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- Hand-knitted Molecules
Molecules are usually formed in reaction vessels or laboratory flasks. An Empa research team has now succeeded in producing molecules between two microscopically small, movable gold tips - in a sen... - Rare metals from e-waste
This year, beautifully wrapped laptops, mobile phones or even new TV sets lay under numerous Christmas trees. They are enthusiastically put into use - and the old electronic devices are disposed of...
- Searching for undeclared carbon tetrachloride in the atmosphere
35,000 tons of undeclared carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) are released into our atmosphere every year - although applications in which this substance is released into the environment have been official... - What does graphene do in our lungs?
Graphene has been hailed as the material of the future. As yet, however, little is known about whether and how graphene affects our health if it gets into the body. A team of researchers from Empa ... - Special polymer scaffold for threedimensional cell cultures
For the replacement of animal testing with alternatives in medical rsearch, complex microtissues need to be cultivated. Researchers from Empa have developed a special polymer scaffold for threedime... - New materials for sustainable, low-cost batteries
The energy transition depends on technologies that allow the inexpensive temporary storage of electricity from renewable sources. A promising new candidate is aluminium batteries, which are made fr... - Measurement of noble gases in Antarctic ice cores
The average sea temperature is an essential parameter of the global climate - but it is very difficult to measure. At least until now, because an international team of researchers including Empa sc... - First step to a water-based, rechargeable battery
In the quest to find safe, low-cost batteries for the future, eventually we have to ask ourselves a question: Why not simply use water as an electrolyte? Water is inexpensive, available everywhere,...
- Novel solid sodium battery with the potential to store extra energy
Phones, laptops, electric cars - batteries are everywhere. And to meet the expectations of today's consumers, these batteries are increasingly lighter, more powerful and designed to last longer. Cu... - Low-cost battery from waste graphite
Lithium ion batteries are flammable and the price of the raw material is rising. Are there alternatives? Yes: Empa and ETH Zürich researchers have discovered promising approaches as to how we might... - Nanoparticles that stick wounds together
In spite of medical advances, wound-related complications arising after operations can still be life-threatening. In order to avoid these complications in the future, a new nanoparticle-based tissu... - Biosensor for heavy metals
A team of Empa scientists has developed a biosensor which allows them to detect elevated concentrations of copper in a simple, quick and economic way. Copper, like other heavy metals is problematic... - How to produce microlenses from dyes
Researchers are on the lookout for rapid, reliable and affordable switches for the opto-electronics of the future. An Empa team now presents a potential solution: dye droplets measuring just a few ... - Textiles made from synthetic fibers release microfibers
Even before the UN Ocean Conference in early June, we already knew about the disastrous ways in which plastic affects the world's oceans. Billions of pieces of plastic are floating in the oceans. T... - Solid-state electrolyte that is able to compete with liquid electrolytes
Liquid lithium-ion rechargeable batteries are dangerous. They can leak or ignite rapidly if they become overheated. So-called solid-state lithium-ion batteries are a way of reducing these risks. Ho... - Printed 3D structures based on cellulose nanocrystals
Empa researchers have succeeded in developing an environmentally friendly ink for 3D printing based on cellulose nanocrystals. This technology can be used to fabricate microstructures with outstand... - Sodium and magnesium to replace lithium in batteries
Empa scientists supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) have produced novel electrolytes for rechargeable sodium and magnesium batteries. The research group's objective was to dev... - Measuring entropy
A scanning tunneling microscope (STM), used to study changes in the shape of a single molecule at the atomic scale, impacts the ability of that molecule to make these changes; the entropy of the mo... - Creating the tiniest structures on surfaces
Nanotechnology is regarded as the key technology of the 21st century, delivering the fundamental methods, which allow objects just a few hundred nanometers in size to be produced in any required sh...
- Innovation Award for new flame retardant
The Empa Innovation Award 2016 went to chemist Sabyasachi Gaan and his team. The researchers were recognized for the development of new, non-toxic and environmentally friendly fireproofing agents f... - Nanostructures against antibiotic resistance
Several peptides have an antibacterial effect - but they are broken down in the human body too quickly to exert this effect. Empa researchers have now succeeded in encasing peptides in a protective... - How chiral biomolecules imprint their handedness on crystal surfaces
The lack of mirror symmetry - that is, structures appear either only in a left- or right-handed fashion - is a striking property of the biological world. This so-called homochirality is seen at the...
- Electrochemistry to satisfy mass demand: the pyrite battery
High-performance lithium ion batteries face a major problem: Lithium will eventually start to run out. Researchers from Empa and ETH Zurich have now discovered an alternative: the "fool's gold batt... - Structure of "concrete disease" solved
When bridges, dam walls and other structures made of concrete are streaked with dark cracks after a few decades, the culprit is AAR: the alkali-aggregate reaction. Also called the "concrete disease... - New class of materials: hybrid aerogels with biopolymers
Although they are considered to be the best insulators of all, silicate-based aerogels have the disadvantages of being brittle and tending to produce dust. With the development of a hybrid aerogel ...