HMI 2019: Conductive Metal-polymer Inks for Inkjet Printing: Flexible Electronics Without Sintering
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- Written by INM - Leibniz-Institut für Neue Materialien gGmbH
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The INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials presents hybrid inks for inkjet printing that contain metal nanoparticles coated with conductive polymers. The inks can be formulated in water and in other polar solvents and are suitable to print conductive structures on a range of substrates without any subsequent thermal or UV treatment. Standard metal inks require annealing after inkjet printing to become conductive. INM’s new inks obviate this step, making them compatible with many substrates including thin polymer foils and paper.
Touchscreens go 3D with Buttons that Pulsate and Vibrate Under Your Fingertips
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- Written by Universität des Saarlandes
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By pulsing or vibrating on demand, smartphone screens can help users navigate through a menu or can guide a user’s finger to virtual on-screen buttons that can be created or removed wherever and whenever needed. Professor Stefan Seelecke and his team at Saarland University have developed a film that gives touchscreens a third dimension. The thin and extremely lightweight silicone film can adopt a variety of positions and shapes and can be made to execute a single pulse, a pushing motion, a sudden jolt or a prolonged vibration at a specific location on the screen. The polymer film also exhibits sensor properties and can therefore provide the device with an added sense organ.
Lightweight Metal Foams Become Bone Hard and Explosion Proof After Being Nanocoated
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- Written by Universität des Saarlandes
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Strong enough not only for use in impact protection systems in cars, but able to absorb the shock waves produced by a detonation. Those are just some of the properties shown by the metallic foams developed by materials scientists Stefan Diebels and Anne Jung at Saarland University. Their super lightweight and extremely strong metal foams can be customized for a wide range of applications. The inspiration for the new foam system came from nature: bones. Using a patented coating process, the Saarbrücken team is able to manufacture highly stable, porous metallic foams that can be used, for example, in lightweight construction projects.
New Diagnostic Options: Physicists Lower Threshold for Detecting Extremely Weak Magnetic Signals
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- Written by Universität des Saarlandes
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Physicists at Saarland University have developed magnetic field sensors that are breaking sensitivity records and opening up a whole range of potential new applications, from non-contact measurements of the electrical activity in the human heart or brain to detecting ore deposits or archaeological remains deep underground. Professor Uwe Hartmann and his research team have developed a system that allows them to detect weak magnetic signals over large distances in normal environments (no vacuum, no low temperatures, no shielding), despite the presence of numerous sources of interference.
Economical Engines Due to Less Friction
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Werkstoff- und Strahltechnik IWS
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Together with the automotive industry, researchers at the Fraunhofer IWS have been working to develop processes for friction-reducing surfaces of engine components over the past few years. Now, carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced even further by enhancing surface technology. The Dresden Institute is researching in this direction with various partners in the joint project "Prometheus".
Light and Strong: Hybrid Lightweight Components Made of Steel and Fiber-reinforced Plastics
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Produktionstechnologie IPT
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In recent years there has been a sharp increase in demand for lighter components for applications in mobility and transport in response to the need to save weight, and therefore energy and resources. Hybrid components made of steel, locally functionalized with fiber-reinforced plastics combine high mechanical performance with low weight. Demand for manufacturing processes conducive to cost-effective mass-production is burgeoning.
New Key Players in the Methane Cycle
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie
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Methane is not only a powerful greenhouse gas, but also a source of energy. Microorganisms therefore use it for their metabolism. They do so much more frequently and in more ways than was previously assumed, as revealed by a study now published in Nature Microbiology by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology and Jiao Tong University in Shanghai.
Three-dimensional Structure of Skyrmions Becomes Visible for the First Time
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- Written by Max-Planck-Institut für Intelligente Systeme
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Skyrmions are three-dimensional structures that occur in magnetic materials. They are magnetic vortices a few nanometers in size in which atomic elementary magnets are arranged in closed vortex structures. Skyrmions are topologically protected, meaning that their shape cannot be changed. First described in the 1950s by the mathematician Tony Skyrme, their three-dimensional structure is less than one hundred nanometers in size. It was thus not possible to make the structure visible – until now.
Zips on the Nanoscale
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- Written by Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
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Nanostructures based on carbon are promising materials for nanoelectronics. However, to be suitable, they would often need to be formed on non-metallic surfaces, which has been a challenge – up to now. Researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have found a method of forming nanographenes on metal oxide surfaces. Their research, conducted within the framework of collaborative research centre 953 – Synthetic Carbon Allotropes funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), has now been published in the journal Science.
Solid State Batteries for Tomorrow's Electric Cars
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Silicatforschung ISC
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As part of a strategic international cooperation program of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Empa in Dübendorf (CH) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicate Research ISC in Würzburg (D) launched a three-year joint research project at the beginning of January to create the basis for a produc-tion-ready next generation of traction batteries for electric cars. In contrast to lithium-ion cells currently in use, these will consist only of solids and will no longer contain flammable liquid electrolytes. The Fraunhofer ISC contributes its know-how in process development and battery cell production and produces the first prototypes.
Light from a Roll – Hybrid OLED Creates Innovative and Functional Luminous Surfaces
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Organische Elektronik, Elektronenstrahl- und Plasmatechnik FEP
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Up to now, OLEDs have been used exclusively as a novel lighting technology for use in luminaires and lamps. However, flexible organic technology can offer much more: as an active lighting surface, it can be combined with a wide variety of materials, not just to modify but to revolutionize the functionality and design of countless existing products. To exemplify this, the Fraunhofer FEP together with the company EMDE development of light GmbH will be presenting hybrid flexible OLEDs integrated into textile designs within the EU-funded project PI-SCALE for the first time at LOPEC (March 19-21, 2019 in Munich, Germany) as examples of some of the many possible applications.
Laser Processes for Multi-Functional Composites
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Lasertechnik ILT
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Since composites combine the advantages of dissimilar materials, they can be used to exploit great potential in lightweight construction. At JEC World 2019 in Paris in March, scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT will present a broad range of laser-based technologies for the efficient production and processing of composite materials. Visitors to the joint booth of the Aachen Center for Integrative Lightweight Construction AZL, Hall 5A/D17, will gain insight into joining and cutting processes as well as surface structuring.
Progress in the Treatment of Aggressive Brain Tumors
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- Written by Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn
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Cancer researchers at the University of Bonn have reported significant progress in the treatment of glioblastoma. About one third of all patients suffer from a particular variant of this most common and aggressive brain tumor. Survival of these patients treated with the new combination therapy increased on average by nearly half compared to patients who received the standard therapy. The study has now been published in the journal “The Lancet”.
New Additive Provides Fire Protection for Wood
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- Written by Empa - Eidgenössische Materialprüfungs- und Forschungsanstalt
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Together with BRUAG Fire Protection AG, Empa specialists have developed a new flame retardant for wood and wood-based materials. The colourless additive, which can be easily mixed with coatings and cellulose materials, opens up new applications for wood processing companies. Fire protection requirements are increasing worldwide - especially in public buildings and vehicle construction. This development means that more and more otherwise suitable materials such as wood can no longer be used in many buildings or means of transport and must be substituted by other products. The aim of the CTI funded research project was therefore to develop a flame retardant that increases the fire resistance of such materials without impairing the positive properties of the materials.
Mechanism Discovered to Activate the Immune System against Bacteria and Regulate the Microbiome
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- Written by Universitätsklinikum Tübingen
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A group of researchers at the University Hospital Tübingen has now reported for the first time that they have discovered a mechanism on how the body’s own endogenous antimicrobial defense shield regulates the microbiome and its bacterial composition; the article has been published in a recent edition of “Proceedings” by the National Academy of Science USA” (PNAS). This mechanism provides a fundamental understanding of the structure of the intestinal barrier and host microbial interaction. “It throws open the door for future approaches to new treatments, but also for developing antibiotics and beneficial microbiome modulation,” says the head of the working group, Professor Dr. Jan Wehkamp.
Safer Food – Less Waste
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- Written by Fraunhofer-Institut für Grenzflächen- und Bioverfahrenstechnik IGB
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At ICE 2019, the Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research IAP, for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB and for Organic Electronics, Electron Beam and Plasma Technology FEP will present innovative technologies for sustainable food packaging. They each have extensive expertise in processing, process development and control, the development of special polymer films and the deposition of ultra-thin layers for the packaging industry.
