news 2016
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Materials Science - Physics - 07.12.2016 
Porous crystalline materials: TU Graz researcher shows method for controlled growth
Microporous crystals (MOFs) have a great potential as functional materials of the future. Paolo Falcaro of TU Graz et al demonstrate how the growth of MOFs can be precisely controlled on a large scale. Porous crystals called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) consist of metallic intersections with organic molecules as connecting elements.
Materials Science - 05.12.2016 
Flexibility increases water resistance
Butterfly wings are a prime example of how flexible and elastic materials can be extremely water-repellent. The relationship between elasticity and water resistance has now been described for the first time by researchers at ETH Zurich. The new finding could help to improve water-repellent textiles for use in tents or clothing.
Materials Science - Physics - 28.11.2016 
Networked colours
A team that includes ETH Zurich scientists is the first to use materials with a network-like structure to create a full spectrum of intense colours.
Physics - Materials Science - 24.11.2016 
A new perovskite could lead the next generation of data storage
EPFL scientists have developed a new perovskite material with unique properties that can be used to build next-generation hard drives.
Materials Science - Physics - 17.11.2016 
Switching off vibrations
Macroscopic crystal structures can absorb unwanted vibrations or filter noise - without any electronics or electricity whatsoever.
Materials Science - Chemistry - 30.10.2016 
Ceramics 3D printed from foams
ETH researchers have used an additive manufacturing process to print an extremely porous ceramic component. Manufacturing a material of this kind with a 3D printer is a considerable achievement. Doctoral student Carla Minas, from the Complex Materials group led by ETH Professor André Studart, has succeeded in creating a highly porous and yet extremely robust ceramic material, which she 'printed' using an additive manufacturing process.
Physics - Materials Science - 13.09.2016 
Metal in chains
The electronic energy states allowed by quantum mechanics determine whether a solid is an insulator or whether it conducts electric current as a metal.
Materials Science - Electroengineering - 17.08.2016 
Piggyback battery for microchips: TU Graz researchers develop new concept
Electrochemists at TU Graz have managed to use monocrystalline semiconductor silicon as an active storage electrode in lithium batteries. This enables an integrated power supply to be made for microchips with a rechargeable battery. Photographic material available for download at the end of the text Small electrical gadgets, such as mobile phones, tablets or notebooks, are indispensable accompaniments of everyday life.
Materials Science - 02.08.2016 
Creating 3D objects from inextensible sheet materials
Researchers have developed an algorithm for creating complex objects by cutting holes in sheets of inextensible, but flexible materials such as metal, plastic and leather. It has potential applications in many areas, including microengineering, bioengineering, fashion and architecture. EPFL researchers, in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Hull, have come up with a method for creating everyday objects - like a mask or a shoe - from sheets of inextensible material.
Materials Science - 27.07.2016 
Objects that sculpt light
Researchers at EPFL have found a way to make images by controlling the reflections that are produce when light passes through a transparent object. This technology is now being marketed by the startup Rayform. Researchers at EPFL have found a way to make images by controlling the reflections that are produce when light passes through a transparent object.
Materials Science - Physics - 14.07.2016 
Electricity generated with water, salt - and a 3 atoms thick membrane
EPFL researchers have developed a system that generates electricity from osmosis with unparalleled efficiency.
Physics - Materials Science - 11.07.2016 
Physicists Couple Distant Nuclear Spins Using a Single Electron
For the first time, researchers at the University of Basel have coupled the nuclear spins of distant atoms using just a single electron. Three research groups from the Department of Physics took part in this complex experiment, the results of which have now been published Nanotechnology. In most materials, the nuclear spins of neighboring atoms have only a very weak effect on one another, as the tiny nuclei are located deep within the atoms.
Materials Science - 17.06.2016 
Scientists solve a long-standing mystery about wear
17. It generates particulate-matter air pollution and degrades mechanical parts. Adhesive wear a major, yet poorly understood problem. Using simulations, researchers from EPFL offer new insights into what happens when seemingly smooth surfaces rub against each other. Adhesive wear can cause machine failure, particulate-matter air pollution, and many other societal woes.
Physics - Materials Science - 14.06.2016 
A new material can clear up nuclear waste gases
14. An international team of scientists at EPFL and the US have discovered a material that can clear out radioactive waste from nuclear plants more efficiently, cheaply, and safely than current methods. Figure: The crystal structure of SBMOF-1 (green = Ca, yellow = S, red = O, gray = C, white = H). The light blue surface is a visualization of the one-dimensional channel that SBMOF-1 creates for the gas molecules to move through.
Materials Science - Environment - 07.06.2016 
Nature knows how to do it - as does
As part of the "LightChEC" research project at the University of Zurich, Empa scientists are working with other researchers on a novel method of artificial photosynthesis - photocatalysis, which uses a purely chemical process to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike other methods, it does not involve the electrolysis of water.
Materials Science - Physics - 17.05.2016 
Cooling, time in the dark preserve perovskite solar power
A new study has found both the cause and a solution for the pesky tendency of perovskite solar cells to degrade in sunlight. 'What we found in this study is that under constant 1-sun illumination the large-grain perovskite solar cells degrade majorly in terms of the photocurrent,' Nie said.
Physics - Materials Science - 12.05.2016 
How nanoparticles flow through the environment
Carbon nanotubes remain attached to materials for years while titanium dioxide and nanozinc are rapidly washed out of cosmetics and accumulate in the ground. Researchers from the National Research Programme 'Opportunities and Risks of Nanomaterials' (NRP 64) have developed a new model to track the flow of the most important nanomaterials in the environment.
Materials Science - Physics - 09.05.2016 
Machine learning accelerates the discovery of new materials
Researchers recently demonstrated how an informatics-based adaptive design strategy, tightly coupled to experiments, can accelerate the discovery of new materials with targeted properties.
