The right temperature matters – whether in technical processes, for the quality of food and medicines, or the lifetime of electronic components and batteries. For this purpose, temperature indicators record (un)desired temperature increases that can be read out later. Researchers in the group led by Prof. Dr. Karl Mandel, Professorship for Inorganic Chemistry at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), have succeeded in developing a novel temperature indicator in the form of a micrometer-sized particle whose central component is rust. The results of the research have been published in the journal Advanced Materials.
Ever smaller and more intricate – without miniaturization, we wouldn’t have the components today that are required for high-performance laptops, compact smartphones or high-resolution endoscopes. Research is now being carried out in the nanoscale on switches, rotors or motors that comprise of only a few atoms in order to build what are known as molecular machines. A research team at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) has successfully built the world’s smallest energy powered gear wheel with corresponding counterpart. The nano gear unit is the first that can also be actively controlled and driven.
Efficient battery systems are increasingly being used in cars, tools, bicycles and as stationary energy storage units. At the same time, the requirements placed on these batteries continue to rise, not only in terms of energy density and cost, but also in terms of environmentally friendly manufacturing and recycling. Reusing batteries, in particular, is often difficult and not yet economically viable. Researchers are hoping to find solutions to these problems in a new project, which has received funding of over 4.5 million euros from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).
A team of researchers at the Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) has successfully solved the problem of finding a straightforward, cost-effective process for producing hexaarylbenzene molecules with six different aromatic rings. These molecules are important functional materials. The results were published in the reputable journal ‘Angewandte Chemie’.
Most microplastic particles in the environment originate from larger pieces of plastic. In a long-term study, an interdisciplinary research team at the University of Bayreuth has simulated how quickly plastic breaks down into fragments under natural influences. High-tech laboratory tests on polystyrene show two phases of abiotic degradation. To begin with, the stability of the plastic is weakened by photo-oxidation. Then cracks form and more and more and smaller fragments are released into the environment. The study, published in the journal "Environmental Science & Technology", allows conclusions to be drawn about other plastics that are common in the environment.
The international scientific community agrees that the latest findings of an FAU research team will revolutionise the entire chemistry of magnesium. The research team have discovered magnesium, which usually has a double positive charge in chemical compounds, in the elemental zero-oxidation state. They have published their ground-breaking findings in the journal Nature.
Chemists all over the world are constantly searching for simple ways to make elemental nitrogen or N2 in the air available for chemical reactions. This is no easy task, as nitrogen is a particularly non-reactive gas with a triple bond, which is one of the strongest known chemical bonds. A research team at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) has now demonstrated that calcium, a metal commonly found in nature, is able to break the highly-stable nitrogen bond and can do so at minus 60°C.
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