Mining rare earth metals from electronic waste

Start-up wants to turn waste into treasure

10-Jul-2024 - ETH researchers are developing a process inspired by nature that efficiently recovers europium from old fluorescent lamps. The approach could lead to the long-awaited recycling of rare earth metals. Rare earth metals are not as rare as their name suggests. However, they are indispensable for the ...

A promising breakthrough: Nanocrystals made of amalgam

09-Aug-2021 - Researchers at ETH have managed to produce nanocrystals made of two different metals using an amalgamation process whereby a liquid metal penetrates a solid one. This new and surprisingly intuitive technique makes it possible to produce a vast array of intermetallic nanocrystals with tailored ...

How light steers electrons in metals

09-Aug-2019 - ETH physicists have measured how electrons in so-called transition metals get redistributed within a fraction of an optical oscillation cycle. They observed the electrons getting concentrated around the metal atoms within less than a femtosecond. This regrouping might influence important ...

Metal in chains

19-Sep-2016 - The electronic energy states allowed by quantum mechanics determine whether a solid is an insulator or whether it conducts electric current as a metal. Researchers at ETH have now theoretically predicted a novel material whose energy states exhibit a hitherto unknown peculiarity. If one looked ...

Highly efficient heavy metal ions filter

27-Jan-2016 - ETH researchers have developed a new water filtration system that is superior to existing systems in many respects: it is extremely efficient at removing various toxic heavy metal ions and radioactive substances from water and can even be used in gold recovery. In November, Brazil experienced an ...

Why lithium-ion-batteries fail

21-Oct-2013 - Materials in lithium ion battery electrodes expand and contract during charge and discharge. These volume changes drive particle fracture, which shortens battery lifetime. A group of ETH and PSI scientists have quantified this effect for the first time using high-resolution 3D movies recorded ...

Size matters in the giant magnetoresistance effect in semiconductors

17-Oct-2013 - In a paper appearing in Nature's Scientific Reports, Dr. Ramesh Mani, professor of physics and astronomy at Georgia State University, reports that a giant magnetoresistance effect depends on the physical size of the device in the GaAs/AlGaAs semiconductor system. Giant magnetoresistance indicates ...

Nacre-like structure from reinforced polymers

26-Feb-2008 - Strong, tough but light is the desired combination of properties for numerous applications but one that is rarely found in artificial materials. Now researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new nacre-like composite that is twice the strength of naturally-occuring nacre. Stronger ceramic ...