Physics - Materials Science - 02.05.2016 
Quantum Sensors for High-Precision Magnetometry of Superconductors
Scientists at the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the Department of Physics at the University of Basel have developed a new method that has enabled them to image magnetic fields on the nanometer scale at temperatures close to absolute zero for the first time. They used spins in special diamonds as quantum sensors in a new kind of microscope to generate images of magnetic fields in superconductors with unrivalled precision.
Materials Science - 25.04.2016 
Cycling helmets with optimum ventilation
Any cyclist who wears a helmet knows the feeling: heat builds up under your helmet and the sweat starts to flow, especially in summer. As a result, many cyclists will take a risk and not even wear a helmet. A research team at Empa has now studied the flow of heat under cycling helmets in detail - the first step towards "sweat-free" protective headgear.
Materials Science
Results 1 - 20 of 32.
Microporous crystals (MOFs) have a great potential as functional materials of the future. Paolo Falcaro of TU Graz et al demonstrate how the growth of MOFs can be precisely controlled on a large scale. Porous crystals called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) consist of metallic intersections with organic molecules as connecting elements.
Butterfly wings are a prime example of how flexible and elastic materials can be extremely water-repellent. The relationship between elasticity and water resistance has now been described for the first time by researchers at ETH Zurich. The new finding could help to improve water-repellent textiles for use in tents or clothing.
A team that includes ETH Zurich scientists is the first to use materials with a network-like structure to create a full spectrum of intense colours.
EPFL scientists have developed a new perovskite material with unique properties that can be used to build next-generation hard drives.
Macroscopic crystal structures can absorb unwanted vibrations or filter noise - without any electronics or electricity whatsoever.
ETH researchers have used an additive manufacturing process to print an extremely porous ceramic component. Manufacturing a material of this kind with a 3D printer is a considerable achievement. Doctoral student Carla Minas, from the Complex Materials group led by ETH Professor André Studart, has succeeded in creating a highly porous and yet extremely robust ceramic material, which she 'printed' using an additive manufacturing process.
The electronic energy states allowed by quantum mechanics determine whether a solid is an insulator or whether it conducts electric current as a metal.
Electrochemists at TU Graz have managed to use monocrystalline semiconductor silicon as an active storage electrode in lithium batteries. This enables an integrated power supply to be made for microchips with a rechargeable battery. Photographic material available for download at the end of the text Small electrical gadgets, such as mobile phones, tablets or notebooks, are indispensable accompaniments of everyday life.
Researchers have developed an algorithm for creating complex objects by cutting holes in sheets of inextensible, but flexible materials such as metal, plastic and leather. It has potential applications in many areas, including microengineering, bioengineering, fashion and architecture. EPFL researchers, in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Hull, have come up with a method for creating everyday objects - like a mask or a shoe - from sheets of inextensible material.
Researchers at EPFL have found a way to make images by controlling the reflections that are produce when light passes through a transparent object. This technology is now being marketed by the startup Rayform. Researchers at EPFL have found a way to make images by controlling the reflections that are produce when light passes through a transparent object.
EPFL researchers have developed a system that generates electricity from osmosis with unparalleled efficiency.
For the first time, researchers at the University of Basel have coupled the nuclear spins of distant atoms using just a single electron. Three research groups from the Department of Physics took part in this complex experiment, the results of which have now been published Nanotechnology. In most materials, the nuclear spins of neighboring atoms have only a very weak effect on one another, as the tiny nuclei are located deep within the atoms.
17. It generates particulate-matter air pollution and degrades mechanical parts. Adhesive wear a major, yet poorly understood problem. Using simulations, researchers from EPFL offer new insights into what happens when seemingly smooth surfaces rub against each other. Adhesive wear can cause machine failure, particulate-matter air pollution, and many other societal woes.
14. An international team of scientists at EPFL and the US have discovered a material that can clear out radioactive waste from nuclear plants more efficiently, cheaply, and safely than current methods. Figure: The crystal structure of SBMOF-1 (green = Ca, yellow = S, red = O, gray = C, white = H). The light blue surface is a visualization of the one-dimensional channel that SBMOF-1 creates for the gas molecules to move through.
As part of the "LightChEC" research project at the University of Zurich, Empa scientists are working with other researchers on a novel method of artificial photosynthesis - photocatalysis, which uses a purely chemical process to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Unlike other methods, it does not involve the electrolysis of water.
A new study has found both the cause and a solution for the pesky tendency of perovskite solar cells to degrade in sunlight. 'What we found in this study is that under constant 1-sun illumination the large-grain perovskite solar cells degrade majorly in terms of the photocurrent,' Nie said.
Carbon nanotubes remain attached to materials for years while titanium dioxide and nanozinc are rapidly washed out of cosmetics and accumulate in the ground. Researchers from the National Research Programme 'Opportunities and Risks of Nanomaterials' (NRP 64) have developed a new model to track the flow of the most important nanomaterials in the environment.
Researchers recently demonstrated how an informatics-based adaptive design strategy, tightly coupled to experiments, can accelerate the discovery of new materials with targeted properties.
Scientists at the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the Department of Physics at the University of Basel have developed a new method that has enabled them to image magnetic fields on the nanometer scale at temperatures close to absolute zero for the first time. They used spins in special diamonds as quantum sensors in a new kind of microscope to generate images of magnetic fields in superconductors with unrivalled precision.
Any cyclist who wears a helmet knows the feeling: heat builds up under your helmet and the sweat starts to flow, especially in summer. As a result, many cyclists will take a risk and not even wear a helmet. A research team at Empa has now studied the flow of heat under cycling helmets in detail - the first step towards "sweat-free" protective headgear.
