Chemical engineers from ETH Zurich developed a new catalyst for forming a bond between two carbon atoms in a cost-effective and eco-friendly way. This technology could soon make its way into industry. The chemical industry produces not just valuable vitamins, pharmaceuticals, flavors, and pesticides, but often a large amount of waste, too. This is particularly…
Tiny Valves for Tiny Particles
Newly developed nanovalves allow the flow of individual nanoparticles in liquids to be controlled in tiny channels. This is of interest for lab-on-a-chip applications such as in materials science and biomedicine. Researchers from ETH Zurich have developed tiny valves that enable individual nanoparticles in liquids to be separated and sorted. The valves can be used…
Measuring Device Acts as Electronic Rescue Dog
ETH Zurich scientists have developed the smallest and cheapest ever equipment for detecting people by smell. It could be used in the search for people buried by an earthquake or avalanche. Trained rescue dogs are still the best disaster workers — their sensitive noses help them to track down people buried by earthquakes or avalanches.…
New Materials Could Lead to Sustainable, Cheap Batteries
The energy transition depends on technologies that allow the inexpensive temporary storage of electricity from renewable sources. A promising new candidate is aluminum batteries, which are made from cheap and abundant raw materials (see box). Scientists from ETH Zürich and Empa — led by Maksym Kovalenko, Professor of Functional Inorganic Materials — are among those…
Quantum Dots Hold Promise for LEDs
A type of quantum dot that has been intensively studied in recent years can reproduce light in every color and is very bright. An international research team that includes scientists from ETH Zurich has now discovered why this is the case. The quantum dots could someday be used in light-emitting diodes. An international team of…
Breath Test Takes the Place of Blood Test
Blow into the tube, please. In the future, the procedure will not just be used by police checking for alcohol intoxication, but also for testing the condition of athletes and for people who want to lose that extra bit of weight. A sensor developed by ETH Zürich researchers makes it possible to measure when the…