Entire colour palette of inexpensive fluorescent dyes

ETH researchers create novel security inks - including red, which was previously difficult to produce

06-Jan-2023 - ETH researchers have developed a modular system for the simple and inexpensive production of security inks. It is based on polymers and could also be used in solar power plants and screens in the future. Novel fluorescent dyes developed by ETH researchers are relatively simple and inexpensive to ...

Accurately tracking how plastic biodegrades

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed an approach to accurately record and fully track the biodegradation of plastics in soils

14-Oct-2022 - Modern agriculture uses a lot of plastic, especially in the form of mulch film that farmers use to cover field soils. This keeps the soils moist for crops, suppresses weeds and promotes crop growth. However, it is usually very time-​consuming and costly for farmers to collect and dispose of ...

ETH Zurich researchers want to make salt printing marketable

They have also come up with a name for their start-up: “Sallea”, a portmanteau of “salt leaching”.

06-Oct-2022 - Materials scientists Nicole Kleger and Simona Fehlmann have developed a 3D printing process for creating salt templates that they can fill with other materials. One area of application is the creation of highly porous lightweight metal components. The two Pioneer Fellows are now trying to ...

Breaking down plastic into its constituent parts

First step towards genuine plastic recycling

25-Mar-2022 - A team of ETH researchers led by Athina Anastasaki have succeeded in breaking down plastic into its molecular building blocks and in recovering over 90 percent of them. A first step towards genuine plastic recycling. The chemical industry has a long tradition of producing polymers. This involves ...

Chain length determines molecular colour

Chemical adjustments within the molecules themselves can generate a broad palette of colours

09-Apr-2021 - Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed fluorescent polymers whose colour can be easily tuned. Depending on their length, the polymers emit a different colour. Potential applications include biomedicine, security printing and solar energy. Around the world, a huge amount of research and ...

Growing polymers with different lengths

How the dispersity of a plastic can be completely controlled by mixing two catalysts

25-Jun-2020 - ETH researchers have developed a new method for producing polymers with different lengths. This paves the way for new classes of polymer materials to be used in previously inconceivable applications. It is hard to imagine everyday life without materials made of synthetic polymers. Clothes, car ...

An 18-carat gold nugget made of plastic

14-Jan-2020 - ETH researchers have created an incredibly lightweight 18-​carat gold, using a matrix of plastic in place of metallic alloy elements. Lovers of gold watches and heavy jewellery will be thrilled. The objects of their desire may someday become much lighter, but without losing any of their glitter. ...

Designer emulsions

Long-held dream of researchers and industry fulfilled

20-Nov-2018 - ETH material researchers are developing a method with which they can coat the droplets with controlled interfacial composition and coverage on demand in an emulsion in order to stabilise them. In doing so they are fulfilling a long-held dream of researchers and industry. Mayonnaise is a prime ...

Soil bugs munch on plastics

27-Jul-2018 - Thin mulch films made of polyethylene are used in agriculture in numerous countries, where they cause extensive soil contamination. Researchers at ETH Zurich and Eawag have now identified an alternative: films made of the polymer PBAT biodegrade in soils. Our world is drowning in a flood of ...

Universal stabilization

Microparticles with a rough, raspberry-like surface stabilise emulsions following a new principle

16-Jun-2017 - Researchers led by Lucio Isa, Professor of Interfaces, Soft Matter and Assembly at ETH Zurich's Department of Materials, have created a new type of silica particle able to stabilise emulsions in a new way. An emulsion is a finely dispersed mixture of two immiscible liquids, constituted by ...