
    (Cambridge : RSC Publ., 2019) Schlesier, C.; Liu, F.; Dubrovin, V.; Spree, L.; Büchner, B.; Avdoshenko, S.M.; Popov, A.A.
    Systematic exploration of the synthesis of mixed-metal Dy-M nitride clusterfullerenes (NCFs, M = Gd, Er, Tm, Lu) is performed, and the impact of the second metal on the relative yield is evaluated. We demonstrate that the ionic radius of the metal appears to be the main factor allowing explanation of the relative yields in Dy-M mixed-metal systems with M = Sc, Lu, Er, and Gd. At the same time, Dy-Tm NCFs show anomalously low yields, which is not consistent with the relatively small ionic radius of Tm3+ but can be explained by the high third ionization potential of Tm. Complete separation of Dy-Gd and Dy-Er, as well as partial separation of Dy-Lu M3N@C80 nitride clusterfullerenes, is accomplished by recycling HPLC. The molecular structures of DyGd2N@C80 and DyEr2N@C80 are analyzed by means of single-crystal X-ray diffraction. A remarkable ordering of mixed-metal nitride clusters is found despite similar size and electronic properties of the metals. Possible pyramidalization of the nitride clusters in these and other nitride clusterfullerenes is critically analyzed with the help of DFT calculations and reconstruction of the nitrogen inversion barrier in M3N@C80 molecules is performed. Although a double-well potential with a pyramidal cluster structure is found to be common for most of them, the small size of the inversion barrier often leads to an apparent planar structure of the cluster. This situation is found for those M3N@C80 molecules in which the energy of the lowest vibrational level exceeds that of the inversion barrier, including Dy3N@C80 and DyEr2N@C80. The genuine pyramidal structure can be observed by X-ray diffraction only when the lowest vibrational level is below the inversion barrier, such as those found in Gd3N@C80 and DyGd2N@C80. The quantum nature of molecular vibrations becomes especially apparent when the size of the inversion barrier is comparable to the energy of the lowest vibrational levels.
  • Item
    Influence of 4f filling on electronic and magnetic properties of rare earth-Au surface compounds
    (Cambridge : RSC Publ., 2020) Fernandez, L.; Blanco-Rey, M.; Castrillo-Bodero, R.; Ilyn, M.; Ali, K.; Turco, E.; Corso, M.; Ormaza, M.; Gargiani, P.; Valbuena, M.A.; Mugarza, A.; Moras, P.; Sheverdyaeva, P.M.; Kundu, Asish K.; Jugovac, M.; Laubschat, C.; Ortega, J.E.; Schiller, F.
    One-atom-thick rare-earth/noble metal (RE-NM) compounds are attractive materials to investigate two-dimensional magnetism, since they are easy to synthesize into a common RE-NM2 structure with high crystal perfection. Here we perform a comparative study of the GdAu2, HoAu2, and YbAu2 monolayer compounds grown on Au(111). We find the same atomic lattice quality and moiré superlattice periodicity in the three cases, but different electronic properties and magnetism. The YbAu2 monolayer reveals the characteristic electronic signatures of a mixed-valence configuration in the Yb atom. In contrast, GdAu2 and HoAu2 show the trivalent character of the rare-earth and ferromagnetic transitions below 22 K. Yet, the GdAu2 monolayer has an in-plane magnetic easy-axis, versus the out-of-plane one in HoAu2. The electronic bands of the two trivalent compounds are very similar, while the divalent YbAu2 monolayer exhibits different band features. In the latter, a strong 4f-5d hybridization is manifested in neatly resolved avoided crossings near the Fermi level. First principles theory points to a residual presence of empty 4f states, explaining the fluctuating valence of Yb in the YbAu2 monolayer. © The Royal Society of Chemistry.
  • Item
    Direct imaging of nanoscale field-driven domain wall oscillations in Landau structures
    (Cambridge : RSC Publ., 2022) Singh, Balram; Ravishankar, Rachappa; Otálora, Jorge A.; Soldatov, Ivan; Schäfer, Rudolf; Karnaushenko, Daniil; Neu, Volker; Schmidt, Oliver G.
    Linear oscillatory motion of domain walls (DWs) in the kHz and MHz regime is crucial when realizing precise magnetic field sensors such as giant magnetoimpedance devices. Numerous magnetically active defects lead to pinning of the DWs during their motion, affecting the overall behavior. Thus, the direct monitoring of the domain wall's oscillatory behavior is an important step to comprehend the underlying micromagnetic processes and to improve the magnetoresistive performance of these devices. Here, we report an imaging approach to investigate such DW dynamics with nanoscale spatial resolution employing conventional table-top microscopy techniques. Time-averaged magnetic force microscopy and Kerr imaging methods are applied to quantify the DW oscillations in Ni81Fe19 rectangular structures with Landau domain configuration and are complemented by numeric micromagnetic simulations. We study the oscillation amplitude as a function of external magnetic field strength, frequency, magnetic structure size, thickness and anisotropy and understand the excited DW behavior as a forced damped harmonic oscillator with restoring force being influenced by the geometry, thickness, and anisotropy of the Ni81Fe19 structure. This approach offers new possibilities for the analysis of DW motion at elevated frequencies and at a spatial resolution of well below 100 nm in various branches of nanomagnetism.
  • Item
    High-rate amorphous SnO2 nanomembrane anodes for Li-ion batteries with a long cycling life
    (Cambridge : RSC Publ., 2014) Liu, Xianghong; Zhang, Jun; Si, Wenping; Xi, Lixia; Oswald, Steffen; Yan, Chenglin; Schmidt, Oliver G.
    Amorphous SnO2 nanomembranes as anodes for lithium ion batteries demonstrate a long cycling life of 1000 cycles at 1600 mA g−1 with a high reversible capacity of 854 mA h g−1 and high rate capability up to 40 A g−1. The superior performance is because of the structural features of the amorphous SnO2 nanomembranes. The nanoscale thickness provides considerably reduced diffusion paths for Li+. The amorphous structure can accommodate the strain of lithiation/delithiation, especially during the initial lithiation. More importantly, the mechanical feature of deformation can buffer the strain of repeated lithiation/delithiation, thus putting off pulverization. In addition, the two-dimensional transport pathways in between nanomembranes make the pseudo-capacitance more prominent. The encouraging results demonstrate the significant potential of nanomembranes for high power batteries.