news 2024

Innosuisse, the Swiss innovation promotion agency, supports research-based innovation to strengthen the international competitiveness of Swiss industry. In projects, companies work together with universities or research institutes such as Empa to bring innovative ideas to the market. Empa is currently involved in around 80 such projects.

Sustainable, renewable and good for the climate: Wood is the material of the future. But how much of it do we actually have and how do we make best use of it? Researchers from Empa and WSL have now analyzed the material flows of wood in Switzerland in detail - and discovered untapped opportunities. Switzerland has set itself a goal that is as ambitious as it is necessary: net zero by 2050.

From smart textiles to self-driving cars: researchers are developing new types of detectors for infrared radiation that are more sustainable, flexible and cost-effective than conventional technologies. The key to success is not (only) the composition of the material, but also its size. The ubiquity of infrared detectors What do motion detectors, self-driving cars, chemical analyzers and satellites have in common' They all contain detectors for infrared (IR) light.

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A research team at the Institute of Materials Chemistry at TU Wien, led by Professor Dominik Eder, has developed a new synthetic approach to create durable, conductive and catalytically active hybrid framework materials for (photo)electrocatalytic water splitting. Porous metal-organic framework catalysts The development of technologies for sustainable energy carriers, such as hydrogen, is essential.

Since more and more deciduous trees are being planted in Swiss forests, whose wood is often burned directly, innovative ideas for a cascade use are in high demand in order to utilize Swiss hardwood more sustainably.

The nanorobots developed by Dr Minh Luu and Dr Shelley Wickham could be used to deploy targeted cancer drugs, make futuristic materials that respond to their environments and find uses in creating energy-efficient signal processing. Nanoscale 'dinosaur' Object imaged using the cryo-electron microscope at the University of Sydney Microscopy and Microanalysis facility is just 250 nanometres wide.

Two-dimensional materials such as graphene are not only ultrathin, but also extremely sensitive. Researchers have therefore been trying for years to develop highly sensitive biosensors that utilise this property. Graphene-based field-effect transistors, for example, could register the tiniest changes in the electronic properties caused by the molecules when they interact with this atomically thin layer.

When water freezes slowly, the location where water turns into ice - known as the freezing front - forms a straight line. Researchers from the University of Twente showed how droplets that interact with such a freezing front, cause surprising deformations of this front. These new insights were published in a publication in the scientific journal Physical Review Letters and show potential for applications in cryopreservation and food engineering techniques.

Electric Vehicles will now be able to go from zero battery power to an 80 per cent charge thanks to Researchers at the University of Waterloo who made a breakthrough in lithium-ion battery design to enable this extremely fast charging. 15 minutes is much faster than the current industry standard of nearly an hour, even at fast-charging stations.

Robots that can sense touch and perceive temperature differences' An unexpected material might just make this a reality. At Empa's Laboratory for High-Performance Ceramics, researchers are developing soft and intelligent sensor materials based on ceramic particles. Most people think of coffee cups, bathroom tiles or flower pots when they hear the word "ceramic".

A breakthrough in material science could help deliver a new generation of affordable batteries, scientists say. An international team of researchers led by chemists from the University of Glasgow and battery testing experts at Helmholtz Institute Ulm have implemented a material made from chromium and selenium in a potassium-ion battery.

Quantum technologies exploit the unusual properties of the most fundamental building blocks of matter. They promise breakthroughs in communication, computing, sensors and much more. However, quantum states are fragile, and their effects are difficult to grasp, making research into real-world applications challenging.

By snugly wrapping around neurons, these devices could help scientists probe subcellular regions of the brain, and might even help restore some brain function. Wearable devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers interact with parts of our bodies to measure and learn from internal processes, such as our heart rate or sleep stages.

Retrofitting a portion of the US shipping fleet from internal combustion engines to battery-electric systems could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and be largely cost effective by 2035, according to a new study from Berkeley Lab researchers recently published in Nature Energy . Shipping represents 3% of total US greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, making it an important target for decarbonization.

In certain materials, electrical charge can only move in very specific directions. Researchers at TU Wien (Vienna) have now shown that this can be explained by magnetic effects. High-temperature superconductivity is one of the great mysteries of modern physics: some materials conduct electrical current without any resistance - but only at very low temperatures.

Materials researchers have created a new composite material that combines two incompatible properties: stiff yet with a high damping capacity. A compressor hums, an air conditioning system rattles, a railway carriage chassis clatters, sending reverberations through its passengers. Vibrations are not only annoying but can also be harmful.

By using a 3D printer like an iron, researchers can precisely control the color, shade, and texture of fabricated objects, using only one material. Multimaterial 3D printing enables makers to fabricate customized devices with multiple colors and varied textures. But the process can be time-consuming and wasteful because existing 3D printers must switch between multiple nozzles, often discarding one material before they can start depositing another.

New 3D Printing Technique by TU Delft and MIT Delivers High-Resolution Textures from a Single Material Researchers at Delft University of Technology and MIT have developed a novel 3D printing technique called Speed-Modulated Ironing , enabling high-resolution surface textures and colour gradients using just a single material.

A new study of bubbles on electrode surfaces could help improve the efficiency of electrochemical processes that produce fuels, chemicals, and materials. Industrial electrochemical processes that use electrodes to produce fuels and chemical products are hampered by the formation of bubbles that block parts of the electrode surface, reducing the area available for the active reaction.