The production of chemicals is a cumbersome business. Often, only a small part of what is actually wanted is produced in the factory. The large remainder is unusable—or even worse. Examples? The defoliant "Agent Orange" ...
Environment
Jun 17, 2021
0
4
The fabrication device for the battery revolution looks quite unconspicuous: It is a modified, commercially available 3D printer, located in a room in the Empa laboratory building. But the real innovation lies within the ...
Materials Science
Jun 3, 2021
1
171
An international team led by Empa and ETH Zurich researchers is playing with shape-engineered nanoscale building blocks that are up to 100-times larger than atoms and ions. And although these nano "Lego bricks" interact with ...
Materials Science
May 27, 2021
1
24
Swiss drivers wear out countless tires. Instead of incinerating them, they could be reused locally: The asphalt of various countries has long contained rubber from used tires. Empa and its partners from industry are adopting ...
Materials Science
May 20, 2021
0
7
Wherever scientists look, they can spot them: whether in remote mountain lakes, in Arctic sea ice, in the deep-ocean floor or in air samples, even in edible fish—thousands upon thousands of microscopic plastic particles ...
Bio & Medicine
May 4, 2021
1
609
Removing pathogens from drinking water is especially difficult when the germs are too tiny to be caught by conventional filters. Researchers at Empa and Eawag are developing new materials and processes to free water from ...
Materials Science
May 3, 2021
0
0
Buildings, industrial plants, roads, cars, gasoline, electricity and all other consumption: What does Switzerland consume each year? How much of it is exported or disposed of? How much flows back into the economy? And what ...
Environment
Apr 16, 2021
0
9
Hard times for burglars and safecrackers: Empa researchers have developed an invisible "keyhole" made of printed, transparent electronics. Only authorized persons know where to enter the access code.
Materials Science
Mar 18, 2021
0
6
Ingo Burgert and his team at Empa and ETH Zurich have proven it time and again: Wood is so much more than "just" a building material. Their research aims at extending the existing characteristics of wood in such a way that ...
Materials Science
Mar 15, 2021
1
14
The pigment melanin protects human skin from harmful UV light (and gives us a summer tan), and is a veritable treasure trove for new materials and technologies. Although melanin occurs naturally, the complex biopolymer can ...
Biochemistry
Mar 9, 2021
1
13
