news 2021

While conventional electronics relies on the transport of electrons, components that convey spin information alone may be many times more energy efficient. Physicists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart have now made an important advance in the development of novel materials for such components.

The tropical floating fern Salvinia molesta has developed sophisticated structures to allow water to roll off its leaves quickly - even during heavy rainfall. This relieves the pressure on the leaves floating on the water surface, but even more importantly, it keeps the stomata open for air exchange.

Nonlinear optics is of paramount importance in numerous fields of science and technology, in particular for second harmonic generation, namely the process of frequency doubling of a light beam. For instance, this process turns invisible infrared light into the visible light cursor of a laser pointer.

A team of German and American researchers from Augsburg, Münster, Edmonton, West Lafayette and Munich have detected the rolling movement of a nano-acoustic wave predicted by the famous physicist and Nobel prize-winner Lord Rayleigh in 1885. In a study published in the journal "Science Advances", the researchers use a nanowire inside which electrons are forced onto circular paths by the spin of the acoustic wave.

Researchers investigate which material properties support vessel formation / Study published in the journal "Nature Communications" Using lab-created tissue to heal or replace damaged organs is one of the great visions for the future of medicine. Synthetic materials could be suitable as scaffolding for tissue because, unlike natural tissues, they remain stable in the organism long enough for the body to form new natural structures.

Research team led by the University of Göttingen investigates surface magnetisation The surface of a material often has properties that are very different from the properties within the material. For example, a non-conducting crystal, which actually exhibits no magnetism, can show magnetisation restricted to its surface because of the way the atoms are arranged there.

International research team develops new method for studying atomic structures in material surfaces Light Researchers from Friedrich Schiller University Jena, the University of California Berkeley and the Institut Polytechnique de Paris use intense laser light in the extreme ultraviolet spectrum to generate a non-linear optical process on a laboratory scale - a process which until now has only been possible in a large-scale research facility.

Realistic full-scale fire experiments on the TUM Garching campus How safe are multi-story timber buildings in case of fire? This question is addressed by the "TIMpuls" research project, led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM). The scientists' objective is to establish valid basic principles for uniform regulations for the construction of multi-story timber buildings.

Historische Kunstund Kulturobjekte haben oft stark verschmutzte Oberflächen, da sie über viele Jahre hinweg unterschiedlichsten Umwelteinflüssen ausgesetzt sind. Ein deutsch-französisches Team um Prof. Cosima Stubenrauch von der Universität Stuttgart erforscht nun, wie man die Kostbarkeiten mit flüssigen Schäumen schonend und umweltfreundlich reinigen kann.

Smartphones and laptops constantly in use, smart building technology, the expansion of renewable energies, networked charging stations for electric cars or the debate surrounding air taxis: sustainable, safe and efficient batteries are the basis of our lives as well as paving the way for the future.

Researchers at Freie Universität Berlin produce virus-rupturing nanomaterials, opening up new possibilities for fighting the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus No 029/2021 from Feb 18, 2021 Researchers at Freie Universität Berlin have developed an innovative 2D graphene platform based on nanomaterials that can be used to destroy the membrane envelope of coronavirus cells.

A research team is developing a high-resolution imaging technique that can be used to investigate materials in a non-destructive manner and with nanometre precision Light Images provide information - what we can observe with our own eyes enables us to understand. Constantly expanding the field of perception into dimensions that are initially hidden from the naked eye, drives science forward.

A group of researchers from the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society and the Humboldt University of Berlin have found out that semiconductors can be converted to metals and back more easily and more quickly than previously thought. This discovery may increase the processing speed and simplify the design of many common technological devices.

Neutrons show effective lithium and electrolyte distribution in lithium-ion cells In our smartphones, our computers and in our electric cars: We use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries everywhere. But their capacity drops after a while. Now a German-American research team has investigated the structure and functionality of these batteries using neutron diffraction: They discovered that the electrolyte fluid's decomposition products capture mobile lithium in the battery and that the distribution of lithium within the cell is surprisingly uneven.

Environmental physicist Bernd Jähne from Heidelberg University is pursuing a new approach to exploring the processes that ensue with the exchange of climatically relevant gases and volatiles between the atmosphere and the ocean. To this end, the scientist will use two imaging measurement procedures for experiments in the Heidelberg Aelotron, a wind-wave tank.

Research on manufacturing battery cells is gaining momentum - and there is a strong need, considering the future demand for energy storage: For the year 2030, global production of rechargeable batteries will double from today's 750 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year to 1,500 GWh. A recently published review article in the magazine "Nature Energy" on cell production of various battery types suggests that the currently established lithium-ion batteries (LIB) dominate the market of rechargeable high-energy batteries in the coming years.

Research team with participation from Göttingen University use secrets trapped in grains of sand to reveal rock journey and formation On a remote island in Papua New Guinea, an international research team including the University of Göttingen has made an important geological discovery from a garnet-rich sand.

Physicists from Göttingen first to succeed in filming a phase transition with extremely high spatial and temporal resolution Laser beams can be used to change the properties of materials in an extremely precise way. This principle is already widely used in technologies such as rewritable DVDs. However, the underlying processes generally take place at such unimaginably fast speeds and at such a small scale that they have so far eluded direct observation.

High-performance, eco-friendly, safe and at the same time cost-effective: the zinc-air battery is an attractive energy storage technology of the future. Until now, the conventional zinc-air battery has struggled with a high chemical instability, parasitic reactions which rooted in the usage of alkaline electrolytes lead to electrochemical irreversibility.

Powerful graphene hybrid material for highly efficient supercapacitors A team working with Roland Fischer, Professor of Inorganic and Metal-Organic Chemistry at the Technical University Munich (TUM) has developed a highly efficient supercapacitor. The basis of the energy storage device is a novel, powerful and also sustainable graphene hybrid material that has comparable performance data to currently utilized batteries.