TY - JOUR A1 - Hajian, A. A1 - Konegger, T. A1 - Bielecki, K. A1 - Mieller, Björn A1 - Rabe, Torsten A1 - Schwarz, S. A1 - Zellner, C. A1 - Schmid, U. T1 - Wet chemical porosification with phosphate buffer solutions for permittivity reduction of LTCC substrates N2 - The wireless high-frequency technology requires a robust, cost-effective, and highly integrated substrate technology offering the capability for areas of tailored permittivity. The wet-chemical porosification of low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) substrates offers such an approach by locally embedding air. Porosification of LTCC in both extremely acidic and alkaline media has been investigated in previous works. However, for improving the available knowledge on the porosification of LTCC with H3PO4 as a standard and a widely used etching solution, the impact of solution concentration was systematically investigated and a substantial improvement in the etching performance was achieved. Moreover, in the present study, for the first time, the intermediate pH values, and the impact of pH as a key parameter on the etching process have been investigated. For this purpose, the applicability of phosphate buffer solution (PBS) as a prospective novel etchant mixture for the porosification of a commercially available LTCC tape (Ceramtape GC) was explored. Valuable information about surface morphology, crystalline composition, and the pore structure of the etched LTCCs was gathered employing scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, and mercury porosimetry measurements. Based on these findings, the performance of PBS-based etchant systems towards the generation of porous LTCCs combining high depths of porosification with acceptable surface characteristics for subsequent metallization is demonstrated. Based on the obtained results, by application of a 0.2 mol L−1 solution of PBS, the effective relative permittivity of test samples with a thickness of approximately 600 µm and a porosification depth of 186 µm from each side, could be reduced up to 10% of its initial “as fired” value. Also, based on the measurement results and by measuring the depth of porosification, the permittivity of the etched layer was estimated to show a reduction of up to 22% compared to the initial “as fired” value. KW - LTCC KW - Porosification KW - Wet chemical etching KW - Permittivity reduction PY - 2020 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2020.158059 SN - 0925-8388 VL - 863 SP - 158059 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-51800 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Yadav, Anur A1 - Iost, R. M. A1 - Neubert, T. J. A1 - Baylan, S. A1 - Schmid, Thomas A1 - Balasubramanian, Kannan T1 - Selective electrochemical functionalization of the graphene edge N2 - We present a versatile and simple method using electrochemistry for the exclusive functionalization of the edge of a graphene monolayer with metal nanoparticles or polymeric amino groups. The attachment of metal nanoparticles allows us to exploit surface-enhanced Raman scattering to characterize the chemistry of both the pristine and the functionalized graphene edge. For the pristine patterned graphene edge, we observe the typical edge-related modes, while for the functionalized graphene edge we identify the chemical structure of the functional layer by vibrational fingerprinting. The ability to obtain single selectively functionalized graphene edges routinely on an insulating substrate opens an avenue for exploring the effect of edge chemistry on graphene properties systematically. KW - Graphene KW - Nanoparticles KW - Nanosciences KW - Surface-enhanced Raman scattering KW - Atomic force microscopy PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-474357 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/C8SC04083D SN - 2041-6520 VL - 10 IS - 3 SP - 936 EP - 942 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-47435 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bevilacqua, N. A1 - Asset, T. A1 - Schmid, M. A. A1 - Markötter, Henning A1 - Manke, I. A1 - Atanassov, P. A1 - Zeis, R. T1 - Impact of catalyst layer morphology on the operation of high temperature PEM fuel cells N2 - Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a well-established method to analyze a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). However, without further data processing, the impedance spectrum yields only qualitative insight into the mechanism and individual contribution of transport, kinetics, and ohmic losses to the overall fuel cell limitations. The distribution of relaxation times (DRT) method allows quantifying each of these polarization losses and evaluates their contribution to a given electrocatalyst's depreciated performances. We coupled this method with a detailed morphology study to investigate the impact of the 3D-structure on the processes occurring inside a high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC). We tested a platinum catalyst (Pt/C), a platinum-cobalt alloy catalyst (Pt3Co/C), and a platinum group metal-free iron-nitrogen-carbon (Fe–N–C) catalyst. We found that the hampered mass transport in the latter is mainly responsible for its low performance in the MEA (along with its decreased intrinsic performances for the ORR reaction). The better performance of the alloy catalyst can be explained by both improved mass transport and a lower ORR resistance. Furthermore, single-cell tests show that the catalyst layer morphology influences the distribution of phosphoric acid during conditioning. KW - High-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell KW - Platinum-free catalyst KW - Mass transport KW - Oxygen reduction reaction KW - Distribution of relaxation times analysis PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-520917 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.powera.2020.100042 VL - 7 SP - 100042 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-52091 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Berger, J. A1 - Zahedi-Azad, S. A1 - Voss, H. A1 - Ernst, O.C. A1 - Hammerschmidt, R. A1 - Boeck, T. A1 - Martin, J. A1 - Bonse, J. A1 - Krüger, J. A1 - Schmid, M. T1 - CuInSe2-based micro-concentrator solar cells fabricated from In islands grown by laser-assisted MO-CVD N2 - Micro-concentrator solar cells offer a promising route for reducing material usage in photovoltaics. For Cu(In,Ga)Se2, multiple micro-concentrator manufacturing methods have already been evaluated. All of them involve either high preparation complexity or post-processing to recycle unused precursor or absorber materials. In this work, a new method using laser-assisted metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (LA-MOCVD) was applied to directly grow arrays of indium micro-islands. These arrays are examined and further processed to CuInSe2 micro-solar cell arrays. The geometry and morphology of the islands were investigated and compared before and after absorber formation. The investigation shows that the absorber growth is limited to the vertical direction normal to the substrate surface and that the starting morphology is preserved. Furthermore, the absorber island arrays are processed into micro-modules and operational solar cells are achieved as a proof of principle. These not yet optimized arrays reach a conversion efficiency of 0.65% under 1 sun illumination. Under 17 suns of light concentration, the efficiency gain is between 60 and 250%. This work demonstrates the method's viability for the fabrication of micro-solar cell arrays, with clear potential for achieving higher conversion efficiencies through future optimization. KW - Micro-concentrator solar cells KW - Laser-assisted chemical vapor deposition KW - CISe KW - Bottom-up fabrication KW - Resource efficiency PY - 2026 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-656711 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2026.114284 SN - 0927-0248 VL - 301 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-65671 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Dietrich, M. A1 - Glassner, M. A1 - Gruendling, T. A1 - Schmid, Christina A1 - Falkenhagen, Jana A1 - Barner-Kowollik, C. T1 - Facile conversion of RAFT polymers into hydroxyl functional polymers: a detailed investigation of variable monomer and RAFT agent combinations N2 - We report the systematic investigation of a recently introduced one-pot radical transformation of methacrylate and acrylate-type polymers prepared via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization into hydroxyl functional polymers. The simple reaction procedure involves stirring a solution of the RAFT functional polymer and an azo-initiator in tetrahydrofuran at elevated temperatures (T = 60 °C) in the presence of ambient air. Subsequent reduction of the formed hydroperoxide functional polymers to hydroxyl functional polymers is achieved in a one-pot procedure using triphenylphosphine. Polymers investigated in the current study are poly(methyl acrylate) (pMA), poly(butyl acrylate) (pBA), poly(isobornyl acrylate) (piBoA) and poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (ptBA) carrying a dithiobenzoate or phenyldithioacetate end terminius as well as a symmetrical trithiocarbonate mid chain function. Quantitative conversion into the hydroperoxyl and hydroxyl terminated product is observed when trithiocarbonate functional polymers are employed. In the case of dithiobenzoate and phenyldithioacetate functional acrylic polymers, some minor side products due to the oxidation of the RAFT end-group are generated. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and size exclusion chromatography–electrospray mass spectrometry (SEC-ESI-MS) were employed to monitor the progress of the reaction and to investigate the proposed reaction mechanism for the model polymers. When trithiocarbonate functional polymers are employed in the transformation reaction, the SEC analysis shows a bisection of the initial Mn. Collision induced dissociation (CID) MS experiments of the intermediate reaction products were conducted to gain in-depth information about the chemical structure. The new backbone linked hydroxyl group provides a versatile anchor for chemical end-group conversions and conjugation reactions with RAFT prepared polymers, alleviating problems with the rather limited ability of the dithioester end-group to undergo non-radical transformations. KW - Polymers KW - RAFT KW - SEC/ESI-mass spectrometry KW - CID-MS PY - 2010 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/b9py00273a SN - 1759-9954 SN - 1759-9962 VL - 1 IS - 5 SP - 634 EP - 644 AN - OPUS4-21907 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Peters, R. A1 - Elbers, I. A1 - Undas, A. A1 - Sijtsma, E. A1 - Briffa, S. A1 - Carnell-Morris, P. A1 - Siupa, A. A1 - Yoon, T.