Chemists succeed in producing synthesis and complete characterisation for the first time

26-Jul-2021

Silicon, a semi-metal, bonds in its natural form with four other elements and its three-dimensional structure takes the form of a tetrahedron. For a long time, it seemed impossible to achieve the synthesis and characterisation of a two-dimensional equivalent – geometrically speaking, a square. ...

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Scientists achieve defect control with a new reaction pathway

13-Apr-2021

The properties of carbon-based nanomaterials can be altered and engineered through the deliberate introduction of certain structural “imperfections” or defects. The challenge, however, is to control the number and type of these defects. In the case of carbon nanotubes – microscopically small ...

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Phase transitions: Physicists observe the emergence of collective behaviour

15-Dec-2020

Phase transitions describe dramatic changes in properties of a macroscopic system – like the transition from a liquid to a gas. Starting from individual ultracold atoms, Heidelberg University physicists were able to observe the emergence of such a transition with an increasing number of ...

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New spectroscopic method

19-Aug-2019

A new spectroscopic method now makes it possible to measure and visualise the energetic landscape inside solar cells based on organic materials. It was developed by a research team led by Prof. Dr Yana Vaynzof, a physicist at Heidelberg University. This novel visualisation technique enables ...

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BASF and the University of Heidelberg extend cooperation

15-Aug-2019

BASF and the University of Heidelberg will jointly continue operating their Catalysis Research Laboratory (CaRLa) for a further three years. The partners signed the appropriate contract to extend the research cooperation until 2022. At CaRLa, researchers work on issues relating to homogeneous ...

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13-Aug-2019

Many phenomena of the natural world evidence symmetries in their dynamic evolution which help researchers to better understand a system’s inner mechanism. In quantum physics, however, these symmetries are not always achieved. In laboratory experiments with ultracold lithium atoms, researchers ...

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Researchers quantify rare CO2 variants using laser spectroscopy

22-May-2019

For the first time it is possible to measure, simultaneously and with extreme precision, four rare molecular variants of carbon dioxide (CO2) using a novel laser instrument. It is thus able to measure the temperature during the formation of CO2-binding carbonates and carbonaceous fossils ...

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Physicists reinvent the wheel with the help of a polymer fibre

07-May-2018

Physicists and material scientists have succeeded in constructing a motor and an energy storage device from one single component. They used an elastic polymer fibre closed into a ring that was made to rotate on application of an external energy supply. The researchers from the universities in ...

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Fermions in flatland pair up at very high temperatures: Physicists find evidence of an exotic state of matter

22-Dec-2017

Using ultracold atoms, researchers at Heidelberg University have found an exotic state of matter where the constituent particles pair up when limited to two dimensions. The findings from the field of quantum physics may hold important clues to intriguing phenomena of ...

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Scientists examine electronic decay processes with the aid of quantum chemistry

11-Mar-2016

What exactly are the processes when x-ray photons damage biomolecules with a metal centre? This question has been investigated by a team of scientists at the Institute for Physical Chemistry of Heidelberg University. Using the methods of quantum chemistry, they examined the underlying electronic ...

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