Extreme miniaturization of infrared (IR) detectors is critical for their integration into next-generation consumer electronics, wearables and ultra-small satellites. Thus far, however, IR detectors have relied on bulky (and expensive) materials and technologies.
The substitution of petrochemical materials with those obtained from renewable raw materials is an important step towards increasing sustainability. In just two years of intensive and open collaboration between Empa and the Datwyler Schweiz AG as part of an Innosuisse project, a process was successfully developed that brought together the worlds of cellulose and rubbers.
The DYNCAT project, in which Empa researchers are working with partners in Switzerland, Germany and France, is aiming at approaches of passenger jets that cause less noise and CO2 emissions – thanks to intelligent assistance systems for the pilots.
An international research team led by drone expert Mirko Kovac of Empa and Imperial College London has taken bees as a model to develop a swarm of cooperative, 3D-printing drones. Under human control, these flying robots work as a team to print 3D materials for building or repairing structures while flying, as the scientists report in the cover story of the latest issue of Nature.
In the FOXIP project, researchers form Empa, EPFL and the Paul Scherrer Institute attempted to print thin-film transistors with metal oxides onto heat-sensitive materials such as paper or PET. The goal was ultimately not achieved, but those involved consider the project a success – because of a new printing ink an a transistor with "memory effect".
With energy prices soaring, heating costs will also inevitably rise in the coming winter. In order to mitigate this, solutions for operating buildings more efficiently are needed. The Empa spin-off viboo has developed an algorithm that makes it possible to operate even older buildings with around 25 percent less energy – while user comfort remains the same or even improves.
In early August 2022, the Aerogel Architecture Award was presented at Empa for the second time. The winning project comes from Germany, while buildings from Switzerland take second and third place. They all impressively demonstrate how historical buildings can be upgraded to the latest energy standards thanks to an innovative use of aerogel materials.
Crystals consisting of wildly mixed ingredients - so-called high-entropy materials - are currently attracting growing scientific interest. Their advantage is that they are particularly stable at extremely high temperatures and could be used, for example, for energy storage and chemical production processes. An Empa team is producing and researching these mysterious ceramic materials, which have only been known since 2015.
A team of researchers at Empa developed a water-activated disposable paper battery. The researchers suggest that it could be used to power a wide range of low-power, single-use disposable electronics – such as smart labels for tracking objects, environmental sensors and medical diagnostic devices – and minimize their environmental impact. The proof-of-principle study has been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
At the end of the 18th "European Bridge Conference" in Edinburgh in June, the former Director of Empa in Dübendorf, Urs Meier, was honored with the "Lifetime Achievement Award" for his research and developments in the field of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) in the construction industry at a festive event in the historic Town Hall. The award was presented by Lord Provost Robert Aldridge.
Copper exposure in the environment and the protein alpha-synuclein in the human brain could play an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. A team from Empa and the University of Limerick was able to show how the protein takes on an unusual shape when exposed to large amounts of copper ions. The findings could help develop new strategies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Graphene-based particles released from polymer composites after abrasion induce negligible health effects. Under the leadership of Empa, an international research team of the Graphene Flagship project conducted a study on the health risks of graphene-containing nanoparticles and recently published the results in Journal of Hazardous Materials.
With the help of digital twins, researchers at Empa and Stellenbosch University are aiming to reduce food waste, for example in the case of citrus fruits, along the production and supply chains. The hygrothermal measurement data needed to improve the shelf life of oranges and the like would actually be available. So far, however, they have been underutilized, the researchers write in a recent study in the journal Nature Food.
A new robot is capable of switching from an underwater drone to an aerial vehicle in less than one second. The robot also features a suction disc inspired by the remora fish, which enables it to hitchhike on wet or dry moving objects to significantly reduce its power consumption. It is designed for biological and environmental monitoring in marine ecosystems such as surveying ocean pollution in the open sea as the scientist of Beihang University, Imperial College London and Empa point out in a new study published in Science Robotics.
Researchers from ETH Zurich, Empa and the University of Zurich have developed a new material for an electronic component that can be used in a wider range of applications than its predecessors. Such components will help create electronic circuits that emulate the human brain and that are more efficient than conventional computers at performing machine-learning tasks.
Anyone who lives in an old building with wooden floors knows the problem: Even if the neighbors from above glide across the floor with graceful elegance, it sounds as if you were living under a bowling alley. Impact sound is a challenge even for the most modern wooden buildings. Scientists at Empa are now tinkering with a solution.
Together with researchers from Ulm and Neuchâtel, Empa will soon be studying material samples on the ISS. The material in question are super-hard and corrosion-resistant alloys of palladium, nickel, copper and phosphorus - also known as "metallic glasses". A high-tech company from La Chaux-de-Fonds, which produces materials for the watch industry, is also involved.
In recent years, Empa has worked with an external hydraulics specialist to develop a fully variable electrohydraulic valve control system. called FlexWork, which can be used for internal combustion engines and other thermal/pneumatic machines.
Chemical syntheses in liquids and gases take place in three-dimensional space. Random collisions between molecules have to result in something new in an extremely short time. But there is another way: on a gold surface under ultrahigh vacuum conditions, molecules lying still next to each other can be made to combine - even those that would never want to react with each other in a liquid. Researchers at Empa have now discovered such a reaction. Best of all, the experts can "take pictures" and watch every step of the reaction.
A bandage that releases medication as soon as an infection starts in a wound could treat injuries more efficiently. Empa researchers are currently working on polymer fibers that soften as soon as the environment heats up due to an infection, thereby releasing antimicrobial drugs.
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