A surprising discovery could help solve the riddle of high-temperature superconductivity

23-Jul-2021

At low temperatures, certain materials lose their electrical resistance and conduct electricity without any loss - this phenomenon of superconductivity has been known since 1911, but it is still not fully understood. And that is a pity, because finding a material that would still have ...

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Mix of methods provides new info

07-Jul-2021

Although the history of bitumen dates back to the third millennium BC, only little is known about its surface structure. Researchers from TU Wien are now shedding light on the nature of the bitumen surface using physicochemical analyses. While atomic force microscopy and scanning electron ...

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New measurements show: An allegedly sensational effect does not exist at all

23-Jun-2021

A single measurement result is not a proof - this has been shown again and again in science. We can only really rely on a research result when it has been measured several times, preferably by different research teams, in slightly different ways. In this way, errors can usually be detected sooner ...

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Nanoparticles are often used as catalysts. The chemical reactions on their surface are more complex than previously thought

26-May-2021

Most of commercial chemicals are produced using catalysts. Usually, these catalysts consist of tiny metal nanoparticles that are placed on an oxidic support. Similar to a cut diamond, whose surface consists of different facets oriented in different directions, a catalytic nanoparticle also ...

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A research team came across a surprising form of "quantum criticality". This could lead to a design concept for new materials

26-May-2021

In everyday life, phase transitions usually have to do with temperature changes – for example, when an ice cube gets warmer and melts. But there are also different kinds of phase transitions, depending on other parameters such as magnetic field. In order to understand the quantum properties of ...

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Precisely understand and improve chemical properties of surfaces

30-Apr-2021

The acidity of molecules can be easily determined, but until now it was not possible to measure this important property for atoms on a surface. With a new microscopy technique from the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), this has now been achieved. The degree of acidity or alkalinity of a ...

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In extreme heat or in the vacuum of space: a novel nanomaterial delivers top performance in extreme situations

22-Apr-2021

You can lubricate a bicycle chain with oil, but what do you do with a Mars rover or a red-hot conveyor belt in the steel industry? Very special nanomaterials have now been studied by the TU Wien together with research groups from Saarbrücken (Germany), Purdue University in the USA and the ...

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Converting carbon dioxide into other useful substances, such as synthetic fuels

22-Apr-2021

Which catalyst can be used to convert carbon dioxide into other substances? Scientists at TU Wien have now created a new material, which belongs to the class of perovskites. If the CO2 content of the atmosphere is not to increase any further, carbon dioxide must be converted into something else. ...

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Researchers create special light waves that can penetrate even opaque materials as if the material was not even there

14-Apr-2021

Why is sugar not transparent? Because light that penetrates a piece of sugar is scattered, altered and deflected in a highly complicated way. However, as a research team from TU Wien (Vienna) and Utrecht University (Netherlands) has now been able to show, there is a class of very special light ...

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"For the chip industry, tantalum nitride is a highly promising material"

07-Apr-2021

How can we remove heat from computer chips as fast as possible? At TU Wien, a metal compound has now been identified that is particularly well suited for this purpose. A thermos bottle has the task of preserving the temperature – but sometimes you want to achieve the opposite: Computer chips ...

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