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Physics - Materials Science - 11.11.2012

Using rust and water to store solar energy as hydrogen
Scientists are producing hydrogen from sunlight, water and rust. They're paving the way for an economic and ecological solution for storing renewable energy. How can solar energy be stored so that it can be available any time, day or night, when the sun shining or not? EPFL scientists are developing a technology that can transform light energy into a clean fuel that has a neutral carbon footprint: hydrogen.

Materials Science - 13.06.2012

Composite Materials Will Lead to Greener Cars
The use of composite materials is rapidly entering into the automotive industry thanks to a technique developed by a spin-off. This technique promises lighter cars that burn less fuel and, consequently, emit less CO2. In 2013, we may see car bumpers, doors, and frames made from composite materials, which are engineered or naturally occurring materials such as fiberglass made from two or more constituents with different physical or chemical properties.

Materials Science - Architecture - 08.06.2012

A solar sandwich to power future buildings
All in one: A new electricity generating building component is being developed.

Civil Engineering - Materials Science - 18.04.2012

Bridges get a quick check-up
Engineers have developed a new imaging technique that lets them see the insides of massive concrete bridges. Much like a sonogram, this technique provides quick, easy-to-interpret images, so that the health of these expensive structures can be assessed and monitored. The patient weighs several tons and is hundreds of meters long.

Materials Science - Physics - 03.02.2012

How to turn leaves into solar panels
Photovoltaic panels made from plant material could become a cheap, easy alternative to traditional solar cells. An entirely novel approach to photovoltaics has been developed. By taking the very protein in plants that allows for photosythesis and engineering it to produce electrical current, researcher Andreas Mershin has opened the door for potentially cheap and easy to reproduce solar energy.

Health - Materials Science - 30.01.2012

Protective covering for implants
A new technology could prevent most breast implant rejections. So far, more than a quarter of all breast implants must be removed within four years, because neighboring tissues develop a rigid envelope of fibrous tissue to protect themselves from the foreign body. A company has developed a protective covering made up of a nanostructured surface and a layer of collagen that will prevent the body from rejecting the implant.

Materials Science - 16.12.2011

Unscratchable gold
Scientists have created 18-karat gold that's harder than tempered steel and virtually unscratchable.

Materials Science - Innovation - 16.11.2011

Touchscreen with texture
Researchers have invented a new generation of tactile surfaces with relief effects - users can feel actual raised keys under their fingers.

Materials Science - 10.11.2011

Solar cells break a new record
Dye-sensitized Grätzel solar cells have just set a new efficiency benchmark. By changing the composition and color of the cells, an EPFL team has increased their efficiency to more than 12%.

Physics - Materials Science - 26.09.2011

A faster, cheaper method for making transistors and chips
It may soon be possible manufacture the miniscule structures that make up transistors and silicon chips rapidly and inexpensively. EPFL scientists are currently investigating the use of dynamic stencil lithography, a recent but not yet perfected method, for creating nanostructures. Faster, less expensive, and better.

Materials Science - Physics - 08.09.2011

The tarte tatin throws a new light on photovoltaics
Manufacturing solar cells that are one thousand times thinner than conventional cells. That is the challenge the researchers have set for themselves.

Physics - Materials Science - 30.06.2011

Memory breakthrough for the first time
For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that a relatively new memory technology, known as phase-change memory (PCM), can reliably store multiple data bits per cell over extended periods of time. This significant improvement advances the development of low-cost, faster and more durable memory applications for consumer devices, including mobile phones and cloud storage, as well as high-performance applications, such as enterprise data storage.

Materials Science - Physics - 08.11.2010

Graphene: a promising material
Graphene is a promising material for tomorrow's nanoelectronics devices, as reported myScience.ch earlier . Precise and upscaleable methods to fabricate graphene and derived materials with desired electronic properties are however still searched after. To overcome the current limitations, researchers have fabricated graphene-like materials using a surface chemical route and clarified in detail the corresponding reaction pathway.