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Crackpot idea or recipe for success? This is a question entrepreneurs often face. Is it worth converting the production process to a new, ecologically better material? Empa has developed an analysis method that enables companies to simulate possible scenarios – and therefore avoid bad investments. Here’s an example: Nanofibers made of carrot waste from the production of carrot juice, which can be used to reinforce synthetic parts.

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As part of the National Research Program “Energy Turnaround” NRP 70 the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is supporting the interdisciplinary research project “THRIVE”.

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Fuel cells are regarded as the technology of the future for both cars and household heating systems. As a result, they have a key role to play in the switch to renewable energies. But are fuel cells always more environmentally friendly? An international team of scientists headed by Empa performed a series of calculations and reached a conclusion: It depends on the fuel.

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Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, is part of the «European Nanomedicine Characterization Laboratory», a European project funded by the EU framework program «Horizon 2020». Its goal is to reach a level of international excellence in nanomedicine characterization for diseases like cancer, diabetes, inflammatory diseases or infections. This competence will be made accessible to all organizations developing candidate nanomedicines prior to their submission to regulatory agencies to get approval for clinical trials and, later on, for marketing authorization.

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"Sharc25," a European research project launched in May, is setting out to develop extremely efficient thin-film solar cells for the next generation of more cost-effective solar modules. Eleven research partners from eight countries are part of the consortium, which is coordinated by the Centre for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Württemberg (ZSW). The project will run for 3.5 years and receive €4.6 Mio in EU funding through the «Horizon 2020» program plus €1.6 Mio provided by the Swiss government to support the participation of Swiss partners including Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology. The results are expected to give the European solar industry a major boost.

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At the inauguration of its pilot production plant near Zurich, Swiss start-up Flisom that develops innovative technologies for manufacturing flexible low-cost, high-performance thin film solar cells based on CIGS (copper-indium-gallium-(di)selenide) secured another investment of CHF 10 million following an earlier investment of CHF 42.5 million just two years ago. With its roll-to-roll manufactu-ring the company is capable of producing 1 meter-wide rolls – an unprecedented capacity. A long-standing research cooperation between Flisom and Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, was the basis for this successful scale-up from lab to industrial levels.

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Medical technology is an important (and research-intensive) growth market for the Swiss economy. So it's no surprise that this research area plays a central role at Empa; ten of the 30 research laboratories focus, among other things, on the topics of the development, characterisation and analysis of materials as well as on surface coatings. During the MedTech Day on 20 May 2015, Empa researchers presented the latest discoveries made by their laboratories.

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A team of Empa scientists has, together with industrial partners, developed a novel chest strap device for the long-term monitoring of patients with heart and circulatory problems. What is special about the new system is that it records an electrocardiogram (ECG) of the wearer. It is also self-moistening, which is essential for reliable signal monitoring. At the specialist exhibition «Techtextil» held recently in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, the system won the Techtextil Innovation Award 2015.

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Thanks to a collaboration with the Balgrist University Hospital and University of Pittsburgh, Empa is beginning to decode the mechanics of the lower vertebrae. Researchers would like be able to reveal how wear and tear comes about on vertebral bodies and spinal disks. This would also make choosing the appropriate therapy much easier.

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4th generation halogenated coolants and foaming agents have only been in use for a few years. They have replaced persistent greenhouse gases such as R134a, which were used in (car) air conditioning units, refrigerators and in a variety of foams. Empa researchers have now published first measurements on the atmospheric distribution and abundance of these new substances. They show that the new coolants are frequently used in Europe - and that their use is increasing.

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Flexible optoelectronic devices that can be produced roll-to-roll – much like newspapers are printed – are a highly promising path to cheaper devices such as solar cells and LED lighting panels. Scientists from "TREASORES" project present prototype flexible solar cell modules as well as novel silver-based transparent electrodes that outperform currently used materials.

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Empa and the University Hospital Zurich have joined forces to develop a sensor that gages the blood sugar through skin contact. And best of all: No blood samples are necessary, not even to calibrate the sensor. “Glucolight” is initially to be used in premature babies to avoid hypoglycemia and subsequent brain damage.

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For his latest sound masterpiece, Belgian artist Aernoudt Jacobs turned to Empa technology. It will be on display in the exhibition Kontinuum at the Vienna gallery IM ERSTEN from January 28, 2015. Inside the artwork, there is a membrane made of electroactive polymers, also dubbed “artificial muscles”, which simultaneously generates reflections and sounds.

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A new coating protects business jet interiors against fire. Not only is the agent more environmentally friendly than before; it can also be applied more quickly. Empa is thus helping the Swiss company Jet Aviation to leave its competitors in the dust. This new coating could also be used in textiles and wood-based furnishing and architectural systems.

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The LICARA guidelines are geared towards small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from all branches of industry, and help weigh up the pros and cons of nanomaterials and make decisions on their use. The guidelines also do their bit towards efficient communication in the value added chain.

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The US journal Foreign Policy has named Empa researchers Artur Braun, Florent Boudoire, Rita Toth and Jakob Heier, and Edwin Constable from the University of Basel in the innovation category on the list of 100 Leading Global Thinkers 2014 in recognition of their research project on moth-eye solar cells for the direct conversion of sunlight into hydrogen. The awards ceremony took place in Washington D.C. on November 17, 2014, in the presence of US Secretary of State, John Kerry.

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Empa toxicologist Harald Krug has lambasted his colleagues in the journal Angewandte Chemie. He evaluated several thousand studies on the risks associated with nanoparticles and discovered no end of shortcomings: poorly prepared experiments and results that don’t carry any clout. Instead of merely leveling criticism, however, Empa is also developing new standards for such experiments within an international Network.

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An ambitious project is taking shape at Empa’s Laboratory for High Performance Ceramics: ceramic brake disks for compact cars. Empa scientists have teamed up with partners from Italy, Spain and Liechtenstein to develop the automobile technology of tomorrow. The only thing is: can the high-tech solution also be realized with a reasonable prize tag?

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The production and consumption of chemical substances threatening the ozone layer has been regulated since 1987 in the Montreal Protocol. Eight international expert reports have since been published, which examine the current situation and the future of the threat to the ozone layer. Empa scientists made a decisive contribution to the latest report – presented on 10 September at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

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Graphene is a semiconductor when prepared as an ultra-narrow ribbon – although the material is actually a conductive material. Researchers from Empa and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research have now developed a new method to selectively dope graphene molecules with nitrogen atoms. By seamlessly stringing together doped and undoped graphene pieces, they were able to form ”heterojunctions” in the nanoribbons, thereby fulfilling a basic requirement for electronic current to flow in only one direction when voltage is applied – the first step towards a graphene transistor. Furthermore, the team has successfully managed to remove graphene nanoribbons from the gold substrate on which they were grown and to transfer them onto a non-conductive material.

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The first sod was cut by Empa Director Gian-Luca Bona and Eawag Director Janet Hering, together with Walter Steinmann, Director of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE); Markus Kägi, a member of the Canton of Zurich’s Governing Council; and Lothar Ziörjen, the Mayor of Dübendorf. The project is funded by the federal government, the canton and the municipality. Over the next few years, the one-of-a-kind research house in Europe designed by the Zurich-based architecture firm Gramazio & Kohler will be putting future forms of living and working, new construction methods and new, energy-efficient technologies to the test. This will allow these technologies to reach market maturity more rapidly, which could give the industrial companies involved a major headstart. NEST will be permanently occupied as a guesthouse and the office units used on a daily basis.

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For the first time, researchers at Empa and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research have succeeded in "growing" single-wall carbon nanotubes (CNT) with a single predefined structure - and hence with identical electronic properties. And here is how they pulled it off: the CNTs "assembled themselves", as it were, out of tailor-made organic precursor molecules on a platinum surface, as reported by the researchers in the latest issue of the journal "Nature". In future, CNTs of this kind may be used in ultra-sensitive light detectors and ultra-small transistors.

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The antibacterial properties of silver-coated textiles are popular in the fields of sport and medicine. A team at Empa has now investigated how different silver coatings behave in the washing machine, and they have discovered something important: textiles with nano-coatings release fewer nano-particles into the washing water than those with normal coatings.

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When the frame of a pair of glasses is bent out of shape, it's not that easy to return it to its original form. If, however, your spectacles are made of a shape memory alloy then you don't have a problem. Just place the frame in hot water and bingo! – they're as good as new again. Empa researchers have now shown that these materials can also find applications in the building industry. For example in the reinforcement of bridges.

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All over the world researchers are investigating solar cells which imitate plant photosynthesis, using sunlight and water to create synthetic fuels such as hydrogen. Empa researchers have developed such a photoelectrochemical cell, recreating a moth’s eye to drastically increase its light collecting efficiency. The cell is made of cheap raw materials – iron and tungsten oxide.

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Artificial joints have a limited lifespan. After a few years, many hip and knee joints have to be replaced. Much more complex are intervertebral disc implants, which cannot easily be replaced after their "expiry date" and which up to now have had to be reinforced in most cases. This restricts the patient's freedom of movement considerably. Researchers at Empa have now succeeded in coating mobile intervertebral disc implants so that they show no wear and will now last for a lifetime.

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In March 2004, the Rosetta orbiter was launched into space to analyse and observe the nucleus and environment of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Among the equipment on board were highly complex metal ceramic sensors from Empa – integrated into two mass spectrometers. The devices were specially developed for the mission to measure gas particles in the vicinity of the comet.

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A new, absorbable material from Empa wood research could be of assistance in future oil spill accidents: a chemically modified nanocellulose sponge. The light material absorbs the oil spill, remains floating on the surface and can then be recovered. The absorbent can be produced in an environmentally-friendly manner from recycled paper, wood or agricultural by-products.

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Transparent conductive films are now an integral part of our everyday lives. Whether in smartphones, tablets, laptops, flat screens or (on a larger scale) in solar cells. Yet they are expensive and complex to manufacture. Now, researchers at Empa have succeeded in developing a method of producing such TCO films, as they are known, that is not only cheaper, but also simpler and more environmentally friendly.

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Researchers from Empa and ETH Zurich have succeeded in producing a prototype of a vibration-damping material that could change the world of mechanics forever. The material of the future is not only able to damp vibrations completely; it can also specifically conduct certain frequencies further.