TY - JOUR A1 - Jungnickel, R. A1 - Mirabella, Francesca A1 - Stockmann, Jörg Manfred A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Balasubramanian, K. T1 - Graphene‑on‑gold surface plasmon resonance sensors resilient to high‑temperature annealing N2 - Gold films coated with a graphene sheet are being widely used as sensors for the detection of label-free binding interactions using surface plasmon resonance (SPR). During the preparation of such sensors, it is often essential to subject the sensor chips to a high-temperature treatment in order to ensure a clean graphene surface. However, sensor chips used currently, which often use chromium as an adhesion promoter, cannot be subjected to temperatures above 250 °C, because under such conditions, chromium is found to reorganize and diffuse to the surface, where it is easily oxidized, impairing the quality of SPR spectra. Here we present an optimized preparation strategy involving a three-cycle tempering coupled with chromium (oxide) etching, which allows the graphene-coated SPR chips to be annealed up to 500 °C with little deterioration of the surface morphology. In addition, the treatment delivers a surface that shows a clear enhancement in spectral response together with a good refractive index sensitivity. We demonstrate the applicability of our sensors by studying the kinetics of avidin–biotin binding at different pH repeatedly on the same chip. The possibility to anneal can be exploited to recover the original surface after sensing trials, which allowed us to reuse the sensor for at least six cycles of biomolecule adsorption. KW - Surface plasmon resonance KW - Graphene KW - Sensing KW - Surface regeneration PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-564585 DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-022-04450-4 SN - 1618-2642 SP - 1 EP - 7 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-56458 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nickl, Philip A1 - Hilal, T. A1 - Olal, D. A1 - Donskyi, Ievgen A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Ludwig, K. A1 - Haag, R. T1 - A New Support Film for Cryo Electron Microscopy Protein Structure Analysis Based on Covalently Functionalized Graphene N2 - Protein adsorption at the air–water interface is a serious problem in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryoEM) as it restricts particle orientations in the vitrified ice-film and promotes protein denaturation. To address this issue, the preparation of a graphene-based modified support film for coverage of conventional holey carbon transmission electron microscopy (TEM) grids is presented. The chemical modification of graphene sheets enables the universal covalent anchoring of unmodified proteins via inherent surface-exposed lysine or cysteine residues in a one-step reaction. Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) trough approach is applied for deposition of functionalized graphene sheets onto commercially available holey carbon TEM grids. The application of the modified TEM grids in single particle analysis (SPA) shows high protein binding to the surface of the graphene-based support film. Suitability for high resolution structure determination is confirmed by SPA of apoferritin. Prevention of protein denaturation at the air–water interface and improvement of particle orientations is shown using human 20S proteasome, demonstrating the potential of the support film for structural biology. KW - Functionalized graphene KW - Transmission electron microsocpy KW - Protein structure PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-566443 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202205932 SN - 1613-6810 SP - 2205932 PB - Wiley VCH AN - OPUS4-56644 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Castells-Gil, Javier A1 - Zhu, Jinjie A1 - Itskou, Ioanna A1 - Wolpert, Emma H. A1 - Hunter, Robert D. A1 - Tidey, Jeremiah P. A1 - Pedersen, Angus A1 - Solvay, Elisa A1 - Tyrrell, Helen A1 - Petit, Camille A1 - Barrio, Jesús T1 - Impact of N-heterocyclic amine modulators on the structure and thermal conversion of a zeolitic imidazole framework N2 - The zeolitic imidazole framework-8 (ZIF-8) is a crystalline porous material that has been widely employed as template to fabricate porous nitrogen-doped carbons with high microporosity via thermal treatment at high temperatures. The properties of the carbon scaffold are influenced by the pore structure and chemical composition of the parent ZIF. However, the narrow pore size distribution and microporous nature from ZIF-8 often results in low mesopore volume, which is crucial for applications such as energy storage and