TY - JOUR A1 - Xie, Dongjiu A1 - Mei, Shilin A1 - Xu, Yaolin A1 - Quan, Ting A1 - Haerk, Eneli A1 - Kochovski, Zdravko A1 - Lu, Yan T1 - Efficient sulfur host based on yolk-shell iron oxide/sulfide-carbon nanospindles for lithium-sulfur batteries JF - ChemSusChem : chemistry, sustainability, energy, materials N2 - Numerous nanostructured materials have been reported as efficient sulfur hosts to suppress the problematic "shuttling" of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. However, direct comparison of these materials in their efficiency of suppressing LiPSs shuttling is challenging, owing to the structural and morphological differences between individual materials. This study introduces a simple route to synthesize a series of sulfur host materials with the same yolk-shell nanospindle morphology but tunable compositions (Fe3O4, FeS, or FeS2), which allows for a systematic investigation into the specific effect of chemical composition on the electrochemical performances of Li-S batteries. Among them, the S/FeS2-C electrode exhibits the best performance and delivers an initial capacity of 877.6 mAh g(-1) at 0.5 C with a retention ratio of 86.7 % after 350 cycles. This approach can also be extended to the optimization of materials for other functionalities and applications. KW - batteries KW - electrode materials KW - lithium sulfides KW - yolk-shell KW - nanostructures Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/cssc.202002731 SN - 1864-5631 SN - 1864-564X VL - 14 IS - 5 SP - 1404 EP - 1413 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Henning, Ricky A1 - Liebig, Ferenc A1 - Prietzel, Claudia Christina A1 - Klemke, Bastian A1 - Koetz, Joachim T1 - Gold nanotriangles with magnetite satellites JF - Colloids and surfaces : an international journal devoted to the principles and applications of colloid and interface science ; A, Physicochemical and engineering aspects N2 - This work describes the synthesis of hybrid particles of gold nanotriangles (AuNTs) with magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) by using 1-mercaptopropyl-3-trimethoxysilan (MPTMS) and L-cysteine as linker molecules. Due to the combination of superparamagnetic properties of MNPs with optical properties of the AuNTs, nanoplatelet-satellite hybrid nanostructures with combined features become available. By using MPTMS with silan groups as linker molecule a magnetic "cloud" with embedded AuNTs can be separated. In presence of L-cysteine as linker molecule at pH > pH(iso) a more unordered aggregate structure of MNPs is obtained due to the dimerization of the L-cysteine. At pH < pH(iso) water soluble positively charged AuNTs with satellite MNPs can be synthesized. The time-dependent loading with MNP satellites under release of the extinction and magnetization offer a hybrid material, which is of special relevance for biomedical applications and plasmonic catalysis. KW - nanotriangles KW - Superparamagnetic magnetite KW - Satellite hybrid KW - nanostructures KW - L-Cysteine KW - UV-Vis-NIR KW - HRTEM Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfa.2020.124913 SN - 0927-7757 SN - 1873-4359 VL - 600 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hesse, Julia A1 - Klier, Dennis Tobias A1 - Sgarzi, Massimo A1 - Nsubuga, Anne A1 - Bauer, Christoph A1 - Grenzer, Joerg A1 - Hübner, Rene A1 - Wislicenus, Marcus A1 - Joshi, Tanmaya A1 - Kumke, Michael Uwe A1 - Stephan, Holger T1 - Rapid Synthesis of Sub-10nm Hexagonal NaYF4-Based Upconverting Nanoparticles using Therminol((R))66 JF - ChemistryOpen : including thesis treasury N2 - We report a simple one-pot method for the rapid preparation of sub-10nm pure hexagonal (-phase) NaYF4-based upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs). Using Therminol((R))66 as a co-solvent, monodisperse UCNPs could be obtained in unusually short reaction times. By varying the reaction time and reaction temperature, it was possible to control precisely the particle size and crystalline phase of the UCNPs. The upconversion (UC) luminescence properties of the nanocrystals were tuned by varying the concentrations of the dopants (Nd3+ and Yb3+ sensitizer ions and Er3+ activator ions). The size and phase-purity of the as-synthesized core and core-shell nanocrystals were assessed by using complementary transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, X-ray diffraction, and small-angle X-ray scattering studies. In-depth photophysical evaluation of the UCNPs was pursued by using steady-state and time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. An enhancement in the UC intensity was observed if the nanocrystals, doped with optimized concentrations of lanthanide sensitizer/activator ions, were further coated with an inert/active shell. This was attributed to the suppression of surface-related luminescence quenching effects. KW - core-shell materials KW - lanthanides KW - nanostructures KW - photoluminescence KW - upconversion Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/open.201700186 SN - 2191-1363 VL - 7 IS - 2 SP - 159 EP - 168 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Quan, Ting A1 - Goubard-Bretesche, Nicolas A1 - Haerk, Eneli A1 - Kochovski, Zdravko A1 - Mei, Shilin A1 - Pinna, Nicola A1 - Ballauff, Matthias A1 - Lu, Yan T1 - Highly Dispersible Hexagonal