New aspects of surface wetting revealed

Findings may thus enable developing new strategies for surface processing

16-Nov-2022 - When a surface is getting wet, also the composition of the liquid plays a role in the wetting process. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) found that phase separation within the wetting liquid directly affects the dynamics of spreading. Their ...

"Fusion Bionic" lasers lotus effects

Learning evolutionary tricks from sharks and butterflies: Fraunhofer IWS Dresden spins off lasertech company

20-May-2021 - A researcher team from industry and the Fraunhofer Institute for Material and Beam Technology IWS is spinning off a high-tech company called “Fusion Bionic”. The company aims to bring lotus effects and other functional microstructures from nature to technical surfaces such as air wings and ...

Analysis system enables targeted investigation of antiviral surfaces for material developers

Use of real-time polymerase chain reaction to test antiviral effectiveness

28-Oct-2020 - The need for everyday objects with antiviral surfaces is high due to the COVID 19 pandemic. It is known that the material composition of an object has an influence on the viability of viruses on surfaces. This is where the work of the Fraunhofer IFAM comes in: In cross-disciplinary research ...

Molecular swarm rearranges surface structures atom by atom

Nano-scientists develop a molecular tool to change the structure of a metal surface

09-Oct-2020 - The surface of metals plays a key role in many technologically relevant areas, such as catalysis, sensor technology and battery research. For example, the large-scale production of many chemical compounds takes place on metal surfaces, whose atomic structure determines if and how molecules react ...

Joining metals without welding

Prototype for new connection technology

24-Apr-2018 - Welding is still the standard technique for joining metals. However, this laborious process carried out at high temperatures is not suitable for all applications. Now, a research team from the "Functional Nanomaterials" working group at Kiel University, together with the company Phi-Stone AG from ...

Cold plasma: Get started with the Disc Jet

04-Apr-2017 - Plasmas are often found in the center of stars – on Earth, the electrically charged gas mixtures are a rare occurrence, such as in lightning discharges or aurora borealis lights. However, you can provide some help with high heat or high electrical voltages. Fraunhofer researchers have produced ...

Research team can bond metals with nearly all surfaces

09-Sep-2016 - Through this "nanoscale-sculpturing" process, metals such as aluminium, titanium, or zinc can permanently be joined with nearly all other materials, become water-repellent, or improve their biocompatibility. The potential spectrum of applications of these "super connections" is extremely broad, ...