conversion. Here we show that insertion of N-heterocyclic amines can disrupt the structure of ZIF-8 and dramatically impact the chemical composition and pore structure of the nitrogen-doped carbon frameworks obtained after high-temperature pyrolysis. Melamine and 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine were chosen to modify the ZIF-8 structure owing to their capability to both coordinate metal ions and establish supramolecular interactions. Employing a wide variety of physical characterization techniques we observed that melamine results in the formation of a mixed-phase material comprising ZIF-8, Zn(Ac)6(Mel)2 and crystallized melamine, while 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine induces the formation of defects, altering the pore structure. Furthermore, the absence of heterocyclic amine in the ZIF-8 synthesis leads to a new crystalline phase, unreported to date. The thermal conversion of the modified ZIFs at 1000 °C leads to nitrogen-doped carbons bearing Zn moieties with increased surface area, mesopore volume and varying degree of defects compared to ZIF-8 derived carbon. This work therefore highlights both the versatility of heterocyclic amines to modify the structure of framework materials as well as their role in tuning pore structure in nitrogen-doped carbons, paving the way to targeted design of high-performance electrodes for energy storage and conversion. KW - Zeolitic imidazole framework KW - Heterocyclic amine KW - Triaminopyrimidine PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-639177 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D5TA04831A SN - 2050-7488 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-63917 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Braga, Daniel S. A1 - Pedersen, Angus A1 - Riyaz, Mohd A1 - Barrio, Jesús A1 - Bagger, Alexander A1 - Neckel, Itamar T. A1 - Mariano, Thiago M. A1 - Winkler, Manuel E. G. A1 - Stephens, Ifan E. L. A1 - Titirici, Maria‐Magdalena A1 - Nagao, Raphael T1 - In situ structural evolution and activity descriptor of atomically dispersed catalysts during nitrate electroreduction N2 - Single‐Atom Catalysts (SAC) have emerged as a promising class of materials for various catalytic applications, including the electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (eNO3RR) and consequently ammonia production. While the efficiency and selectivity of these materials have been extensively highlighted for the eNO3RR, the in situ evolution to their structure and composition during electrocatalysis is largely unexplored and lacks catalyst design principles. To solve this, we investigated a series of high utilization metal‐nitrogen‐carbon (MNC) SACs (M = Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) for eNO3RR. Except for CuNC, which selectively produced nitrite, all catalysts exhibited Faradaic efficiencies (FE) for ammonia exceeding 50%. NiNC demonstrated the highest performance (FE of 78.0 ± 2.9% at −0.4 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) at pH 13 and maximum ammonia production rate of 615.7 ± 176.5 µmol·h−1·, corresponding to an energy efficiency of 15.1 ± 1.4% at −0.6 VRHE), followed by CoNC. In situ Synchrotron X‐ray fluorescence (SXRF) mapping at various cathodic potentials (from open circuit potential to 0.0 VRHE and then −0.6 VRHE at 100 mV steps) revealed significant mobility of Ni within the carbon matrix, leading to the formation of metallic clusters from 0.0 VRHE. Similar in situ metal clustering is observed for CoNC. Structure‐activity plots are generated from both MNC literature and results obtained here, finding a clear trend between OH binding energy and turnover frequency, with the high activity of NiNC and CoNC in this work explained by their stronger OH binding in the metallic structure compared to their SAC coordination. This work therefore, reveals the structure‐activity‐stability of MNCs for eNO3RR and provides a simple descriptor for identifying highly active eNO3RR catalysts and their in situ structural evolution. KW - Single atom KW - Nitrate reduction KW - Structure-activity-selectivity KW - In situ PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-640353 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202510282 SN - 2198-3844 VL - 12 IS - 39 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-64035 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rua-Ibarz, Ana A1 - Nakadi, Flávio V. A1 - Bolea-Fernandez, Eduardo A1 - Bazo, Antonio A1 - Battistella, Beatrice A1 - Matiushkina, Anna A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique A1 - Resano, Martín T1 - Discrete entity analysis via microwave-induced nitrogen plasma–mass