Natural CO2 reduction implemented faster and with less risk than high-tech approaches

Researchers have identified the approaches with the highest potential for carbon removal in Germany

10-Nov-2022 - Carbon dioxide can be removed from the atmosphere by natural or technical means. Natural sinks such as peatlands can be restored, and innovative technologies already exist to extract carbon from the air. Researchers from the Helmholtz Climate Initiative's Net Zero 2050 Cluster have identified the ...

Molecules that self-assemble into monolayers for efficient perovskite solar cells

28-Nov-2018 - A team at the HZB has discovered a new method for producing efficient contact layers in perovskite solar cells. It is based on molecules that organise themselves into a monolayer. In recent years, solar cells based on metal halide perovskites have achieved an exceptional increase in efficiency. ...

Antiferromagnetic dysprosium reveals magnetic switching with less energy

07-Nov-2017 - HZB scientists have identified a mechanism with which it may be possible to develop a form of magnetic storage that is faster and more energy-efficient. They compared how different forms of magnetic ordering in the rare-earth metal named dysprosium react to a short laser pulse. They discovered ...

Charge transport in hybrid silicon solar cells

19-Aug-2015 - The system they investigated is based on conventional n-type silicon wafers coated with the highly conductive polymer mixture PEDOT:PSS and displays a power conversion efficiency of about 14%. This combination of materials is currently extensively investigated by many teams in the research ...

Camera for the Nano-Cosmos

12-Aug-2015 - To gain even deeper insights into the smallest of worlds, the thresholds of microscopy must be expanded further. Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and the TU Dresden, in cooperation with the Freie Universität Berlin, have succeeded in combining two established ...

Observation of the superheavy element 117

New findings mark important step towards the capability to observe long-lived superheavy nuclei

06-May-2014 - The periodic table of the elements is to get crowded towards its heaviest members. Evidence for the artificial creation of element 117 has recently been obtained at the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, an accelerator laboratory located in Darmstadt, Germany. The experiment was ...

Methane hydrates and global warming

Dissolution of hydrates off Svalbard caused by natural processes

06-Jan-2014 - Methane hydrates are fragile. At the sea floor the ice-like solid fuel composed of water and methane is only stable at high pressure and low temperature. In some areas, for instance in the North Atlantic off the coast of Svalbard, scientists have detected gas flares regularly. The reasons for ...

Minerals and ores in a chemical photo lab

15-Oct-2013 - A unique colour X-ray camera goes into operation at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) today. With this camera, it will be possible for the researchers at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), a part of the HZDR, to determine within a very short period of ...

Major leap towards graphene for solar cells

10-Oct-2013 - Graphene has extreme conductivity and is completely transparent while being inexpensive and nontoxic. This makes it a perfect candidate material for transparent contact layers for use in solar cells to conduct electricity without reducing the amount of incoming light - at least in theory. Whether ...

Better insight into molecular interactions

27-Aug-2013 - How exactly atoms and molecules in biochemical solutions or at solid-liquid interfaces do interact, is a question of great importance. Answers will provide insights at processes in catalysts, smart functional materials and even physiological processes in the body, which are essential for health. ...