Sustainable catalysts that can contribute to global Energiewende (phase-out of fossil and nuclear fuel) have been an established research topic at the University of Bayreuth for many years. Recently, Dr. Eranezhuth Wasan Awin from India has been strengthening interdisciplinary research work in this field. At the invitation of the Bayreuth Humboldt Centre, the young scientist is working on the development of metal modified nanocomposite fibres by electrospinning. As catalysts, the fibres stand to enable the production of "green" hydrogen from renewable raw materials as well as its storage.
Rare earth elements are the gold of the 21st century: rare and highly prized all over the world. Most known and economically viable sources of rare earths are located in China, where more than 80 percent of them are refined. This has resulted in a near monopoly situation, with China dominating international trade, particularly in heavy rare earths. Geologists and materials scientists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) have now discovered a new way of finding new and previously unknown deposits of rare earths, or rare earth metals, worldwide.
Prof. Dr. Anna Schenk, Junior Professor for Colloidal Systems at the University of Bayreuth, receives one of this year's Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prizes. The award worth € 20,000, is the most important prize for young scientists in Germany. A jury appointed by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) selected the Bayreuth physical chemist from 150 proposals submitted. A total of 10 researchers will be honoured with a Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize this year. The award ceremony is planned for 4 May 2021 as a virtual event.
Will there soon be packaging in the supermarket made with biowaste from local cideries or agricultural film with coffee grounds? At the Institute for Biopolymers and Sustainability at Hof University (ibp) a junior research group wants to explore the influence of natural radiation and biogenic residues on the properties and structure of biopolymers. This could make these bioplastics interesting for a sustainable product economy in the future. Among other things, biowaste from the food industry and forestry is to be used in bioplastic blends and thus fed into a natural reuse.
FAU researchers reveal the secret of the famous Pazyryk carpet
Sustainable food production in aquacultures entirely without microplastics - that is the long-term goal of a new research project at Hof University of Applied Sciences that will run for two years. The scientists led by project manager Prof. Dr. Manuela Wimmer have now received funding of EUR 220,000 for "BioBioCarrier" from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and as part of the Central Innovation Program for SMEs (ZIM).
Lithium-ion batteries are currently the most important category of electrical energy storage device. Their operational safety depends crucially on separators that ensure the spatial separation of the electrodes. With the aim of further increasing the safety of high-tech batteries, and at the same time extending their service life, the University of Bayreuth is set to develop novel separators made of glass together with renowned industrial partners. The joint project "Glass separators for lithium-ion batteries (GlasSeLIB)" will start on March 1, 2021 and will be funded by the Bavarian Research Foundation to the tune of more than € 375,000 over the next three years.
In our smartphones, our computers and in our electric cars: We use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries everywhere. But their capacity drops after a while. Now a German-American research team has investigated the structure and functionality of these batteries using neutron diffraction: They discovered that the electrolyte fluid's decomposition products capture mobile lithium in the battery and that the distribution of lithium within the cell is surprisingly uneven.
Two-dimensional materials hold out hope for many technical applications. An international research team now has determined for the first time how strongly 2D materials vibrate when electronically excited with light.
Landshut University of Applied Sciences and the University of Salzburg develop a joint Research and Development Centre for cross-border research and teaching; considerable added value for researchers, students and the economic region.
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