spectrometry in single-event mode N2 - In this work, single-event microwave-induced nitrogen plasma–mass spectrometry (single-event MINP-MS) was evaluated for the first time for the analysis of discrete entities such as nanoparticles, biological cells, and microplastics. Nitrogen (N2) effectively overcomes Ar-based polyatomic interferences, enabling (ultra)trace element determination of Fe and Se using their most abundant isotopes, 56Fe (91.66%) and 80Se (49.82%). Iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3 NPs) ranging from 20 to 70 nm were accurately characterized, with excellent agreement with established sizing techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). A limit of detection (LoD) of 8.6 ag for Fe─equivalent to an LoDsize of 19 nm for Fe2O3─was achieved, which is significantly lower than recent values reported for high-end quadrupole-based ICP-MS. Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) of 150 and 250 nm were also accurately characterized, without the N2-based plasma experiencing issues handling relatively large metallic NPs (linearity, R2 = 0.9994). Se-enriched yeast cells (SELM-1 certified reference material) were successfully analyzed via single-cell MINP-MS using external calibration based on SeNPs and a transport efficiency-independent approach. In addition, 2–3 μm polystyrene (PS) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were accurately sized by monitoring 12C+, confirming the method’s suitability for handling micrometer-sized polymeric materials (microplastics). The average duration of individual events (680 ± 160 μs) suggests that the digestion of individual entities in N2-based plasmas is comparable to that in Ar-based plasmas. These results open new avenues for this instrumentation as an alternative to ICP ionization sources, also in the context of discrete entity analysis. KW - Microwave-Induced Nitrogen Plasma KW - Discrete entity analysis KW - Particle/droplet event counting KW - Comparison to SP-ICP-MS methodologies KW - Nitrogen plasma vs. argon ICP trade-offs KW - Trace elemental quantification at the single-entity level KW - Time-resolved mass spectrometry for discrete entities PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-643825 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.5c04341 SN - 0003-2700 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-64382 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Morcillo, Dalia A1 - Winckelmann, Alexander A1 - Oelze, Marcus A1 - Leonhardt, Robert A1 - Schmidt, Anita A1 - Richter, Silke A1 - Recknagel, Sebastian A1 - Vogl, Jochen A1 - Panne, Ulrich A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique T1 - Exploring Age-Induced Lithium Isotope Fractionation in Lithium-Ion Batteries using Microwave-Induced Cold Nitrogen Plasma Mass Spectrometry N2 - This study explores Microwave-Inductively Coupled Atmospheric-pressure Plasma Mass Spectrometry (MICAP-MS) as a cost-effective alternative to Multi-Collector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) for analyzing lithium isotopic composition in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). We investigate the performance of MICAP-MS in measuring Li isotope ratios in new and aged commercial lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) batteries. Our results show that MICAP-MS, operating under cold plasma conditions at 800 W with an 8 mm torch position, achieves results metrologically compatible with MC-ICP-MS, with a precision ranging from 0.6‰ to 3.4‰ for δ7Li values. MICAP-MS benefits from a dielectric resonator for uniform plasma, better ion velocity control, and higher energy efficiency. Optimal settings were identified with dwell times of 10 ms for 6Li and 1 ms for 7Li. The study of LIBs revealed that 6Li migrates towards the anode over multiple charge–discharge cycles, causing 7Li to accumulate in the cathode, a fractionation effect that becomes more pronounced with prolonged cycling. MICAP-MS provides a cost-effective, precise alternative to MC-ICP-MS, with lower operational costs and enhanced portability, advancing the study of isotopic fractionation and aging in lithium-ion batteries. KW - MICAP-MS KW - Lithium KW - Battery aging KW - Lithium isotopes KW - Nitrogen plasma KW - Isotope fractionation KW - lithium cobalt oxide KW - LCO PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-643777 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/d4ja00324a SN - 0267-9477 SP - 1 EP - 11 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-64377 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Abad Andrade, Carlos Enrique A1 - Jegielka, Dennis A1 - Aloysius, Allen A1 - Recknagel, Sebastian T1 - SI-traceable total analysis of nitrate and nitrite by isotope dilution optical spectroscopy and its application to Berlin surface waters N2 - Accurate nitrate and nitrite data support water-quality regulation, yet routine methods rely on external calibration and rarely achieve SI traceability. We report a calibration-free determination of nitrate and nitrite by combining isotope dilution with high-resolution continuum-source graphite furnace molecular absorption spectrometry (ID-HR-CS-GF-MAS). A 15N-enriched nitrate spike (its concentration verified by reverse isotope dilution against the standard reference material NIST 3185) provides the SI link, and it is gravimetrically added to samples; nitrate and residual nitrite are converted in situ to nitric oxide (NO), whose 215 nm band is recorded at a pixel resolution of λ/Δλ ≈ 140 000. The 0.2127 nm shift between 14NO and 15NO electronic spectra is resolved, and a three-latent-variable partial least squares regression model yields the 15N/14N ratio with 0.3% precision. Instrumental LoD values of 4.8 ng (14N) and 3.2 ng (15N) translate to a method LoD of 4.8 ng of nitrogen (equivalent to 1.05 mg L−1 NO3− for a 20 μL aliquot). The furnace program allows for successive drying/pyrolysis loops, so additional 20 μL aliquots can be layered onto the graphite platform. Alternatively, a 10 mL anion-exchange solid-phase extraction step concentrates nitrate and nitrite fivefold, allowing for the analysis of even lower sample concentrations. Results for four certified reference materials (2.9 to 1000 mg L−1 NO3−) agreed with certified values, giving relative expanded uncertainties of 2 to 4%. Analysis of twenty Berlin surface-water samples revealed concentrations ranging from 0.10 to 7.3 mg L−1 NO3−, indicating that the Panke River and Teltow Canal are the primary sources of nitrogen. ID-HR-CS-GF-MAS thus delivers ID-MS-level accuracy in a few minutes per run with bench-top optics, and, with optional on-platform or SPE pre-concentration, extends SI-traceable nitrate/nitrite monitoring into the low-ng regime. KW - Isotope dilution KW - Nitrate and nitrite determination KW - SI-traceable quantification KW - Calibration-free analysis KW - Water quality KW - Berlin surface waters KW - NO molecular absorption bands PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-643785 DO - https://doi.org/10.1039/D5JA00252D SN - 0267-9477 VL - 40 IS - 10 SP - 2692 EP - 2701 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) AN - OPUS4-64378 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Marschall, Niklas A1 - Murugan, Jegatheesan A1 - Darvishi Kamachali, Reza T1 - Incorporating elasticity into the thermodynamics and phase diagrams of multi-component systems N2 - Elastic energy plays a critical role in determining phase stability in compositionally complex alloys. However, quantifying elastic contributions in multi-component systems and incorporating them into phase diagram construction remain challenging. In this study, we present a generalized elastic energy formalism tailored for multi-component alloys, which can be directly and efficiently integrated with CALPHAD thermodynamic databases and existing frameworks such as Thermo-Calc (Andersson et al., 2002), Pandat (Cao et al., 2009) or FactSage (Bale et al., 2016). This elasticity formalism can also be introduced as a post-processing layer in open-source software such as pyCALPHAD (Otis and Liu, 2017) and Kawin (Ury et al., 2023) , enabling elastic assessments in multi-component systems. We apply our framework for constructing the phase diagram of quinary Fe–Mn–Ni–Co–Cu alloy system, utilizing convex hull and Hessian matrix under elastic considerations. Our results reveal that incorporating elastic energy leads to an expansion of both the spinodal region and the miscibility gap. These are governed by the intricate interplay of chemical and elastic driving forces: We found that Mn and Ni contribute strongly to chemical stabilization, while Cu and Co tend to destabilize the alloy, especially at low Mn concentrations. The stabilizing effect of Fe is also pronounced in Mn-deficient regions. Acting as a destabilizing factor, the elastic energy is primarily driven by the presence of Mn, underscoring its multifaceted role in thermodynamic stability. In Mn-rich compositions, Cu markedly reduces the elastic energy contribution. Combined with CALPHAD infrastructures, the current framework offers a practical pathway to improve the predictive accuracy of phase stability and transformations in complex multi-component alloys. KW - Elastic energy KW - HEA KW - CALPHAD KW - Elastic spinodal KW - Elastic