Stefan Heißler

Surface Faceting and Reconstruction of Ceria Nanoparticles

The surface atomic arrangement of metal oxides determines their physical and chemical properties, and the ability to control and optimize structural parameters is of crucial importance for many applications, in particular in heterogeneous catalysis and photocatalysis. Whereas the structures of macroscopic single crystals can be determined with established methods, for nanoparticles (NPs), this is a challenging task. Herein, we describe the use of CO as a probe molecule to determine the structure of the surfaces exposed by rod-shaped ceria NPs. After calibrating the CO stretching frequencies using results obtained for different ceria single-crystal surfaces, we found that the rod-shaped NPs actually restructure and expose {111} nanofacets. This finding has important consequences for understanding the controversial surface chemistry of these catalytically highly active ceria NPs and paves the way for the predictive, rational design of catalytic materials at the nanoscale.

Site-selective growth of surface-anchored metal-organic frameworks on self-assembled monolayer patterns prepared by AFM nanografting

Summary Surface anchored metal-organic frameworks, SURMOFs, are highly porous materials, which can be grown on modified substrates as highly oriented, crystalline coatings by a quasi-epitaxial layer-by-layer method (liquid-phase epitaxy, or LPE). The chemical termination of the supporting substrate is crucial, because the most convenient method for substrate modification is the formation of a suitable self-assembled monolayer. The choice of a particular SAM also allows for control over the orientation of the SURMOF. Here, we demonstrate for the first time the site-selective growth of the SURMOF HKUST-1 on thiol-based self-assembled monolayers patterned by the nanografting technique, with an atomic force microscope as a structuring tool. Two different approaches were applied: The first one is based on 3-mercaptopropionic acid molecules which are grafted in a 1-decanethiolate SAM, which serves as a matrix for this nanolithography. The second approach uses 16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid, which is grafted in a matrix of an 1-octadecanethiolate SAM. In both cases a site-selective growth of the SURMOF is observed. In the latter case the roughness of the HKUST-1 is found to be significantly higher than for the 1-mercaptopropionic acid. The successful grafting process was verified by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and atomic force microscopy. The SURMOF structures grown via LPE were investigated and characterized by atomic force microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared microscopy.

Interaction of human plasma proteins with thin gelatin-based hydrogel films: a QCM-D and ToF-SIMS study.

In the fields of surgery and regenerative medicine, it is crucial to understand the interactions of proteins with the biomaterials used as implants. Protein adsorption directly influences cell-material interactions in vivo and, as a result, regulates, for example, cell adhesion on the surface of the implant. Therefore, the development of suitable analytical techniques together with well-defined model systems allowing for the detection, characterization, and quantification of protein adsorbates is essential. In this study, a protocol for the deposition of highly stable, thin gelatin-based films on various substrates has been developed. The hydrogel films were characterized morphologically and chemically. Due to the obtained low thickness of the hydrogel layer, this setup allowed for a quantitative study on the interaction of human proteins (albumin and fibrinogen) with the hydrogel by Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation Monitoring (QCM-D). This technique enables the determination of adsorbant mass and changes in the shear modulus of the hydrogel layer upon adsorption of human proteins. Furthermore, Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry and principal component analysis was applied to monitor the changed composition of the topmost adsorbate layer. This approach opens interesting perspectives for a sensitive screening of viscoelastic biomaterials that could be used for regenerative medicine.

A Photolithographic Approach to Spatially Resolved Cross-Linked Nanolayers

The preparation of cross-linked nanosheets with 1-2 nm thickness and predefined shape was achieved by lithographic immobilization of trimethacryloyl thioalkanoates onto the surface of Si wafers, which were functionalized with 2-(phenacylthio)acetamido groups via a photoinduced reaction. Subsequent cross-linking via free radical polymerization as well as a phototriggered Diels-Alder reaction under mild conditions on the surface led to the desired nanosheets. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), as well as infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) confirmed the success of individual surface-modification and cross-linking reactions. The thickness and lateral size of the cross-linked structures were determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) for samples prepared on Si wafers functionalized with a self-assembled monolayer of 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyl groups bearing circular pores obtained via a polymer blend lithographic approach, which led to the cross-linking reactions occurring in circular nanoareas (diameter of 50-640 nm) yielding an average thickness of 1.2 nm (radical cross-linking), 1.8 nm (radical cross-linking in the presence of 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl methacrylate as a comonomer), and 1.1 nm (photochemical cross-linking) of the nanosheets.

Rendering Photoreactivity to Ceria: The Role of Defects

The photoreactivity of ceria, a photochemically inert oxide with a large band gap, can be increased to competitive values by introducing defects. This previously unexplained phenomenon has been investigated by monitoring the UV-induced decomposition of N2 O on well-defined single crystals of ceria by using infrared reflection-absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS). The IRRAS data, in conjunction with theory, provide direct evidence that reducing the ceria(110) surface yields high photoreactivity. No such effects are seen on the (111) surface. The low-temperature photodecomposition of N2 O occurs at surface O vacancies on the (110) surface, where the electron-rich cerium cations with a significantly lowered coordination number cause a local lowering of the huge band gap (ca. 6 eV). The quantum efficiency of strongly reduced ceria(110) surfaces in the photodecomposition of N2 O amounts to 0.03 %, and is thus comparable to that reported for the photooxidation of CO on rutile TiO2 (110).

Leukocyte responses to immobilized patterns of CXCL8

The attachment of neutrophils to the endothelial surface and their migration towards the site of inflammation following chemokine gradients play an essential role in the innate immune response. Chemokines adhere to glycosaminoglycans on the endothelial surface to be detected by leukocytes and trigger their movement along surface- bound gradients in a process called haptotaxis. In assays to systematically study the response of leukocytes to surface-bound compounds both the spatial arrangement of the compound as well as the mode of immobilization need to be controlled. In this study microcontact printing was employed to create patterns of hydrophobic or functionalized thiols on gold-coated glass slides and CXCL8 was immobilized on the thiol coated areas using three different strategies. Human neutrophils adhered to the CXCL8-coated lines but not to the PEG-coated background. We could show that more cells adhered to CXCL8 adsorbed to hydrophobic octadecanethiol than on CXCL8 covalently bound to amino undecanethiol or CXCL8 specifically bound to immobilized heparin on aminothiol. Likewise general cell activity such as lamellipodia formation and random migration were most pronounced for CXCL8 adsorbed on a hydrophobic surface which may be attributed to the larger amounts of protein immobilized on this type of surface.

Extracellular aromatic biosurfactant produced by Tsukamurella pseudospumae and T. spumae during growth on n–hexadecane

Biosurfactants are surface-active agents produced by microorganisms and show increasing significance in various industrial applications. A great variety of these secondary metabolites are described to occur within actinomycetes, amongst trehalose lipids and oligosaccharide lipids produced by the family Tsukamurellaceae. This study reports on the production of not yet described compounds with surface active behavior by non-pathogenic Tsukamurella pseudospumae and Tsukamurella spumae during growth on hydrophobic carbon sources. Extracts of the purified compounds differ in terms of structure and performance properties to other biosurfactants described within their family. Infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic analysis revealed the presence of aromatic moieties within the surfactant produced, which to date is only known to occur within phenolic glycolipids of some mycobateria.