State-of-the-art facility for sustainable, high-quality mineral products

09-Jul-2020

Omya has rebuilt and expanded its calcium carbonate production plant in Orgon, France, creating a substantially higher capacity for its functionalized calcium carbonate product platform, a new packaging line and an on-site warehouse. The modern facility produces the company’s mineral grades for ...

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First theoretical explanation how electrical current moves through a thin film of nanocrystals

30-Jun-2020

Researchers at ETH have provided the first theoretical explanation for how electrical current is conducted in semiconductors made of nanocrystals. In the future, this could lead to the development of new sensors, lasers or LEDs for TV screens. A few years ago, we were introduced to TV screens ...

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How the dispersity of a plastic can be completely controlled by mixing two catalysts

25-Jun-2020

ETH researchers have developed a new method for producing polymers with different lengths. This paves the way for new classes of polymer materials to be used in previously inconceivable applications. It is hard to imagine everyday life without materials made of synthetic polymers. Clothes, car ...

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Risk analyses for nanoparticles

23-Jun-2020

In order to reduce the number of animal experiments in research, alternative methods are being sought. This is a particular challenge if the safety of substances that have hardly been studied is to be ensured, for instance, the completely new class of nanomaterials. To accomplish just that, Empa ...

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On the trail of enigmatic quantum phenomena

17-Jun-2020

A research team from Empa and EPFL has developed a molecular motor which consists of only 16 atoms and rotates reliably in one direction. It could allow energy harvesting at the atomic level. The special feature of the motor is that it moves exactly at the boundary between classical motion and ...

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The strength of lithographically produced silicon pillars even reached values that one would only expect only in theory

12-Jun-2020

Researchers at ETH and Empa have shown that tiny objects can be made from silicon that are much more deformable and stronger than previously thought. In this way, sensors in smartphones could be made smaller and more robust. Since the invention of the MOSFET transistor sixty year ago, the ...

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A CO2-negative concrete would be a true climate friend

09-Jun-2020

Cement production has to drastically reduce its environmental footprint. Empa researchers are, therefore working on alternative cement recipes that cause significantly fewer emissions or can even bind the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. It is the most widely used product in the world. Cement is ...

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The largest ever private investment into direct air capture

04-Jun-2020

Climeworks has successfully raised CHF 73 million (USD 75 million) in equity from private investors. This is the largest private investment into direct air capture to date. The funding will help to drive forward the company’s scale-up roadmap and expand its carbon dioxide removal ...

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Quantum entanglement in graphene nanostructures

04-Jun-2020

Graphene triangles with an edge length of only a few atoms behave like peculiar quantum magnets. When two of these nano-triangles are joined, a "quantum entanglement" of their magnetic moments takes place: the structure becomes antiferromagnetic. This could be a breakthrough for future magnetic ...

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A major experimental breakthrough

29-May-2020

The H+ proton consists of a single ion of hydrogen, the smallest and lightest of all the chemical elements. These protons occur naturally in water where a tiny proportion of H2O molecules separate spontaneously. Their amount in a liquid determines whether the solution is acidic or basic. Protons ...

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