Empa scientists have developed a high performance render which boasts a thermal insulation value three-times better than convention render thanks to so-called aerogels. The new material offers an elegant method of renovating historic buildings to save energy without altering their appearances.

Nothing escapes the attention of research and development scientists, and now is the turn of industrial garments and household textiles! Manufacturers can now take advantage of new raw materials, fibers and membranes, not to mention the technological progress which makes numerous high-tech products now possible. Several of these innovations were presented at the biennial Textile Conference held this autumn at Empa.

To fabricate ever smaller electronic components, new materials are in great demand – for example, ultra-thin layers of carbon known as graphene. As part of an international collaboration, Empa researchers are developing new methods to “grow” these layers in a tailored way on surfaces. The current issue of EmpaNews covers this topic as well as, of course, much more.

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Graphene is a promising material for tomorrow’s nanoelectronics devices. Precise and upscaleable methods to fabricate graphene and derived materials with desired electronic properties are however still searched after. To overcome the current limitations, Empa researchers have fabricated graphene-like materials using a surface chemical route and clarified in detail the corresponding reaction pathway. The work has just been published in the scientific journal “Nature Chemistry“. The scientists combined empirical observations using scanning tunnelling microscopy with computer simulations.

Further recognition for Empa’s spin-off enterprise “compliant concept”: on August 31st in Bern the team’s work, “An Intelligent Bed System for the Prevention and Therapy of Decubitus Ulcers” was honored with the CTI Medtech Award 2010.

Battery powered electric cars will most likely play a major role in future of mobility. What was not known so far, however, was how environmentally friendly the manufacture, operation and disposal of the rechargeable batteries are. Empa researchers have now, for the first time, calculated the ecological footprint of the most commonly used type, the lithium-ion battery. The result is better than expected – a conventional car with a petrol engine must consume less than 4 liters of fuel per 100km or about 70 mpg (miles per gallon) in order to be as environmentally friendly as modern electric cars.

Extra-hard coatings made from diamond-like carbon (DLC) extend the operating lifetime of tools and components. In artificial joints, however, these coatings often fail because they detach. Empa researchers found out why – and developed methods to both make the interface between the DLC layer and the metal underneath corrosion-resistant and to predict the lifetime of the implants.

Empa has taken off – from 7 to 8 July, the “Solar Impulse” aircraft successfully made its first night flight, and the pilot, André Borschberg, was “wrapped up” almost completely in Empa technology. His suit, designed for both protection and comfort, along with the matching seat, were developed by Empa researchers especially for this showpiece project to protect Borschberg as well as the second pilot and co-initiator Bertrand Piccard from the extreme conditions in the cockpit.

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Empa researchers have succeeded in growing sea-urchin shaped nanostructures from minute balls of polystyrene beads using a simple electrochemical process. The spines of the sea urchin consist of zinc oxide nanowires. The structured surface should help increasing the efficiency of photovoltaic devices.

Thanks to nanoparticles, modern surface finishing products such as paints and varnishes are easier to use, last longer and offer effective substitutes for problematic biocides. The time is ripe to exploit these advantages, without losing sight of the possible risks. At the recent Technology Briefing at Empa new ideas and information on the responsible, ecologically sustainable and safe use of nanomaterials were exchanged and discussed.

An international team including Empa researcher Francis Schwarze has sequenced the genome of the common split gill mushroom, Schizophyllum commune, a widely distributed fungus which grows on and decomposes wood. The genome, containing some 13,000 genes, has recently been published in «Nature Biotechnology». The new data allows scientists a view of the mushroom’s unique enzyme-based digestive apparatus which gives it the ability to attack and degrade wood, causing white rot. It is this ability which Schwarze, together with other colleagues, has exploited to improve the tonal qualities of wood used to make violins.

An interdisciplinary team headed by Empa researcher Rainer Zah has been studying the sustainability of second generation biofuels and has calculated how much fuel might be saved in Switzerland through the use of these new products. The investigation, which was carried out for TA-SWISS, the Swiss Centre for Technology Assessment, concludes that between 10 and 40 per cent of current fuel requirements could be sustainably supplied by second generation biofuels, taking vehicle efficiency and electromobility factors into account.

John F. Mandell, Professor Emeritus at the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department, Montana State University in Bozeman, USA, received the award for his most valuable and sustained contribution to materials science in the domain of fatigue of advanced composites, especially for wind turbine blades and also for his remarkable support to build up the Empa laboratories for polymers and advanced composites between 1971 and 1988.

Automobile air conditioning systems do not run “free of charge”. In fact in the hot parts of the world they can account for up to thirty per cent of fuel consumption. Even in Switzerland, with its temperate climate, the use of air conditioning systems is responsible for about five per cent of total fuel usage, rising to around ten per cent in urban traffic, as shown by a new study undertaken by Empa on behalf of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN). Furthermore, two thirds of the additional fuel usage could be saved if air conditioning systems were simply turned off when the air temperature falls below 18 degrees Celsius.

The tale begins with a feasibility study on the manufacture of colored fluorescing thin films for optical safety applications. An EU project on the development of novel gas sensors followed. In the meantime, Empa researchers have successfully synthesized complex organic nanowires and managed to attach them together with electrically conducting links – the first step towards the future production of electronic and optoelectronic components.

Although the risk of a severe earthquake occurring in Switzerland is regarded as being only moderately probable, history shows that the possibility exists. What is more – very few buildings in this country are built in a way that would allow them to survive a severe earthquake without suffering any damage. At the latest Empa Science Apéro experts gave details of what can be done to protect buildings against such a catastrophe.

Empa researchers once wanted to build aircraft wings based on compliant systems, which would continually change shape in response to the air flow resistance, obviating the need for rigid flap and rudder surfaces. A range of different industries are interested in so-called “smart” systems because they can be used to make low-maintenance (and therefore economic) products such as medical tools and robot gripper arms.

On 12th January 2010 the «Self» living module was presented publicly for the first time at the Swissbau exhibition in Basel. «Self» is a novel, highly innovative module for working and living which is self-sufficient in energy and water consumption. It includes a bedroom, bathroom, toilet and kitchen and is being used as a test bed and demonstrator for new building concepts and energy technologies by the research institutes Empa and Eawag.