Self-Assembly of Particles with Rough Edges

Polyhedrons with Potential for New Materials

22-Apr-2022 - In many processes in nature and industry, small objects form ordered layers in liquids on solid surfaces. Standard models describe the objects as spheres with homogeneous surfaces, but many particles have flattened sides - for example if they are made of metal. Scientists at the INM - Leibniz ...

Electronics integrated in plastic becomes more sustainable

Recyclability by Design

15-Dec-2021 - The idea of sustainability has now found its way into developing and producing innovative products. Innovation no longer only means faster, better, cheaper, but also cleaner, more energy-efficient, and more environmentally friendly, right through to enabling more efficient recycling. In the ...

Self-healing coating made of corn starch makes small scratches disappear through heat

25-Mar-2019 - Due to the special arrangement of its molecules, a new coating made of corn starch is able to repair small scratches by itself through heat: The cross-linking via ring-shaped molecules makes the material mobile, so that it compensates for the scratches and these disappear again. Superficial ...

Flexible electronics without sintering

Conductive metal-polymer inks for inkjet printing

20-Mar-2019 - 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 ...

New breathing material lubricates itself when needed

Like the earthworm

15-Nov-2018 - Earthworms are always clean, even if they come from moist, sticky soil. They owe this to a dirt-repellent, lubricating layer, which forms itself again and again on its skin. Researchers at INM have now artificially recreated this system of nature: They developed a material with a surface ...

Researchers develop a solid material with mobile particles that react to the environment

12-Sep-2018 - Inside most materials, little is moving. But a new “active nanocomposite” is teeming with motion: small particles connect or separate, thus changing the color of the entire material. It was made by scientists of the Leibniz Institute for New Materials in Saarbrücken in an attempt to lend ...

Low haze structures for transparent flexible electrodes by electrospinning processes

19-Apr-2017 - Flexible, transparent, and conductive electrodes (FTCE) are a key enabling technology for the new generation of flexible, printable and wearable electronics. The touchscreens and displays of the future will be curved and flexible and integrated into cars, phones, or medical technology. Tapping ...

Improved corrosion protection with flake-type zinc-phosphate particles

18-Apr-2017 - Large quantities of steel are used in architecture, bridge construction and ship-building. Structures of this type are intended to be long-lasting. Furthermore, even in the course of many years, they should not lose any of their qualities regarding strength and safety. For this reason, the steel ...

Cooperation with Namibia underway

Natural resources as a basis for new materials

27-Feb-2017 - The INM – Leibniz Institute for New Materials officially began its collaborative effort with the University of Namibia (UNAM) by holding a kick-off workshop. The aim of the joint project, NaMiComp, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, is to ...

State-of-the-art operating controls with elastic circuits

19-Apr-2016 - Industry and product designers have a strong interest in being able to install electrical circuits such as display elements or operating controls even on the shaped surfaces of electronic appliances. Now, in the Optical Materials department at INM – Leibniz-Institute for New Materials, this aim ...