Carbon-MoS2-Carbon Nanoplates with Hollow Sandwich Structures for Supercapacitors JF - Chemistry - a European journal N2 - MoS2, a typical layered transition-metal dichalcogenide, is promising as an electrode material in supercapacitors. However, its low electrical conductivity could lead to limited capacitance if applied in electrochemical devices. Herein, a new nanostructure composed of hollow carbon-MoS2-carbon was successfully synthesized through an L-cysteine-assisted hydrothermal method by using gibbsite as a template and polydopamine as a carbon precursor. After calcination and etching of the gibbsite template, uniform hollow platelets, which were made of a sandwich-like assembly of partial graphitic carbon and two-dimensional layered MoS2 flakes, were obtained. The platelets showed excellent dispersibility and stability in water, and good electrical conductivity due to carbon provided by the calcination of polydopamine coatings. The hollow nanoplate morphology of the material provided a high specific surface area of 543 m(2) g(-1), a total pore volume of 0.677 cm(3) g(-1), and fairly small mesopores (approximate to 5.3 nm). The material was applied in a symmetric supercapacitor and exhibited a specific capacitance of 248 F g(-1) (0.12 F cm(-2)) at a constant current density of 0.1 Ag-1; thus suggesting that hollow carbon-MoS2 carbon nanoplates are promising candidate materials for supercapacitors. KW - carbon KW - chalcogens KW - electrochemistry KW - nanostructures KW - supercapacitors Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201806060 SN - 0947-6539 SN - 1521-3765 VL - 25 IS - 18 SP - 4757 EP - 4766 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Taubert, Andreas A1 - Leroux, Fabrice A1 - Rabu, Pierre A1 - de Zea Bermudez, Veronica T1 - Advanced hybrid nanomaterials JF - Beilstein journal of nanotechnology KW - colloidal chemistry KW - environmental remediation KW - hybrid nanomaterials KW - nanocomposite KW - nanofillers KW - nanomedicine KW - nanostructures KW - polymer fillers KW - pore templating KW - smart materials Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3762/bjnano.10.247 SN - 2190-4286 VL - 10 SP - 2563 EP - 2567 PB - Beilstein-Institut zur Förderung der Chemischen Wissenschaften CY - Frankfurt am Main ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Olejko, Lydia A1 - Cywinski, Piotr J. A1 - Bald, Ilko T1 - Ion-Selective formation of a guanine quadruplex on DNA origami structures JF - Angewandte Chemie : a journal of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker ; International edition N2 - DNA origami nanostructures are a versatile tool that can be used to arrange functionalities with high local control to study molecular processes at a single-molecule level. Here, we demonstrate that DNA origami substrates can be used to suppress the formation of specific guanine (G) quadruplex structures from telomeric DNA. The folding of telomeres into G-quadruplex structures in the presence of monovalent cations (e.g. Na+ and K+) is currently used for the detection of K+ ions, however, with insufficient selectivity towards Na+. By means of FRET between two suitable dyes attached to the 3- and 5-ends of telomeric DNA we demonstrate that the formation of G-quadruplexes on DNA origami templates in the presence of sodium ions is suppressed due to steric hindrance. Hence, telomeric DNA attached to DNA origami structures represents a highly sensitive and selective detection tool for potassium ions even in the presence of high concentrations of sodium ions. KW - DNA nanotechnology KW - FRET KW - G-quadruplexes KW - nanostructures KW - self-assembly Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201409278 SN - 1433-7851 SN - 1521-3773 VL - 54 IS - 2 SP - 673 EP - 677 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Olejko, Lydia A1 - Cywiński, Piotr J. A1 - Bald, Ilko T1 - An ion-controlled four-color fluorescent telomeric switch on DNA origami structures JF - Nanoscale N2 - The folding of single-stranded telomeric DNA into guanine (G) quadruplexes is a conformational change that plays a major role in sensing and drug targeting. The telomeric DNA can be placed on DNA origami nanostructures to make the folding process extremely selective for K+ ions even in the presence of high Na+ concentrations. Here, we demonstrate that the K+-selective G-quadruplex formation is reversible when using a cryptand to remove K+ from the G-quadruplex. We present a full characterization of the reversible switching between single-stranded telomeric DNA and G-quadruplex structures using Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between the dyes fluorescein (FAM) and cyanine3 (Cy3). When attached to the DNA origami platform, the G-quadruplex switch can be incorporated into more complex photonic networks, which is demonstrated for a three-color and a four-color FRET cascade from FAM over Cy3 and Cy5 to IRDye700 with G-quadruplex-Cy3 acting as a switchable transmitter. KW - resonance energy-transfer KW - g-quadruplex KW - quantum dots KW - strand breakage KW - photonic wires KW - 3-color fret KW - nanostructures KW - recognition KW - sensitivity KW - assemblies Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/C6NR00119J SN - 2040-3372 SN - 2040-3364 VL - 8 SP - 10339 EP - 10347 PB - RSC Publ. CY - Cambridge ER -