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 JF - Chemical Science 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 - Sarhan, R. M. A1 - Koopman, W. A1 - Schuetz, R. A1 - Schmid, Thomas A1 - Liebig, F. A1 - Koetz, J. A1 - Bargheer, M. T1 - The importance of plasmonic heating for the plasmondriven photodimerization of 4-nitrothiophenol JF - Scientific Reports N2 - Metal nanoparticles form potent nanoreactors, driven by the optical generation of energetic electrons and nanoscale heat. The relative influence of these two factors on nanoscale chemistry is strongly debated. This article discusses the temperature dependence of the dimerization of 4-nitrothiophenol (4-NTP) into 4,4′-dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) adsorbed on gold nanoflowers by Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS). Raman thermometry shows a significant optical heating of the particles. The ratio of the Stokes and the anti-Stokes Raman signal moreover demonstrates that the molecular temperature during the reaction rises beyond the average crystal lattice temperature of the plasmonic particles. The product bands have an even higher temperature than reactant bands, which suggests that the reaction proceeds preferentially at thermal hot spots. In addition, kinetic measurements of the reaction during external heating of the reaction environment yield a considerable rise of the reaction rate with temperature. Despite this significant heating effects, a comparison of SERS spectra recorded after heating the sample by an external heater to spectra recorded after prolonged illumination shows that the reaction is strictly photo-driven. While in both cases the temperature increase is comparable, the dimerization occurs only in the presence of light. Intensity dependent measurements at fixed temperatures confirm this finding. KW - Nanoparticles KW - Plasmonic heating KW - Raman spectroscopy PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-475140 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-38627-2 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 9 IS - 1 SP - 3060, 1 EP - 8 PB - Nature Publishing Group AN - OPUS4-47514 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique A1 - Florek, S. A1 - Becker-Ross, H. A1 - Huang, M.-D. A1 - de Oliveira Guilherme Buzanich, Ana A1 - Radtke, Martin A1 - Lippitz, Andreas A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Schmid, Thomas A1 - Heinrich, Hans-Joachim A1 - Recknagel, Sebastian A1 - Jakubowski, Norbert A1 - Panne, Ulrich T1 - Zirconium permanent modifiers for graphite furnaces used in absorption spectrometry: understanding their structure and mechanism of action JF - Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry N2 - The mechanism of action of zirconium permanent modifiers on graphite surfaces was investigated in order to understand its influence on the analytical signal in atomic and molecular absorption spectrometry (AAS/MAS). For this, the molecule formation of CaF was studied, which is used for the indirect analytical determination of fluorine in high-resolution continuum source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry (HR-CS-GFMAS). The kinetics of this reaction was established by monitoring its molecular spectrum at different atomisation temperatures. An Arrhenius plot showed a pseudo-first order reaction with respect to fluorine (n = 1). An intermediate state was isolated, and its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic methods: scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEMEDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XANES and EXAFS), and Raman microspectroscopy. We propose here a mechanism, where ZrO2 acts as a heterogeneous catalyst: after a pyrolytic step, an intermediate state of ZrO(OCaF) is activated, and at higher temperatures, CaF(g) is released from the zirconium-coated graphite surface. No evidence of the formation of zirconium carbide was found. Consequently, as the CaF formation is catalysed by a heterogeneous catalyst, surface modifications with ZrO2 nanoparticles and ZrO xerogels were investigated in order to increase the surface area. Their influence was evaluated in the molecule formation of CaF, CaCl, CaBr, and CaI. Graphite furnace modification with zirconium oxide nanoparticles proves to be the best choice for fluorine analysis with a signal enhancement of more than eleven times with respect a non-coated graphite furnace. However, the influence of zirconium modifications in the analytical signals of Cl, and I is lower than the F signals or even negative in case of the Br. Understanding zirconium modifiers as heterogeneous catalysts offers a new perspective to AAS and MAS, and reveals the potential of surface analytical methods for development of improved permanent modifiers and graphite furnace coatings. KW - Zirconium KW - HR-CS-MAS KW - Graphite furnace KW - Nanoparticles KW - Xerogel KW - Calcium monofluoride KW - Absorption spectrometry PY - 2018 UR - https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2018/ja/c8ja00190a DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/C8JA00190A SN - 0267-9477 VL - 33 IS - 12 SP - 2034 EP - 2042 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry AN - OPUS4-46775 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -