It is expected to be market-ready by 2023: Anode material for lithium ion batteries, leading to more powerful energy storage systems. The material has already been tested in the laboratories of the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE). Since September 1, the German Federal Ministry of Economics is funding UDE with almost 1.7 million Euro to further develop the synthesis process in a joint project with Evonik and transfer it to industrial scale.

If 80,000 of them were piled on top of each other, the stack would only be as high as a flat sheet of paper. Scientists from the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) and cooperation partners have developed a layer of tungsten disulfide that is just as thin as three atomic layers – and it is luminous, flexible and also withstands external influences. Several square centimeters of this layer have already been embedded in structural components, but the manufacturing process is scalable beyond that, the trade journal Advanced Optical Materials reports.

Catalysis initiates central processes of our entire life on earth - from enzyme catalysis in metabolic processes in all organisms to natural photosynthesis and the production of synthetics and environmentally friendly energy sources. Scientists in four Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) of the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) are currently investigating how these fundamental and at the same time diverse processes of chemical catalysis work exactly and how their principles can be used for sustainable value creation.

Bringing together the fields of laser additive manufacturing and materials science is the goal of the international conference "New Frontiers in Materials Design for Laser Additive Manufacturing", which will take place from May 25 to 28, 2021, at the Hotel Schloss Montabaur. High-ranking keynote speakers will present and discuss current developments. Registration deadline for the conference organized by the Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE) is December 6.

In catalysts, more surface area usually equals more activity. And hardly anything offers more surface than structures made of nanoparticles. Scientists from the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) have shown that it makes sense in economic terms to produce catalytically highly active particles by laser. Not only are they extremely pure, but even at low temperatures they are more efficient than their conventionally produced counterparts. This has been demonstrated in tests conducted by an industrial partner.

They are inseparable, but not rigidly connected: Mechanically interlocked molecular architectures have only recently been discovered. They can look like two connected chain links or a ring on an axis closed on both sides, for example. Chemists from the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) have now successfully tested them as cooperative catalysts for the first time. Two renowned trade journals have reported on this.

Ventilation grilles in aircraft cabins, serial components in cars and lately even mascara brushes: The industry has been using laser-based 3D printers for several years now when precision and good mechanical properties are required. However, these printers are expensive, large and print only in white. For home use, desktop devices are becoming available, but they can only print in black – until now. A team from the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) has now brought color into play.

Efficient catalysts are crucial for energy conversion. However, findings from basic research rarely make it into practice at present. What would have to change to develop efficient, stable and selective catalysts for industrial application is described by Prof. Dr. Corina Andronescu from the Center for Nanointegration (CENIDE) at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) and partners from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion and Ruhr-Universität Bochum in a review article. It was published online in the journal “Angewandte Chemie” on 30 June 2020.