-H. A1 - Burr, L. A1 - Schmid, D. A1 - Tentschert, J. A1 - Hachenberger, Y. A1 - Jungnickel, H. A1 - Luch, A. A1 - Meier, F. A1 - Kocic, J. A1 - Kim, J. A1 - Park, B. C. A1 - Hardy, B. A1 - Johnston, C. A1 - Jurkschat, K. A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Lynch, I. A1 - Valsami-Jones, E. T1 - Benchmarking the ACEnano toolbox for characterisation of nanoparticle size and concentration by interlaboratory comparisons N2 - ACEnano is an EU-funded project which aims at developing, optimising and validating methods for the detection and characterisation of nanomaterials (NMs) in increasingly complex matrices to improve confidence in the results and support their use in regulation. Within this project, several interlaboratory comparisons (ILCs) for the determination of particle size and concentration have been organised to benchmark existing analytical methods. In this paper the results of a number of these ILCs for the characterisation of NMs are presented and discussed. The results of the analyses of pristine well-defined particles such as 60 nm Au NMs in a simple aqueous suspension showed that laboratories are well capable of determining the sizes of these particles. The analysis of particles in complex matrices or formulations such as consumer products resulted in larger variations in particle sizes within technologies and clear differences in capability between techniques. Sunscreen lotion sample analysis by laboratories using spICP-MS and TEM/SEM identified and confirmed the TiO2 particles as being nanoscale and compliant with the EU definition of an NM for regulatory purposes. In a toothpaste sample orthogonal results by PTA, spICP-MS and TEM/SEM agreed and stated the TiO2 particles as not fitting the EU definition of an NM. In general, from the results of these ILCs we conclude that laboratories are well capable of determining particle sizes of NM, even in fairly complex formulations. KW - Nanomaterials KW - Benchmarking KW - Inter-laboratory comparison KW - ACEnano KW - Characterisation KW - Size KW - Concentration PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-531852 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26175315 SN - 1420-3049 VL - 26 IS - 17 SP - 1 EP - 23 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-53185 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - GEN A1 - Peters, R. A1 - Elbers, I. A1 - Undas, A. A1 - Sijtsma, E. A1 - Briffa, S. A1 - Carnell-Morris, P. A1 - Siupa, A. A1 - Yoon, T.-H. A1 - Burr, L. A1 - Schmid, D. A1 - Tentschert, J. A1 - Hachenberger, Y. A1 - Jungnickel, H. A1 - Luch, A. A1 - Meier, F. A1 - Kocic, J. A1 - Kim, J. A1 - Park, B. C. A1 - Hardy, B. A1 - Johnston, C. A1 - Jurkschat, K. A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Lynch, I. A1 - Valsami-Jones, E. T1 - Correction: Peters et al. Benchmarking the ACEnano Toolbox for Characterisation of Nanoparticle Size and Concentration by Interlaboratory Comparisons. Molecules 2021, 26, 5315 N2 - This is a corrigendum to the original article "Benchmarking the ACEnano toolbox for characterisation of nanoparticle size and concentration by interlaboratory comparisons" that was published in the journal "Molecules", vol. 26 (2021), no. 17, article 5315. PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-554381 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27154849 VL - 27 IS - 4849 SP - 1 EP - 3 PB - MDPI CY - Basel AN - OPUS4-55438 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Jungnickel, H. A1 - Tentschert, J. A1 - Luch, A. A1 - Sogne, V. A1 - Maier, F. A1 - Burr, L. A1 - Schmid, D. A1 - Yoon, T.-H. A1 - Petters, R. A1 - Briffa, S.M. A1 - Valsami-Jones, E. T1 - Automation and Standardization—A Coupled Approach Towards Reproducible Sample Preparation Protocols for Nanomaterial Analysis N2 - Whereas the characterization of nanomaterials using different analytical techniques is often highly automated and standardized, the sample preparation that precedes it causes a bottleneck in nanomaterial analysis as it is performed manually. Usually, this pretreatment depends on the skills and experience of the analysts. Furthermore, adequate reporting of the sample preparation is often missing. In this overview, some solutions for techniques widely used in nano-analytics to overcome this problem are discussed. Two examples of sample preparation optimization by au-tomation are presented, which demonstrate that this approach is leading to increased analytical confidence. Our first example is motivated by the need to exclude human bias and focuses on the development of automation in sample introduction. To this end, a robotic system has been de-veloped, which can prepare stable and homogeneous nanomaterial suspensions amenable to a variety of well-established analytical methods, such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), field-flow fractionation (FFF) or single-particle inductively coupled mass spectrometry (sp-ICP-MS). Our second example addresses biological samples, such as cells exposed to nanomaterials, which are still challenging for reliable analysis. An air–liquid interface has been developed for the exposure of biological samples to nanomaterial-containing aerosols. The system exposes transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids under reproducible conditions, whilst also allowing characterization of aerosol composition with mass spectrometry. Such an approach enables correlative measurements combining biological with physicochemical analysis. These case studies demonstrate that standardization and automation of sample preparation setups, combined with appropriate measurement processes and data reduction are crucial steps towards more reliable and reproducible data. KW - Sample preparation KW - Automation KW - Nanomaterial analysis KW - Standardization PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-543988 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27030985 VL - 27 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 22 PB - MDPI AN - OPUS4-54398 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -