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International audience; Hybrid van der Waals heterostructures made of 2D materials and organic molecules exploit the high sensitivity of 2D materials to all interfacial modifications and the inherent versatility of the organic compounds. In this study, we are interested in the quinoidal zwitterion/MoS 2 hybrid system in which organic crystals are grown by epitaxy on the MoS 2 surface and reorganize in another polymorph after thermal annealing. By means of field-effect transistor measurements recorded in situ all along the process, atomic force microscopy and density functional theory calculations we demonstrate that the charge transfer between quinoidal zwitterions and MoS 2 strongly depends on the conformation of the molecular film. Remarkably, both the field effect mobility and the current modulation depth of the transistors remain unchanged which opens up promising prospects for efficient devices based on this hybrid system. We also show that MoS 2 transistors enable fast and accurate detection of structural modifications that occur during phases transitions of the organic layer. This work highlights that MoS 2 transistors are remarkable tools for on-chip detection of molecular events occurring at the nanoscale, which paves the way for the investigation of other dynamical systems.

The lifetime of industrial polymer products is in many cases limited by aging. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a fast and sensitive method to detect polymer aging at an early stage. A commercially available 50-µm-thick and transparent polyethylene terephtalate (PET) film was aged under different artificial conditions, and the evolution of mechanical properties with increasing aging time was investigated via nanoindentation (NI) and tensile testing. Chemical aging was studied with gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and physical aging was monitored by the first heating of differential scanning calorimetry. NI data evaluated with the method of Oliver and Pharr was compared to tensile test data with good agreement between the results on the macro- and nanoscales. Furthermore, a correlation between NI creep data and GPC data was obtained, which indicates that the aging of the PET films primarily originated from chemical aging. This study states that NI is an appropriate method to determine degradation of PET at an early stage.

The influence of surfactant type and concentration on the crystal habit of LiFePO4 particles during hydrothermal synthesis.

Nanoindentation (NI) is a contact method to investigate localized micromechanical properties of materials, whereby NI of semi-crystalline polymers is challenging. The influence of morphological str...

Highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), i.e., the 3D stack of sp2-hybridized carbon sheets, is an attractive material thanks to its high electrical conductivity, chemical inertness, thermal stability, atomic-scale flatness, and ease of exfoliation. Despite an apparently ideal and uniform material, freshly cleaved HOPG shows domains in Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) with surface potential contrast over 30 mV. We systematically investigated these domains using an integrated approach, including time-dependent KPFM and hyperspectral Raman imaging. The observed time-evolving domains are attributed to locally different hydrocarbon adsorption from the environment, driven by structural defects likely related to rotational mismatch, i.e., twisted layers. These defects affect the interlayer coupling between topmost graphene and the underlying layers. Our hypothesis was supported by Raman spectroscopy results, showing domains with G peak shifts and 2D line shape compatible with bilayer graphene. We attribute the selective sensitivity of our Raman spectroscopy results to the top graphene layers as resonances due to van Hove singularities. Our results show that the chemical and electrical properties of HOPG are far more complex than what is generally believed due to the broken symmetry at the top surface, giving rise to graphene bilayer-like behavior.

In this study, a preparation route of Co-Cu alloys with soft magnetic properties by high-pressure torsion deformation is introduced. Nanocrystalline, supersaturated single-phase microstructures are obtained after deformation of Co-Cu alloys, which are prepared from an initial powder mixture with Co-contents above 70 wt.%. Isochronal annealing treatments up to 400{\deg}C further reveal a remarkable microstructural stability. Only at 600{\deg}C, the supersaturated phase decomposes into two fcc-phases. The coercivity, measured by SQUID as a function of annealing temperature, remains significantly below the value for bulk-Co in all states investigated. In order to understand the measured magnetic properties in detail, a quantitative analysis of the magnetic microstructure is carried out by magnetic force microscopy and correlated to the observed changes in coercivity. Our results show that the rising coercivity can be explained by a magnetic hardening effect occurring in context with spinodal decomposition.

We investigate the potential of Brillouin Light Scattering (BLS) Microspectroscopy for fast non-invasive all-optical assessment of the mechanical properties of viscose fibers and bleached softwood pulp. Using an optimized Brillouin spectrometer, we demonstrate fast spatial mapping of the complex longitudinal modulus over extended areas (> 100 µm). Our results reveal that while the softwood pulp has a relatively uniform moduli, the viscous fibers have significant spatial heterogeneous in the moduli. Specifically, the viscose fibers exhibited a regular pattern of increasing and decreasing modulus normal to the fiber axis. The potential influence of a locally changing refractive index is investigated by holographic phase microscopy and ruled out. We discuss our results in light of the anisotropic mechanical properties of the fibers and are able to estimate the relative difference between the modulus along the fiber axis and that perpendicular to it. Results are presented alongside reference measurements of the quasi-static mechanical properties transverse to the fiber axes obtained using AFM-nanoindentation which reveal a similar trend, hinting at the potential usefulness of BLS for mechanical characterization applications. However, more detailed investigations are called for to uncover all the factors influencing the measured high-frequency BLS modulus and its significance in relation to physical properties of the fiber that may be of practical interest.

Administrative social security records and event history analysis are used to investigate the significance of previous work experience for the migration decision of German university graduates. The regression results suggest that work experience gained previously and while studying in the university region reduces the likelihood of graduates out-migrating, while extra-regional work activity enhances the probability of labour market entry outside the region of study. The size of the effect depends on the type of work experience. The findings point to the importance of knowledge about local labour markets and social networks for graduates’ migration decision at the start of their career.

The structure and stability of a molecular wetting layer of the rodlike organic semiconductor molecule para-hexaphenyl grown at room temperature on atomically flat titanium dioxide TiO2(110) surfac...

Cobalt‐doped zinc oxide single crystals with the shape of hexagonal platelets were synthesized by thermohydrolysis of zinc acetate, cobalt acetate, and hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) in mixtures of ethanol and water. The mineralization proceeds by a low‐temperature dissolution–reprecipitation process from the liquid phase by the formation of basic cobalt zinc salts as intermediates. The crystal shape as well as twin formation of the resulting oxide phase can be influenced by careful choice of the solvent mixture and the amount of doping. An understanding of the course of the reaction was achieved by comprehensive employment of analytical techniques (i.e., SEM, XRD, IR) including an in‐depth HRTEM study of precipitates from various reaction stages. In addition, EPR as well as UV/Vis spectroscopic measurements provide information about the insertion of the cobalt dopant into the zincite lattice. The Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) technique is shown to be suitable for depositing coatings of the platelets on glass substrates functionalized with polyelectrolyte multilayers and hence is applied for the formation of monolayers containing domains with ordered tessellation. No major differences are found between deposits on substrates with anionic or cationic surface modification. The adherence to the substrates is sufficient to determine the absolute orientation of the deposited polar single crystals by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) studies., Crystal shape: Doping is an effective way to control crystal shape in mineralization processes. Studying the synthesis of single‐crystalline hexagonal platelets of Co‐doped ZnO with advanced high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) techniques can hereby provide an instructive insight into the details of the formation mechanism.

Funding Information: The authors thank Prof. Dr. Banik for helpful discussions. Dr. Bacher and Dr. Schiehser are acknowledged for practical support (NMR and GPC). Special thanks to P. Reindl for the AFM measurements. L.V. would like to thank Klassik Stiftung Weimar and the doctoral school ABC&M for financial support. The financial support of the Austrian Biorefinery Center Tulln (ABCT), the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs, and the National Foundation for Research Technology and Development is gratefully acknowledged. The authors are grateful to Borregaard (Norway) and SAPPI (Belgium) for donating CNF. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. Small published by Wiley-VCH GmbH The conservation of historical paper objects with high cultural value is an important societal task. Papers that have been severely damaged by fire, heat, and extinguishing water, are a particularly challenging case, because of the complexity and severity of damage patterns. In-depth analysis of fire-damaged papers, by means of examples from the catastrophic fire in a 17th-century German library, shows the changes, which proceeded from the margin to the center, to go beyond surface charring and formation of hydrophobic carbon-rich layers. The charred paper exhibits structural changes in the nano- and micro-range, with increased porosity and water sorption. In less charred areas, cellulose is affected by both chain cleavage and cross-linking. Based on these results and conclusions with regard to adhesion of auxiliaries, a stabilization method is developed, which coats the damaged paper with a thin layer of cellulose nanofibers. It enables the reliable preservation of the paper and—most importantly—retrieval ofthe contained historical information: the nanofibers form a flexible, transparent film on the surface and adhere strongly to the damaged matrix, greatly reducing its fragility, giving it stability, and enabling digitization and further handling.

Cellulose fibers are a major industrial input, but due to their irregular shape and anisotropic material response, accurate material characterization is difficult. Single fiber tensile testing is the most popular way to estimate the material properties of individual fibers. However, such tests can only be performed along the axis of the fiber and are associated with problems of enforcing restraints. Alternative indirect approaches, such as micro-mechanical modeling, can help but yield results that are not fully decoupled from the model assumptions. Here, we compare these methods with nanoindentation as a method to extract elastic material constants of the individual fibers. We show that both the longitudinal and the transverse elastic modulus can be determined, additionally enabling the measurement of fiber properties in-situ inside a sheet of paper such that the entire industrial process history is captured. The obtained longitudinal modulus is comparable to traditional methods for larger indents but with a strongly increased scatter as the size of the indentation is decreased further.

We propose a minimum input mechanical model of pulp fibres. A pulp fibre can be idealised as a complex compound bar, microfibrils render its behaviour anisotropic. The objective of this work is twofold: (i) develop an anisotropic viscoelastic material model of a pulp fibre that shows the essential characteristics with a minimum number of material parameters and (ii) establish suitable experiments with pulp fibres for obtaining these parameters. The model consists of an additive combination of elastic potentials for an isotropic and an anisotropic part. Viscoelasticity is implemented by a generalised Maxwell model. We suggest an incompressible treatment of the material to relate experiments and material parameters in a well-defined manner. By this means, the calibration of the parameters is performed with only two micromechanical experiments, atomic force microscopy nanoindentation on the fibre’s surface and uniaxial tensile tests. We advocate this strategy for certain applications, such as in paper network simulations or fibres in a dry state, when the fibre’s compressibility is of minor importance. The results of this analysis show a good performance of the proposed model applied to pulp fibres.

Changes in moisture content of single pulp fibers have an immense influence on the behavior of paper and paper products. Here, an atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based method is applied to investigate the viscoelastic properties of pulp fibers at varying relative humidity (RH) in the transverse direction. Pulp fibers have not only anisotropic properties, but also a very rough surface due to their hierarchical structure. For this reason, we have developed a specific load schedule for the AFM-based test method to overcome uncertainties and limitations due to surface roughness of the pulp fibers. The evaluation of the experimental data combines contact mechanics and viscoelastic models which consist of springs and dashpots in series or parallel describing elastic and viscous behavior. Here, it will be demonstrated that the so-called Generalized Maxwell (GM) model yields comparable results for single pulp fibers at five different RH values and in water. The moisture changes lead to a decrease in the elastic modulus but increase in the relaxation effects with increasing RH. All the determined parameters for the elastic and viscous behavior exhibit a gradual decrease with increasing RH from 10 to 75% RH. The elastic moduli decrease by a factor of 10 and the viscosities are decreasing by a factor of 10–20. In water, there is an even more pronounced decrease of the elastic moduli by a factor 100, and the viscosities decrease by at least three orders of magnitude compared to 10% RH. This indicates that the mechanical response of pulp fibers in water is significantly different than in humid air. This is also illustrated by the fact that a GM model of order two suffices to describe the material behavior in humid air but a GM model of order three is necessary to fit the material behavior in water. A possible interpretation is an additional relaxation effect of the pulp fiber wall in water.

Instrumented nanoindentation (NI) was used to examine the viscoelastic properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) as an amorphous polymer model. An evaluation combining adhesive contact and empiric spring–dashpot models has been applied to obtain the instantaneous elastic modulus E 0 and the infinitely elastic modulus E ∞ from nanoindentation creep curves. The value of E 0 has been compared to moduli obtained with atomic force microscopy-based nanoindentation (AFM-NI) and compression tests. Furthermore, the elastic modulus has been evaluated by the method introduced by Oliver and Pharr ( O & P ) for the NI and AFM-NI results. Comparison of the elastic modulus E 0 from the creep measurements of NI and AFM-NI to compression tests reveals good agreement of the results. However, only the O & P based AFM-NI results yield to lower values.

In recent years, graphene-based van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures have come into prominence showcasing interesting charge transfer dynamics which is significant for optoelectronic applications. These novel structures are highly tunable depending on several factors such as the combination of the two-dimensional materials, the number of layers and band alignment exhibiting interfacial charge transfer dynamics. Here, we report on a novel graphene based 0D–2D vdW heterostructure between graphene and amine-functionalized graphene quantum dots (GQD) to investigate the interfacial charge transfer and doping possibilities. Using a combination of ab initio simulations and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) measurements, we confirm that the incorporation of functional GQDs leads to a charge transfer induced p-type doping in graphene. A shift of the Dirac point by 0.05 eV with respect to the Fermi level (E F) in the graphene from the heterostructure was deduced from the calculated density of states. KPFM measurements revealed an increment in the surface potential of the GQD in the 0D–2D heterostructure by 29 mV with respect to graphene. Furthermore, we conducted power dependent Raman spectroscopy for both graphene and the heterostructure samples. An optical doping-induced gating effect resulted in a stiffening of the G band for electrons and holes in both samples (graphene and the heterostructure), suggesting a breakdown of the adiabatic Born–Oppenheimer approximation. Moreover, charge imbalance and renormalization of the electron–hole dispersion under the additional influence of the doped functional GQDs is pointing to an asymmetry in conduction and carrier mobility.

Talc is a van der Waals and naturally abundant mineral with the chemical formula Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Two-dimensional (2D) talc could be an alternative to hBN as van der Waals dielectric in 2D heterostructures. Furthermore, due to its good mechanical and frictional properties, 2D talc could be integrated into various hybrid microelectromechanical systems, or used as a functional filler in polymers. However, properties of talcas one of the main representatives of the phyllosilicate (sheet silicates) group are almost completely unexplored when ultrathin crystalline films and monolayers are considered. We investigate 2D talc flakes down to single layer thickness and reveal their efficiency for solid lubrication at the nanoscale. We demonstrate by atomic force microscopy based methods and contact angle measurements that several nanometer thick talc flakes have all properties necessary for efficient lubrication: a low adhesion, hydrophobic nature, and a low friction coefficient of 0.10 ± 0.02. Compared to the silicon-dioxide substrate, 2D talc flakes reduce friction by more than a factor of five, adhesion by around 20%, and energy dissipation by around 7%. Considering our findings, together with the natural abundance of talc, we put forward that 2D talc can be a cost-effective solid lubricant in micro- and nano-mechanical devices.

We show that Cs intercalated bilayer graphene acts as a substrate for the growth of a strained Cs film hosting quantum well states with high electronic quality. The Cs film grows in an fcc phase with a substantially reduced lattice constant of 4.9 Å corresponding to a compressive strain of 11% compared to bulk Cs. We investigate its electronic structure using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and show the coexistence of massless Dirac and massive Schrödinger charge carriers in two dimensions. Analysis of the electronic self-energy of the massive charge carriers reveals the crystallographic direction in which a two-dimensional Fermi gas is realized. Our work introduces the growth of strained metal quantum wells on intercalated Dirac matter., Cesium atoms that are grown on intercalated bilayer graphene can create an ordered epitaxial film. Here, the authors report that such a strained film can host quantum well states with high electronic quality as characterized through angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy.

Nanometer-sized structures, surfaces and sub-surface phenomena have played an enormous role in science and technological applications and represent a driving-force of current interdisciplinary science. Recent developments include the atomic-scale characterization of nanoparticles, molecular reactions at surfaces, magnetism at the atomic scale, photoelectric characterization of nanostructures as well as two-dimensional solids. Research and development of smart nanostructured materials governed by their surface properties is a rapidly growing field. The main challenge is to develop an accurate and robust electronic structure description. The density of surface-related trap states is analyzed by transient UV photoconductivity and temperature-dependent admittance spectroscopy. An advanced application of thin films on shaped substrates is the deposition of catalytic layers on hollow glass microspheres for hydrogen storage controlled exothermal hydrolytic release. Surface properties of thin films including dissolution and corrosion, fouling resistance, and hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity are explored to improve materials response in biological environments and medicine. Trends in surface biofunctionalization routes based on vacuum techniques, together with advances in surface analysis of biomaterials, are discussed. Pioneering advances in the application of X-ray nanodiffraction of thin film cross-sections for characterizing nanostructure and local strain including in-situ experiments during nanoindentation are described. Precise measurements and control of plasma properties are important for fundamental investigations and the development of next generation plasma-based technologies. Critical control parameters are the flux and energy distribution of incident ions at reactive surfaces; it is also crucial to control the dynamics of electrons initiating non-equilibrium chemical reactions. The most promising approach involves the exploitation of complementary advantages in direct measurements combined with specifically designed numerical simulations. Exciting new developments in vacuum science and technology have focused on forward-looking and next generation standards and sensors that take advantage of photonics based measurements. These measurements are inherently fast, frequency based, easily transferrable to sensors based on photonics and hold promise of being disruptive and transformative. Realization of Pascal, the SI unit for pressure, a cold-atom trap based ultra-high and extreme high vacuum (UHV and XHV) standard, dynamic pressure measurements and a photonic based thermometer are three key examples that are presented.

Arrangement of polymer chains at the interface with an acceptor is one of the key issues which influences the interfacial charge transfer. Films of P3HT and P3HT:PCBM blends with the different poly...

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are envisaged as ultra-thin solid lubricants for nano-mechanical systems. So far, their frictional properties at the nanoscale have been studied by standard friction force microscopy. However, lateral manipulation of nanoparticles is a more suitable method to study the dependence of friction on the crystallography of two contacting surfaces. Still, such experiments are lacking. In this study, we combine atomic force microscopy (AFM) based lateral manipulation and molecular dynamics simulations in order to investigate the movements of organic needle-like nanocrystallites grown by van der Waals epitaxy on graphene and hexagonal boron nitride. We observe that nanoneedle fragments -- when pushed by an AFM tip -- do not move along the original pushing directions. Instead, they slide on the 2D materials preferentially along the needles' growth directions, which act as invisible rails along commensurate directions. Further, when the nanocrystallites were rotated by applying a torque with the AFM tip across the preferential sliding directions, we find an increase of the torsional signal of the AFM cantilever. We demonstrate in conjunction with simulations that both, the significant friction anisotropy and preferential sliding directions are determined by the complex epitaxial relation and arise from the commensurate and incommensurate states between the organic nanocrystallites and the 2D materials., 11 pages, 10 figures

The present work aims at the preparation of dry adhesives with switchable bonding properties by using the reversible nature of the [4πs+4πs] cycloaddition of anthracenes. Photo-responsive hydrogenated carboxylated nitrile butadiene rubber with photo-responsive pendant anthracene groups is prepared by one-pot synthesis. The formation of 3D networks relies on the photodimerization of the anthracene moieties upon UV exposure (λ > 300 nm). Controlled cleavage of the crosslink sites is achieved by either deep UV exposure (λ = 254 nm) or thermal dissociation at 70 °C. The kinetics of the optical and thermal cleavage routes are compared in thin films using UV-vis spectroscopy and their influence on the reversibility of the network is detailed. Going from thin films to free standing samples the modulation of the network structure and thermo-mechanical properties over repeated crosslinking and cleavage cycles are characterized by low-field NMR spectroscopy and dynamic mechanical analysis. The applicability of the stimuli-responsive networks as adhesives with reversible bonding properties is demonstrated. The results evidence that the reversibility of the crosslinking reaction enables a controlled switching "on" and "off" of adhesion properties. The recovery of the adhesion force amounts to 75 and 80% for photo- and thermal dissociation, respectively. Spatial control of adhesion properties is evidenced by adhesion force mapping experiments of photo-patterned films.

Mechanochemically prepared nanopowder of selenium-free kesterite Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) in combination with n-type semiconductors, i.e., CdS, ZnO and TiO2, was tested in planar and bulk-heterojunction solar cells. The samples have been studied by macroscopic current-voltage (I-V) measurements and Kelvin-probe atomic-force microscopy (KPFM). KPFM images taken under light illumination showed the distribution of the potential across the surface, with negative potential on the n-type semiconductor domains and positive potential on the CZTS domains, which indicated charge separation at the interface of the counterparts. The best result was found for the CdS-CZTS composition, which showed a potential difference between the domains up to 250 mV. These results were compared with the planar heterojunctions of CdS/CZTS and TiO2/CZTS, where CZTS nanopowder was pressed/deposited directly onto the surface of films of the corresponding n-type semiconductors. Again, I-V characteristics showed that cells based on CdS/CZTS heterojunctions have the best performance, with a photovoltage up to 200 mV and photocurrent densities up to 0.1 mA/cm2. However, the carrier generation was found to occur mainly in the CdS semiconductor, while CZTS showed no photo-response and served as the hole-transporting layer only. It is concluded that sensitization of the kesterite powder obtained by mechanochemical method is necessary to improve the performance of the corresponding solar cells.

Five types of carbon-based screen-printed electrodes (SPE) – carbon (C110), mesoporous carbon (MC), single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT)-, carbon nanotubes (CNT)-, and carbon nanofibers (CNF)-modified electrodes – are characterized with respect to surface roughness, true surface area (TSA), electrochemical activity and electrochemical impedance (EIS) behavior and further used for electroless deposition of Pd. Structural characterization was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Investigation of the surfaces with AFM revealed an increasing root mean square (RMS) roughness in the order C110, SWCNT, CNT, CNF, and MC. EIS studies demonstrate significant difference in the resistance of the SPEs with largest value found for the carbon electrode (C110), followed by the carbon nanofiber (CNF)-modified electrode. MC, CNT- and SWCNT-modified electrodes exhibit close, significantly lower resistance values. The capacitance of the carbon-based SPEs is found to be rather high for all electrodes even if accounting for the TSA which has been determined with AFM. This implies a significant effect of nanoroughness and/or of a large internal porous structure especially for CNF and MC SPEs. Pd electroless deposition occurs at all carbon-based SPEs after reductive pre-treatment in supporting electrolytes (0.5 mol dm−3 H2SO4 or 0.1 mol dm−3 LiClO4) without using a solute chemical reductant in the metal plating solution. The amount and characteristics of the deposited Pd is estimated by anodic stripping voltammetry, EDX analysis, and SEM. It is established that the type and amount of Pd deposit depends on the structure of the carbon-based electrodes with nanostructured carbon coatings (consisting of CNT, SWCNT, or CNF) providing higher amounts of deposited Pd (in the range of 4.4 to 5.8 µg cm−2) and smaller size of the obtained metal particles.

In this study steel surfaces are modified with dipodal perfluoroalkyl organosilanes and the resulting wetting properties and surface morphologies are analyzed. Dipodal silane monomers with different fluoroalkyl spacer lengths are synthesized via hydrosilylation reaction. The modification of stainless steel surfaces is performed in a two-step procedure comprising a corona activation of the steel surface and the subsequent reaction of surface hydroxyl groups with the dipodal silanes from the liquid phase. Anti-adhesive behavior on the surface is achieved through the modification. The attachment of the dipodal silanes on the stainless steel surface is validated with infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The wetting properties of the dipodal silane layers are investigated by contact angle measurements and adhesive force measurements. Atomic force microscopy is used to characterize the surface roughness and morphologies. Stainless steel modified with the dipodal perfluoroalkyl silanes exhibits low surface energy and low adhesive force compared to the unmodified steel surface. The thermal stability of coatings based on dipodal silanes is higher when compared to layers based on conventional monopodal organosilanes.

Optical waveguides have been fabricated via photopolymerization of stable, inkjet-printed patterns. In order to obtain high-profile lines, the properties of both the ink and the substrate were adjusted. We prove that suitable patterns, with contact angles close to 90°, can be printed by using not fully cured, "sticky" PDMS as a substrate. In addition, we propose a simple sliding-drop experiment to show the crucial difference in how the ink dewets the "sticky" and the fully cured substrate, which is otherwise difficult to demonstrate. The light attenuation vs strain curve of the obtained waveguides was determined experimentally and was found to be almost linear within the measured strain range.

Our scanning tunneling microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiments along with first-principles calculations uncover the rich phenomenology and enable a coherent understanding of carbon vapor interaction with graphene on Ir(111). At high temperatures, carbon vapor not only permeates to the metal surface but also densifies the graphene cover. Thereby, in addition to underlayer graphene growth, upon cool down also severe wrinkling of the densified graphene cover is observed. In contrast, at low temperatures the adsorbed carbon largely remains on top and self-organizes into a regular array of fullerene-like, thermally highly stable clusters that are covalently bonded to the underlying graphene sheet. Thus, a new type of predominantly sp2-hybridized nanostructured and ultrathin carbon material emerges, which may be useful to encage or stably bind metal in finely dispersed form.

The understanding of local charge trapping on the nanoscale is crucial for the design of novel electronic devices and photodetectors based on SiGe nanoclusters (NCs). Here, the local spatial distribution of the surface potential of the Ge NCs was detected using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM). Different surface potentials between Ge NCs and the wetting layer (WL) surface were detected at room temperature. Changes of the local contact potential differences (CPD) were studied after injection of electrons or holes into single Ge NCs on top of the Si layer using a conductive atomic force microscopy tip. The CPD image contrast was increased after electron injection by applying a forward bias to the n-tip/i-Ge NC/p-Si junction. Injecting holes into a single Ge NC was also accompanied by filling of two-dimensional states in the surrounding region, which is governed by leakage currents through WL or surface states and Coulomb charging effects. A long retention time of holes trapped by the Ge NC was found.