TY - JOUR A1 - Kovacevic, E. A1 - Strunskus, T. A1 - Santhosh, N. M. A1 - Zavasnik, Z. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Sauvage, T. A1 - Ammar, M.-R. A1 - Cvelbar, U. A1 - Berndt, J. T1 - Thermal stability studies of plasma deposited hydrogenated carbon nitride nanostructures N2 - Thermally stable carbon nitride nanostructures have potential applications in surface coatings and automotive fields. In this work, hydrogenated nitrogen-rich carbon nitride nanoparticles have been synthesised via low-pressure low-power plasma vapour deposition technique from methane/Nitrogen gas mixture in a dry process. Thermal stability of the initially prepared hydrogenated carbon Nitride structures has been analysed by near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS, insitu), Raman spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy and nuclear reaction Analysis (NRA). Thermal studies reveal the excellent stability of the material and nitrogen-rich characteristics (N/C ratio 0.5e0.2 ± 0.01). The obtained results suggest transformation of sp3-rich as-deposited carbon Nitride into sp2-carbon phase with more graphitic features upon thermal annealing. Such in-situ thermal studies of plasma deposited carbon nitrides confirm the conversion of sp3-rich phase to sp2-rich carbon phase at the critical temperature (about 450 K), without a huge loss in nitrogen content. The analysis revealed that the material is a stable plasma deposit after this critical temperature up to >1100 K. Additionally, super hydrophilic carbon nitride nanostructure transforms into a hydrophobic surface after thermal annealing. These thermally stable hydrophobic carbon nitride nanoparticles could be used as a promising material for the hydrophobic coatings for various applications, especially for harsh conditions. KW - Carbon nanoparticles KW - Hydrogenated nanostructures KW - Plasma deposition KW - NEXAFS KW - Thermal annealing PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-536163 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbon.2021.08.008 SN - 0008-6223 VL - 184 SP - 82 EP - 90 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-53616 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Senoner, M. A1 - Stockmann, Jörg M. A1 - Fernandez, V. A1 - Fairley, N. A1 - Passiu, C. A1 - Spencer, N. D. A1 - Rossi, A. T1 - Summary of ISO/TC 201 International Standard ISO 18516:2019 Surface chemical analysis - Determination of lateral resolution and sharpness in beam-based methods with a range from nanometres to micrometres and its implementation for imaging laboratory X-ray photoelectron spectrometers (XPS) N2 - ISO 18516:2019 Surface chemical analysis—Determination of lateral resolution and sharpness in beam-based methods with a range from nanometres to micrometres revises ISO 18516:2006 Surface chemical analysis—Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy—Determination of lateral resolution. It implements three different methods delivering parameters useful to express the lateral resolution: (1) the straight edge method, (2) the narrow line method and (3) the grating method. The theoretical background of these methods is introduced in ISO/TR 19319:2013 Surface chemical analysis—Fundamental approaches to determination of lateral resolution and sharpness in beam-based methods. The revised International Standard ISO 18516 delivers standardized procedures for the determination of the (1) effective lateral resolution by imaging of square-wave gratings, the (2) lateral resolution expressed as the parameter D12–88 characterizing the steepness of the sigmoidal edge spread function (ESF) determined by imaging a straight edge and (3) the lateral resolution expressed as the full width of half maximum of the line spread function (LSF), wLSF, determined by imaging a narrow line. The last method also delivers information on the shape of the LSF, which characterizes an individual imaging instrument. Finally, the implementation of all three standardized methods in the field of imaging laboratory X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is shortly presented. This part of the letter is based on the use of a new test sample developed at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. This test sample displays a micrometre scaled pattern motivated by the resolving power of recent imaging XPS instruments. KW - Grating method KW - Imaging AES KW - Imaging SIMS KW - Imaging XPS KW - Lateral resolution KW - Narrow line method KW - Noise in image KW - Resolution criterion KW - Straight edge method PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-536330 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.7025 SN - 1096-9918 VL - 54 IS - 4 SP - 320 EP - 327 PB - Wiley CY - Chichester AN - OPUS4-53633 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Steiner, S. A1 - Heldt, J. A1 - Sobol, Oded A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Frömeling, T. T1 - Influence of oxygen vacancies on core-shell formation in solid solutions of (Na,Bi)TiO3 and SrTiO3 N2 - Solid solutions of (Na,Bi)TiO3 (NBT) and SrTiO3 (ST) are materials of interest for high-strain or high-energy density capacitor applications. Often, they exhibit chemical heterogeneity and develop core-shell structures during regular solid-state synthesis with an NBT-rich core. In this case, the NBT forms first so that the strontium needs to diffuse into the material to reach chemical homogeneity. Depending on the presence of core-shell structures, the electrical properties can vary drastically. In this work, we rationalize the effect of variations in oxygen vacancy concentration by Fe-acceptor and Nb-donor doping. It can be shown that a diffusion couple of strontium and oxygen is responsible for chemical homogenization and that the oxygen vacancy content can control the formation of a core-shell structure. KW - Lead-free ceramics KW - Bismuth titanates KW - Core-shell structures KW - Diffusion/diffusivity KW - Ferroelectricity/ferroelectric materials PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-525988 DO - https://doi.org/10.1111/jace.17845 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Wiley Periodicals LLC, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. AN - OPUS4-52598 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kjaervik, Marit A1 - Ramstedt, M. A1 - Schwibbert, Karin A1 - Dietrich, P. M A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - Comparative Study of NAP-XPS and Cryo-XPS for the Investigation of Surface Chemistry of the Bacterial Cell-Envelope N2 - Bacteria generally interact with the environment via processes involving their cell-envelope. Thus, techniques that may shed light on their surface chemistry are attractive tools for providing an understanding of bacterial interactions. One of these tools is Al Kα-excited photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) with its estimated information depth of <10 nm. XPS-analyses of bacteria have been performed for several decades on freeze-dried specimens in order to be compatible with the vacuum in the analysis chamber of the spectrometer. A limitation of these studies has been that the freeze-drying method may collapse cell structure as well as introduce surface contaminants. However, recent developments in XPS allow for analysis of biological samples at near ambient pressure (NAP-XPS) or as frozen hydrated specimens (cryo-XPS) in vacuum. In this work, we have analyzed bacterial samples from a reference strain of the Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens using both techniques. We compare the results obtained and, in general, observe good agreement between the two techniques. Furthermore, we discuss advantages and disadvantages with the two analysis approaches and the output data they provide. XPS reference data from the bacterial strain are provided, and we propose that planktonic cells of this strain (DSM 50090) are used as a reference material for surface chemical analysis of bacterial systems. KW - P. Fluorescens KW - Cryo XPS KW - NAP-XPS KW - DSM 5009 PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-525640 DO - https://doi.org/10.3389/fchem.2021.666161 VL - 9 SP - Article 666161 PB - Frontiers CY - Switzerland AN - OPUS4-52564 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kjaervik, Marit A1 - Schwibbert, Karin A1 - Dietrich, P. A1 - Thissen, A. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - Surface characterisation of Escherichia coli under various conditions by near-ambient pressure XPS N2 - Bacteria are inherently in a hydrated state and therefore not compatible to ultra-high vacuum techniques such as XPS without prior sample preparation involving freeze drying or fast freezing. This has changed with the development of near-ambient pressure (NAP)-XPS, which makes it possible to characterise the bacterial surface with minimal sample preparation. This paper presents NAP-XPS measurements of Escherichia coli under various NAP conditions: at 11 mbar in a humid environment, at 2 mbar after drying in the chamber, pre-dried at 4 mbar, and at 1 mbar after overnight pumping at 10^−4 mbar. The high-resolution spectra of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are presented and