miscibility gap KW - Elastic phase diagram PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-643339 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtla.2025.102546 SN - 2589-1529 VL - 44 SP - 1 EP - 18 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam, Niederlande AN - OPUS4-64333 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tidblad, Johan A1 - Moya Núñez, Alice A1 - de la Fuente, Daniel A1 - Ebell, Gino A1 - Flatlandsmo Berglen, Tore A1 - Grøntoft, Terje A1 - Hans, Ulrik A1 - Christodoulakis, Ioannis A1 - Kajánek, Daniel A1 - Kreislová, Kateřina A1 - Kwiatkowski, Lech A1 - La Torreta, Teresa A1 - Lutze, Rafał A1 - Pinar Larrubia, Guadalupe A1 - Pintus, Valentina A1 - Prange, Michael A1 - Spezzano, Pasquale A1 - Varotsos, Costas A1 - Verney-Carron, Aurélie A1 - Vuorio, Tiina A1 - Yates, Tim T1 - Corrosion and Soiling in the 21st Century: Insights from ICP Materials and Impact on Cultural Heritage N2 - This paper reviews results published by the International Co-operative Programme on Effects on Materials including Historic and Cultural Monuments (ICP Materials) with emphasis on those obtained after the turn of the century. Data from ICP Materials come from two main sources. The first is through exposures of materials and collection of environmental data in a network of atmospheric exposure test sites mainly distributed across Europe. Corrosion of carbon steel has continued to decrease during the period 2000–2020 but corrosion of zinc only up until 2014, and the trend in zinc corrosion is only visible when examining four-year data. Surface recession of limestone as well as soiling of modern glass show no decreasing trend during 2000–2020. The second is through case studies performed at heritage sites across Europe. Risk analysis of corrosion and soiling for twenty-six sites indicate that currently soiling is a more significant maintenance trigger than corrosion. Costs for maintaining heritage sites are substantial and costs attributable to air pollution is estimated from 40% to as much as 80% of the total cost. Future directions of the program are work on effects of particulate matter, improving the scientific basis for the work, and making the monitoring data publicly available. KW - Corrosion KW - Atmospheric corrosion KW - Soiling PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-644651 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/cmd6040054 SN - 2624-5558 VL - 6 IS - 4 SP - 1 EP - 25 PB - MDPI AG AN - OPUS4-64465 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Arai, Marylyn Setsuko A1 - Machado, Thales Rafael A1 - da Silva, Beatriz Giacomelli Rodrigues A1 - Vilela, Raquel Riciati do Couto A1 - de Camargo, Andrea Simone Stucchi A1 - Zucolotto, Valtencir T1 - Biomimetic Upconverting Nanoplatforms for Glioblastoma Bioimaging and Targeted Therapy N2 - Infectious bacterial diseases, intensified by antibiotic resistance, cause millions of deaths annually and pose risks beyond human health, including water and food contamination. Current diagnostics are often slow, require complex equipment, and lack specificity, highlighting the need for rapid and reliable detection methods. To address this, we developed a luminescent sensor based on NaYF4 upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) doped with Er3+ or Tm3+, coated with COOH-PEG4-COOH, and functionalized with vancomycin (Van) or polymyxin-B (Poly) to selectively target Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, respectively. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) served as quenchers, enabling a ratiometric “turn-on” mechanism: upon bacterial binding, the UCNP emission, initially quenched by AuNPs, was partially restored. This allowed differentiation through changes in the green/red (G/R) ratio for Er-UCNP@PEG4-Van and the blue/red (B/R) ratio for Tm-UCNP@PEG4-Poly. The sensor distinguished between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria over a wide concentration range (0.05 to 5 × 105 CFU/mL) and showed high correlation with actual bacterial counts (r = 0.99 for S. aureus, r = 0.91 for E. coli). This platform is a potential fast, selective, and reliable tool for bacterial detection in clinical and environmental settings. KW - Glioblastoma KW - Homotypic targeting KW - Cell membrane coating KW - Upconverting nanoparticles KW - Temozolamide KW - Near infrared bioimaging KW - Drug delivery PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-652808 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.5c04567 SN - 2574-0970 VL - 10 IS - 39 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) AN - OPUS4-65280 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -