Dec 19, 2011 | Towards artificial photosynthesis for solar hydrogen generation
Water splitting in photo-electrochemical cells to yield hydrogen is a promising way to sustainable fuels. A team of Swiss and US scientists now made major progress in developing highly efficient electrodes – made of an...
Dec 8, 2011 | On the road to creating an affordable master instrument
Violins made of wood treated with fungus need not hide their lights under a bushel when compared to a Stradivarius, as a blind test before an expert audience has already suggested. However, these “tonal masterpieces” are...
Dec 2, 2011 | ETH Board appoints new member to Empa’s Board of Directors
At its meeting on 1 – 2 December, 2011, the ETH Board, the strategic management and supervisory body of the ETH Domain, appointed a new member to Empa’s Board of Directors: acting on behalf of Empa Director Gian-Luca...
Nov 28, 2011 | Two new studies in the field of nano(eco)toxicology
In the past decade numerous projects on the risks associated with nanomaterials have been initiated and carried out. In general, they dealt with the subject of how nanomaterials could be used without representing a...
24.11.2011 | «Technology Briefing» an der Empa
Mehr als hundert Gäste aus Architektur und Bauwirtschaft liessen sich an der Empa-Akademie in puncto Leichtbau auf den neuesten Stand bringen. Dabei ging es nicht nur um Holz und Rigips – auch andere – teils...
21 nov. 2011 | Plein feu sur la photovoltaïque
La manifestation d’information «Electricité solaire pour la Suisse» offrait aux spécialistes et au public intéressé un aperçu sur l’avenir solaire dans notre pays. Dans un premier temps, les chercheurs Ayodhya N. Tiwari...
11.11.2011 | Design Preis Schweiz 2011 verliehen
Die Textildesignerin Annette Douglas hat mit dem KTI-Projekt «Schallabsorbierende, lichtdurchlässige und leichte Textilien» einen der begehrten «Design Preise Schweiz 2011» erhalten. Ausgezeichnet wurde sie zusammen mit...
Nov 9, 2011 | The smallest electric car in the world – on the cover of «Nature»
Reduced to the max: the emission-free, noiseless 4-wheel drive car, jointly developed by Empa researchers and their Dutch colleagues, represents lightweight construction at its most extreme. The nano car consists of just...
Nov 2, 2011 | How do green algae react to carbon nanotubes?
Nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes (CNT), which are found in an ever-increasing number of products, are ending up more and more frequently in our surroundings. If and how they affect aquatic ecosystems are questions...
27.10.2011 | Vorbildprojekt des Textilverbandes Schweiz TVS und der Empa
Der Leitfaden «Nano Textiles» soll Unternehmen der Textil- und Bekleidungsindustrie den sicheren Zu- und Umgang mit der Nanotechnik erleichtern. Denn nur wer zuverlässig sichere und innovative Produkte herstellt, hat im...
Oct 25, 2011 | Pure luxury – thanks to Empa technology
True luxury has only one color – gold. A nanometer-thin layer of pure gold now lends ties and pocket handkerchiefs that authentic gold sheen, thanks to a new Empa-developed process. The yarn, which is coated using a...
Oct 24, 2011 | New process for manufacturing nanocellulose recognized with the Empa Research Award
For some time now nanocellulose has been at the focus of a good deal of industrial and scientific interest as a novel biomaterial. Potential applications range from the creation of new kinds of commercially useful...
Oct 11, 2011 | Award-winning Microscopic Images
When Empa researchers receive prizes, it is usually to honour their scientific work. However, the photographs from the scanning electron microscope, taken by Siddhartha Pathak during his postdoctoral time at Empa in...
10 oct. 2011 | Le train de mesures de la CTI contre le «franc fort» – l’Empa et le CSEM offrent leur aide aux innovateurs
Le train de mesure contre le «franc fort» décidé récemment par le Parlement suisse était le thème principal de la manifestation «Smart textiles» qui s’est déroulée le 30 septembre à l’Empa. La branche textile suisse,...
Sep 28, 2011 | EmpaNews 36 published
For 75 years Empa has been conducting wood research. Despite (or perhaps expressly because of) this long history, wood is a material with a bright future. It is not just a construction material made from renewable...
23.09.2011 | Förderplattform für die Ostschweiz
«Startfeld», die Plattform zur Förderung von Innovationen und Unternehmensgründungen in der Ostschweiz, wird neben dem Empa-Gebäude in St.Gallen ein eigenes Domizil erhalten. In einem Wettbewerb hat die Jury kürzlich ein...
Sep 23, 2011 | License issued for the functional principle of organic solar cells
Flexible thin-film solar cells have good prospects to replace today’s rigid silicon-based solar cells, among other reasons because their production requires significantly fewer raw materials. Empa recently filed a patent...
Sep 22, 2011 | World Resources Forum in Davos 2011
By 2050, the world population will rise from now 7 billion to 9 billion, putting even greater pressure on natural resources. Urgent action is needed to address the global resource challenges the world is currently...
Sep 22, 2011 | Self-healing membranes
Lianas whose stabilization rings of woody cells heal spontaneously after suffering damage serve as a natural example to bionic experts of self-repairing membranes. Such membranes could find use, for example, in rubber...
Sep 21, 2011 | Empa results published in “Nature Materials”
The technology yielding flexible solar cells with an 18.7% world record efficiency developed by scientists at Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, has now been published in “Nature...