Rare metals from e-waste

This year, beautifully wrapped laptops, mobile phones or even new TV sets lay under Christmas trees. They are enthusiastically put into use—and the old electronic devices are disposed of. The e-waste contains resources ...

Why does concrete swell and crack?

Unfortunately, concrete does not last forever. The ravages of time also take their toll on concrete structures in Switzerland. Not only are reinforced structures like bridges affected, but also concrete buildings without ...

Understanding what makes a thin film solar cell efficient

Swiss scientists have developed a new technique for manufacturing high-efficiency, flexible, thin film solar cells from CIGS (copper indium gallium di-selenide) semiconductors. This has enabled them to achieve an efficiency ...

A nanotransistor made of graphene nanoribbons

Graphene ribbons that are only a few atoms wide, so-called graphene nanoribbons, have special electrical properties that make them promising candidates for the nanoelectronics of the future. While graphene, a one-dimensional ...

Synthetic natural gas from excess electricity

"Power to gas" is a key concept when it comes to storing alternative energy. This process converts short-term excess electricity from photovoltaic systems and wind turbines into hydrogen. Combined with the greenhouse gas ...

In control of chaos to engineer high-entropy ceramics

Nature strives for chaos. That's a nice, comforting phrase when yet another coffee cup has toppled over the computer keyboard and you imagine you could wish the sugary, milky brew back into the coffee cup—where it had been ...

Wood-based catalyst to keep fruit fresh

If freshly bought bananas are stored in a full fruit basket, then they won't stay yellow very long. Just a few days later, the crooked fruits take on a brownish color and are more likely to be thrown away than be eaten. The ...

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