How the investigation of ion oscillations can lead to better batteries

07-Apr-2020

Electrolytes play a key role in many areas: They are crucial for the storage of energy in our body as well as in batteries. In order to release energy, ions - charged atoms - must move in a liquid such as water. Until now the precise mechanism by which they move through the atoms and molecules of ...

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06-Apr-2020

Drops of water falling on or sliding over surfaces may leave behind traces of electrical charge, causing the drops to charge themselves. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz have now begun a detailed investigation into this phenomenon that accompanies us in ...

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When and how self-cleaning of superhydrophobic surfaces works

03-Apr-2020

Dirt is not always dirt. Some dirt, such as dust, adheres only slightly to surfaces. But there is also dirt, such as dried paint, which sticks strongly. How can the adhesive properties of a surface be adjusted so that different types of dirt do not stick to it? This knowledge is essential to ...

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New method provides fundamental insights into electrocatalytic water splitting under operating conditions

06-Mar-2020

Whether as a fuel or in energy storage: hydrogen is being traded as the energy carrier of the future. To date, existing methodologies have not been able to elucidate how exactly the electrochemical process of water splitting into hydrogen and oxygen takes place at the molecular scale on a ...

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Material developed which is heat-insulating and heat-conducting at the same time

21-Jan-2020

Styrofoam or copper - both materials have very different properties with regard to their ability to conduct heat. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Mainz and the University of Bayreuth have now jointly developed and characterized a novel, extremely thin and ...

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10-Jan-2020

Physicists at the University of Vienna in collaboration with the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have discovered a new type of glass formed by long, cyclic molecules. The scientists successfully demonstrated that by making parts of the rings more mobile, the rings become more strongly ...

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Small particles, big effects

22-Nov-2019

Conventional light microscopes cannot distinguish structures when they are separated by a distance smaller than, roughly, the wavelength of light. Superresolution microscopy, developed since the 1980s, lifts this limitation, using fluorescent moieties. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for ...

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25-Sep-2019

For applications such as light-emitting diodes or solar cells, organic materials are nowadays in the focus of research. These organic molecules could be a promising alternative to currently used semiconductors such as silicon or germanium and are used in OLED displays. A major problem is that in ...

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21-Aug-2019

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) led by Dr. Kamal Asadi have solved a four decade long challenge of producing very thin nylon films that can be used for instance in electronic memory components. The thin nylon films are several 100 times thinner than human hair ...

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12-Jul-2019

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are used today in many electronic devices for display applications, ranging from smartphones to televisions. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) have now succeeded in developing a new design for these LEDs. They have been able ...

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