found to be in general agreement with XPS measurements from freeze-dried and fast-frozen bacteria. However, it was found that the amount of carbon components associated with polysaccharides increases relative to aliphatic carbon during drying and increases further after overnight pumping. This implies that drying has an impact on the bacterial surface. T2 - European conference on applications of surface and interface analysis (ECASIA'17) CY - Montpellier, France DA - 24.09.2018 KW - Bacteria KW - E. coli KW - NAP-XPS PY - 2018 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-454047 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.6480 SN - 0142-2421 SN - 1096-9918 VL - 50 IS - 11 SP - 996 EP - 1000 PB - John Wiley & Sons CY - Hoboken, New Jersey, USA AN - OPUS4-45404 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Anja A1 - Swaraj, S. A1 - Sparnacci, K. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - Shell thickness determination for PTFE‐PS core‐shell nanoparticles using scanning transmission X‐ray microscopy (STXM) N2 - A scanning transmission X‐ray microscopy (STXM)‐based methodology is introduced for determining the dimensions (shell thickness, core and total diameter) of core‐shell nanoparticles, which exhibit a strong X‐ray absorption contrast and a well‐defined interface between core and shell material. A low radiation dosage during data acquisition and, therefore, less X‐ray beam‐induced damage of the sample is achieved by recording STXM images only at 2 predetermined energies of maximum Absorption contrast, instead of recording a stack of images across the whole absorption edge. A model core‐shell nanoparticle, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) cores with polystyrene (PS) shell, is used for demonstration. Near‐edge X‐ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy confirms the significant difference in X‐ray absorption behavior between PTFE and PS. Additionally, because of the insolubility of styrene in PTFE a well‐defined interface between particle core and shell is expected. To validate the STXM results, both the naked PTFE cores as well as the complete core‐shell nanoparticles are examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The introduced STXM‐based methodology yields particle dimensions in agreement with the SEM results and provides additional information such as the position of the particle core, which cannot be extracted from a SEM micrograph. T2 - European conference on applications of surface and interface analysis (ECASIA'17) CY - Montpellier, France DA - 24.09.2017 KW - Core-shell nanoparticles KW - Polymers KW - PS KW - PTFE KW - SEM KW - STXM PY - 2018 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-449700 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.6464 SN - 1096-9918 SN - 0142-2421 VL - 50 IS - 11 SP - 1077 EP - 1082 PB - John Wiley & Sons CY - Hoboken, New Jersey, USA AN - OPUS4-44970 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Anja A1 - Sparnacci, K. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Tougaard, S. T1 - Determining nonuniformities of core-shell nanoparticle coatings by analysis of the inelastic background of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy survey spectra N2 - Most real core-shell nanoparticle (CSNP) samples deviate from an ideal core-shell structure potentially having significant impact on the particle properties. An ideal structure displays a spherical core fully encapsulated by a shell of homogeneous thickness, and all particles in the sample exhibit the same shell thickness. Therefore, analytical techniques are required that can identify and characterize such deviations. This study demonstrates that by analysis of the inelastic background in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) survey spectra, the following types of deviations can be identified and quantified: the nonuniformity of the shell thickness within a nanoparticle sample and the incomplete encapsulation of the cores by the shell material. Furthermore, CSNP shell thicknesses and relative coverages can be obtained. These results allow for a quick and straightforward comparison between several batches of a specific CSNP, different coating approaches, and so forth. The presented XPS methodology requires a submonolayer distribution of CSNPs on a substrate. Poly(tetrafluoroethylene)-poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(tetrafluoroethylene)-polystyrene polymer CSNPs serve as model systems to demonstrate the applicability of the approach. KW - Core-shell KW - Nanoparticles KW - Inelastic background KW - Polymers KW - QUASES KW - XPS PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-511315 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.6865 SN - 0142-2421 SN - 1096-9918 VL - 52 SP - 1 EP - 8 PB - Wiley CY - Chichester AN - OPUS4-51131 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ahmed, R. A1 - Vaishampayan, A. A1 - Cuellar-Camacho, J. L. A1 - Wight, D. J. A1 - Donskyi, Ievgen A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Grohmann, E. A1 - Haag, R. A1 - Wagner, O. T1 - Multivalent Bacteria Binding by Flexible Polycationic Microsheets Matching Their Surface Charge Density N2 - Aiming at the overall negative surface charge of bacteria, a new strategy of antibacterial agents based on large polymer-modified graphene oxide (GO) sheets is assessed. The presented flexible, polycationic Sheets match the size and charge density of the Escherichia coli surface charge density (2 × 1014 cm−2). These matching parameters create an unspecific but very strong bacteria adsorber by multivalent, electrostatic attraction. Their interaction with bacteria is visualized via atomic force and confocal microscopy and shows that they effectively bind and wrap around E. coli cells, and thereby immobilize them. The incubation of Gram-negative and -positive bacteria (E. coli and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA) with these polycationic sheets leads to the inhibition of proliferation and a reduction of the colony forming bacteria over time. This new type of antibacterial agent acts in a different mode of Action than classical biocides and could potentially be employed in medicinal, technical, or agriculture applications. The presented microsheets and their unspecific binding of cell interfaces could further be employed as adsorber material for bacterial filtration or immobilization for imaging, analysis, or sensor technologies. KW - Surface charge KW - Bacteria KW - Graphene oxide KW - Escherichia coli KW - XPS PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-509651 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/admi.201902066 VL - 7 IS - 15 SP - 1902066 PB - WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-50965 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Röhsler, Andreas A1 - Sobol, Oded A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Böllinghaus, Thomas T1 - Comprehensive study of deuterium-induced effects in in austenitic stainless steel AISI 304L N2 - The damaging impact of hydrogen on the austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 L was analysed. To this aim, samples were charged electrochemically with the hydrogen isotope deuterium (2H, D) and examined with time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The fusion of the obtained chemical and structural information revealed local enrichment of deuterium in austenite, transformation into martensite, crack formation and severe roughening of the specimen surface. The results indicated that martensite was not only formed during charging but also during Desorption and ToF-SIMS examinations. Furthermore, cross-sections of deuterium-charged samples revealed that in preferred deformation bands a g/ε/a 0 evolution is taking place. By means of microscopic analyses and carrier gas hot extraction (CGHE), it was found that the use of NaAsO2 as recombination poison decreased the uptake of hydrogen significantly and resulted in severe precipitation on the specimen surfaces. This is in contrast to the popular presumption that NaAsO2 enhances the uptake of hydrogen (and deuterium) during electrochemical charging by hampering its recombination from Atoms to molecules. KW - AISI 304L KW - Hydrogen KW - ToF-SIMS KW - Deuterium KW - Martensite PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-477540 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2019.03.058 SN - 0360-3199 SN - 1879-3487 VL - 44 IS - 23 SP - 12228 EP - 12238 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-47754 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Anja A1 - Heinrich, Thomas A1 - Tougaard, S. A1 - Werner, W. S. M. A1 - Hronek, M. A1 - Kunz, Valentin A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Stockmann, Jörg M. A1 - Hodoroaba, Vasile-Dan A1 - Benemann, Sigrid A1 - Nirmalananthan-Budau, Nithiya A1 - Geißler, Daniel A1 - Sparnacci, K. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - Determining the thickness and completeness of the shell of polymer core-shell nanoparticles by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and transmission scanning electron microscopy N2 - Core–shell nanoparticles (CSNPs) have become indispensable in various industrial applications. However, their real internal structure usually deviates from an ideal core–shell structure. To control how the particles perform with regard to their specific applications, characterization techniques are required that can distinguish an ideal from a nonideal morphology. In this work, we investigated poly(tetrafluoroethylene)–poly(methyl methacrylate) (PTFE–PMMA) and poly(tetrafluoroethylene)–polystyrene (PTFE–PS) polymer CSNPs with a constant core diameter (45 nm) but varying shell thicknesses (4–50 nm). As confirmed by transmission scanning electron microscopy (T-SEM), the shell completely covers the core for the PTFE–PMMA nanoparticles, while the encapsulation of the core by the shell material is incomplete for the PTFE–PS nanoparticles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was applied to determine the shell thickness of the nanoparticles. The software SESSA v2.0 was used to analyze the intensities of the elastic peaks, and the QUASES software package was employed to evaluate the shape of the inelastic background in the XPS survey spectra. For the first time, nanoparticle shell thicknesses are presented, which are exclusively based on the analysis of the XPS inelastic background. Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA)-assisted time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) of the PTFE–PS nanoparticle sample set revealed a systematic variation among the samples and, thus, confirmed the incomplete encapsulation of the core by the shell material. As opposed to that, no variation is observed in the PCA score plots of the PTFE–PMMA nanoparticle sample set. Consequently, the complete coverage of the core by the shell material is proved by ToF-SIMS with a certainty that cannot be achieved by XPS and T-SEM. KW - XPS KW - T-SEM KW - ToF-SIMS KW - Core-shell nanoparticles PY - 2019 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-499165 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b09258 VL - 123 IS - 49 SP - 29765 EP - 29775 PB - American Chemical Society CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-49916 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Afantitis, A. A1 - Melagraki, G. A1 - Isigonis, P. A1 - Tsoumanis, A. A1 - Varsou, D. D. A1 - Valsami-Jones, E. A1 - Papadiamantis, A. A1 - Ellis, L.-J. A. A1 - Sarimveis, H. A1 - Doganis, P. A1 - Karatzas, P. A1 - Tsiros, P. A1 - Liampa, I. A1 - Lobaskin, V. A1 - Greco, D. A1 - Serra, A. A1 - Kinaret, P. A. S. A1 - Saarimäki, L. A. A1 - Grafström, R. A1 - Kohonen, P. A1 - Nymark, P. A1 - Willighagen, E. A1 - Puzyn, T. A1 - Rybinska-Fryca, A. A1 - Lyubartsev, A. A1 - Jensen, K. A. A1 - Brandenburg, J. G. A1 - Lofts, S. A1 - Svendsen, C. A1 - Harrison, S. A1 - Maier, D. A1 - Tamm, K. A1 - Jänes, J. A1 - Sikk, L. A1 - Dusinska, M. A1 - Longhin, E. A1 - Rundén-Pran, E. A1 - Mariussen, E. A1 - El Yamani, N. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Tropsha, A. A1 - Cohen, Y. A1 - Lesczynski, J. A1 - Hendren, C. O. A1 - Wiesner, M. A1 - Winkler, D. A1 - Suzuki, N. A1 - Yoon, T. H. A1 - Choi, J.-S. A1 - Sanabria, N. A1 - Gulumian, M. A1 - Lynch, I. T1 - NanoSolveIT Project: Driving nanoinformatics research to develop innovative and integrated tools for in silico nanosafety assessment N2 - Nanotechnology has enabled the discovery of a multitude of novel materials exhibiting unique physicochemical (PChem) properties compared to their bulk analogues. These properties have led to a rapidly increasing range of commercial applications; this, however, may come at a cost, if an association to long-term health and environmental risks is discovered or even just perceived. Many nanomaterials (NMs) have not yet had their potential adverse biological effects fully assessed, due to costs and time constraints associated with the experimental assessment, frequently involving animals. Here, the available NM libraries are analyzed for their suitability for integration with novel nanoinformatics approaches and for the development of NM specific Integrated Approaches to Testing and Assessment (IATA) for human and environmental risk assessment, all within the NanoSolveIT cloud-platform. These established and well-characterized NM libraries (e.g. NanoMILE, NanoSolutions, NANoREG, NanoFASE, caLIBRAte, NanoTEST and the Nanomaterial Registry (>2000 NMs)) contain physicochemical characterization data as well as data for several relevant biological endpoints, assessed in part using harmonized Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) methods and test guidelines. Integration of such extensive NM information sources with the latest nanoinformatics methods will allow NanoSolveIT to model the relationships between NM structure (morphology), properties and their adverse effects and to predict the effects of other NMs for which less data is available. The project specifically addresses the needs of regulatory agencies and industry to effectively and rapidly evaluate the exposure, NM hazard and risk from nanomaterials and nano-enabled products, enabling implementation of computational ‘safe-by-design’ approaches to facilitate NM commercialization. KW - Nanoinformatics KW - Hazard assessment KW - (Quantitative) Structure-Active Relationships KW - Safe-by-design KW - Predictive modelling PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-505952 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csbj.2020.02.023 VL - 18 SP - 583 EP - 602 PB - Elsevier B.V. AN - OPUS4-50595 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Müller, Anja A1 - Krahl, T. A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Wagner, Andreas A1 - Werner, W. S. M. A1 - Ritter, B. A1 - Kemnitz, E. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - Chemical in-depth analysis of (Ca/Sr)F2 core–shell like nanoparticles by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with tunable excitation energy N2 - The fluorolytic sol–gel synthesis is applied with the intention to obtain two different types of core–shell nanoparticles, namely, SrF2–CaF2 and CaF2–SrF2. In two separate fluorination steps for core and shell formation, the corresponding metal lactates are reacted with anhydrous HF in ethylene glycol. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) confirm the formation of particles with mean dimensions between 6.4 and 11.5 nm. The overall chemical composition of the particles during the different reaction steps is monitored by quantitative Al Kα excitation X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Here, the formation of stoichiometric metal fluorides (MF2) is confirmed, both for the core and the final core–shell particles. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis by synchrotron radiation XPS (SR-XPS) with tunable excitation energy is performed to confirm the core–Shell character of the nanoparticles. Additionally, Ca2p/Sr3d XPS intensity ratio in-Depth profiles are simulated using the software Simulation of Electron Spectra for Surface Analysis (SESSA). In principle, core–shell like particle morphologies are formed but without a sharp interface between calcium and strontium containing phases. Surprisingly, the in-depth chemical distribution of the two types of nanoparticles is equal within the error of the experiment. Both comprise a SrF2-rich core domain and CaF2-rich shell domain with an intermixing zone between them. Consequently, the internal morphology of the final nanoparticles seems to be independent from the synthesis chronology. KW - Metal fluorides KW - Sol-gel synthesis KW - Synchrotron radiation KW - X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy PY - 2021 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-522284 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.6937 SN - 0142-2421 VL - 53 IS - 5 SP - 494 EP - 508 PB - Wiley VCH AN - OPUS4-52228 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Tu, Z. A1 - Donskyi, Ievgen A1 - Qiao, H. A1 - Zhu, Z. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Hackenberger, C. P. R. A1 - Chen, W. A1 - Adeli, M. A1 - Haag, R. T1 - Graphene Oxide-Cyclic R10 Peptide Nuclear Translocation Nanoplatforms for the Surmounting of Multiple-Drug Resistance N2 - Multidrug resistance resulting from a variety of defensive pathways in Cancer has become a global concern with a considerable impact on the mortality associated with the failure of traditional chemotherapy. Therefore, further research and new therapies are required to overcome this challenge. In this work, a cyclic R10 peptide (cR10) is conjugated to polyglycerol-covered nanographene oxide to engineer a nanoplatform for the surmounting of multidrug resistance. The nuclear translocation of the nanoplatform, facilitated by cR10 peptide, and subsequently, a laser-triggered release of the loaded doxorubicin result in efficient anticancer activity confirmed by both in vitro and in vivo experiments. The synthesized nanoplatform with a combination of different features, including active nucleus-targeting, highloading capacity, controlled release of cargo, and photothermal property, provides a new strategy for circumventing multidrug resistant cancers. KW - Graphen Oxide KW - Nanoplatform KW - Cancer PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-510061 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202000933 VL - 30 IS - 35 SP - 2000933 PB - Wiley VCH AN - OPUS4-51006 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Weigert, Florian A1 - Müller, A. A1 - Häusler, I. A1 - Geißler, Daniel A1 - Skroblin, D. