Chemists have achieved the conversion of nitrogen to ammonium at room temperature and low pressure using only light elements

16-Sep-2020

The industrial conversion of nitrogen to ammonium provides fertiliser for agriculture. Würzburg chemists have now achieved this conversion at room temperature and low pressure using only light elements. Humankind is reliant on the ammonium in synthetic fertiliser for food. However, producing ...

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30-Oct-2019

Physicists at the University of Würzburg have made a ground-breaking discovery: They have realized a fundamental nanoelectronic device based on the topological insulator HgTe previously discovered in Würzburg. Topological insulators are materials with astonishing properties: Electric current ...

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Two new spectroscopic methods

23-Oct-2019

It is crucial for photovoltaics and other technical applications, how efficiently energy spreads in a small volume. With new methods, the path of energy in the nanometer range can now be followed precisely. Plants and bacteria lead the way: They can capture the energy of sunlight with ...

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04-Sep-2019

To date, it is nothing but the wishful thinking of many plastics recyclers: that recyclability is taken into account right from the very beginning of a product’s life cycle, at the product design stage. A new project aims at making this dream come true. Whether multi-layered food packaging, ...

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Organic dye in zinc oxide interlayer stabilizes and boosts the performance of organic solar cells

20-Aug-2019

Organic solar cells are made of cheap and abundant materials, but their efficiency and stability still lag behind those of silicon-based solar cells. A Chinese-German team of scientists has found a way to enhance the electric conductivity of organic solar cells, which increases their ...

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13-May-2019

In collaboration with researchers from Harvard University, researchers from the University of Würzburg have made an important step on the road to topological quantum computers. Majorana particles are very peculiar members of the family of elementary particles. First predicted in 1937 by the ...

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26-Mar-2019

Direct coupling of two molecules of nitrogen: chemists from Würzburg and Frankfurt have achieved what was thought to be impossible. This new reaction is reported in Science magazine and opens new possibilities for one of the most inert molecules on earth. Constituting over 78 % of the air we ...

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10-Dec-2018

Spider silk belongs to the toughest fibres in nature and has astounding properties. Scientists from the University of Würzburg discovered new molecular details of self-assembly of a spider silk fibre protein. They are lightweight, almost invisible, highly extensible and strong, and of course ...

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For the first time, physicists have built a unique topological insulator in which optical and electronic excitations hybridize and flow together

15-Oct-2018

Topological insulators are materials with very special properties. They conduct electricity or light particles on their surface or edges only but not on the inside. This unusual behaviour could eventually lead to technical innovations which is why topological insulators have been the subject of ...

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03-May-2018

Physicists from Dresden and Würzburg have developed a novel method for optical microscopy. Using biological motors and single quantum dots, they acquire ultra-high-resolution images. The resolution of conventional optical microscopy is limited by the fundamental physical principle of diffraction ...

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