Optical manipulation of plasmonic nanoparticles provides opportunities for fundamental and technical innovation in nanophotonics. Optical heating arising from the photon-to-phonon conversion is considered as an intrinsic loss in metal nanoparticles, which limits their applications. We show here that this drawback can be turned into an advantage, by developing an extremely low-power optical tweezing technique, termed opto-thermoelectric nanotweezers (OTENT). Through optically heating a thermoplasmonic substrate, alight-directed thermoelectric field can be generated due to spatial separation of dissolved ions within the heating laser spot, which allows us to manipulate metal nanoparticles of a wide range of materials, sizes and shapes with single-particle resolution. In combination with dark-field optical imaging, nanoparticles can be selectively trapped and their spectroscopic response can be resolved in-situ. With its simple optics, versatile low-power operation, applicability to diverse nanoparticles, and tuneable working wavelength, OTENT will become a powerful tool in colloid science and nanotechnology.

A significant amount of research is taking place to create energy storage concepts beyond the lithium ion battery and to utilize alternative ions, such as Na, Ca, or Mg, to name a few. This has been a challenge, as materials that work well to store lithium do not necessarily function for other ions. Crystalline germanium (Ge) represents such an example: Li can be readily inserted and extracted but not Na. However, by amorphizing the crystalline Ge nanowires with an initial lithiation step, Ge can be readily and reversibly sodiated. Here, we examine the sodiation and desodiation processes that occur in Ge nanowires using real-time in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Amorphous germanium (a-Ge) nanowires exhibit a 300% expansion in volume upon sodiation, which corresponds approximately to Na1.6Ge, which indicates a higher than expected capacity to store Na, i.e., compared to NaGe. When the nanowires desodiate they form pores. The pores disappear when the nanowire is again sodiated. The nanowires retain their structural integrity over the course of several cycles. These results show that the potential of a-Ge for Na-ion battery applications may have been previously underestimated, and, more generally, electrode materials that might appear to be inert for one type of ion storage might be enabled by preinsertion of other active ions.

Multicopper oxidases, such as laccase or bilirubin oxidase, are known to reduce molecular oxygen at very high redox potentials, which makes them attractive biocatalysts for enzymatic cathodes in biological fuel cells. By designing an enzymatic gas‐diffusion electrode, molecular oxygen can be supplied through the gaseous phase, avoiding solubility and diffusion limitations typically associated with liquid electrolytes. In doing so, the current density of enzymatic cathodes can theoretically be enhanced. This publication presents a material study of carbon/Teflon composites that aim to optimize the functionality of the gas‐diffusion and catalytic layers for application in enzymatic systems. The modification of the catalytic layer with multiwalled carbon nanotubes, for example, creates the basis for stronger π–π stacking interactions through tethered enzymatic linkers, such as pyrenes or perylene derivates. Cyclic voltammograms show the effective direct electron contact of laccase with carbon nanotube‐modified electrodes via tethered crosslinking molecules as a model system. The polarization behavior of laccase‐modified gas‐diffusion electrodes reveals open‐circuit potentials of +550 mV (versus Ag/AgCl) and current densities approaching 0.5 mA cm2 (at zero potential) in air‐breathing mode.

Semiconducting nanowires (NWs) are becoming essential nano-building blocks for advanced devices from sensors to energy harvesters, however their full technology penetration requires large scale materials synthesis together with efficient NW assembly methods. We demonstrate a scalable one-step solution process for the direct selection, collection and ordered assembly of silicon NWs with desired electrical properties from a poly-disperse collection of NWs obtained from a Supercritical Fluid-Liquid-Solid growth process. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) combined with impedance spectroscopy provides a selection mechanism at high signal frequencies (>500 kHz) to isolate NWs with the highest conductivity and lowest defect density. The technique allows simultaneous control of five key parameters in NW assembly: selection of electrical properties, control of NW length, placement in pre-defined electrode areas, highly preferential orientation along the device channel and control of NWs deposition density from few to hundreds per device. Direct correlation between DEP signal frequency and deposited NWs conductivity is directly confirmed by field-effect transistor and conducting-AFM data. Fabricated NW transistor devices demonstrate excellent performance with up to 1.6 mA current, 106-107 on/off ratio and hole-mobility of 50 cm2 V-1 s-1

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