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute T1 - Combining HR‑TEM and XPS to elucidate the core–shell structure of ultrabright CdSe/CdS semiconductor quantum dots N2 - Controlling thickness and tightness of surface passivation shells is crucial for many applications of core–shell nanoparticles (NP). Usually, to determine shell thickness, core and core/shell particle are measured individually requiring the availability of both nanoobjects. This is often not fulfilled for functional nanomaterials such as many photoluminescent semiconductor quantum dots (QD) used for bioimaging, solid state lighting, and display technologies as the core does not show the applicationrelevant functionality like a high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield, calling for a whole nanoobject approach. By combining high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), a novel whole nanoobject approach is developed representatively for an ultrabright oleic acid-stabilized, thick shell CdSe/CdS QD with a PL quantum yield close to unity. The size of this spectroscopically assessed QD, is in the range of the information depth of usual laboratory XPS. Information on particle size and monodispersity were validated with dynamic light scattering (DLS) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and compared to data derived from optical measurements. In addition to demonstrating the potential of this novel whole nanoobject approach for determining architectures of small nanoparticles, the presented results also highlight challenges faced by different sizing and structural analysis methods and method-inherent uncertainties. KW - Photoluminescence KW - Single particle KW - Microscopy KW - Particle architecture KW - Thickness KW - SAXS KW - Shell KW - XPS KW - TEM KW - Semiconductor KW - Quantum dot KW - Photophysics KW - Quantum yield PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-517911 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-77530-z VL - 10 IS - 1 SP - 20712 PB - Springer Nature AN - OPUS4-51791 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Stockmann, Jörg M. A1 - Radnik, Jörg A1 - Bütefisch, S. A1 - Busch, I. A1 - Weimann, T. A1 - Passiu, C. A1 - Rossi, A. A1 - Unger, Wolfgang T1 - A new test specimen for the determination of the field of view of small-area X-ray photoelectron spectrometers N2 - Small-area/spot photoelectron spectroscopy (SAXPS) is a powerful tool for the investigation of small surface features like microstructures of electronic devices, sensors or other functional surfaces, and so forth. For evaluating the quality of such microstructures, it is often crucial to know whether a small signal in a spectrum is an unwanted contamination of the field of view (FoV), defined by the instrument settings, or it originated from outside. To address this issue, the d80/20 parameter of a line scan across a chemical edge is often used. However, the typical d80/20 parameter does not give information on contributions from the long tails of the X-ray beam intensity distribution or the electron-optical system as defined by apertures. In the VAMAS TWA2 A22 project “Applying planar, patterned, multi-metallic samples to assess the impact of analysis area in surface-chemical analysis,” new test specimen was developed and tested. The here presented testing material consists of a silicon wafer substrate with an Au-film and embedded Cr circular and square spots with decreasing dimensions from 200 μm down to 5 μm. The spot sizes are traceable to the length unit due to size measurements with a metrological SEM. For the evaluation of the FoV, we determined the Au4f intensities measured with the center of the FoV aligned with the center of the spot and normalized to the Au4f intensity determined on the Au-film. With this test specimen, it was possible to characterize, as an example, the FoV of a Kratos AXIS Ultra DLD XPS instrument. T2 - ECASIA 2019 CY - Dresden, Germany DA - 15.09.2019 KW - Field of view KW - Reference material KW - Selected area XPS KW - Small-area XPS KW - Small-spot XPS PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-509902 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/sia.6831 SN - 1096-9918 VL - 52 IS - 12 SP - 890 EP - 894 PB - John Wiley & Sons Ltd AN - OPUS4-50990 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -