Blog
- First ferroelectric ice created in graphene sandwich 23/11/2021 Scientists have for the first time unambiguously observed ferroelectric water – a state in which the molecules’ dipoles become ordered and the material gains electric polarisation – in an atom-thin ice layer sandwiched between graphene sheets.
- First observation of an inhomogeneous electron charge distribution on an atom 18/11/2021 Until now, observing subatomic structures was beyond the resolution capabilities of direct imaging methods, and this seemed unlikely to change. Czech scientists, however, have presented a method with which they became the first in the world to observe an inhomogeneous electron charge distribution around a halogen atom, thus confirming the existence of a phenomenon that had been theoretically predicted but never directly observed. Comparable to the first observation of a black hole, the breakthrough will facilitate understanding of interactions between individual atoms or molecules as well as of chemical reactions, and it opens a path to refinement of the material and structural properties of various physical, biological, and chemical systems. The breakthrough will be published on Friday in Science.
- The observation of correlated states and superconductivity in twisted trilayer graphene 16/11/2021 When two layers of graphene or of other two-dimensional (2D) materials are stacked on top of each other with a small angle misalignment, the crystal lattices produced by each layer are spatially 'out of synch'. This results in a unique structural pattern known as moiré superlattice.
- Imaging the chemical fingerprints of molecules 11/11/2021 Flip through any chemistry textbook and you'll see drawings of the chemical structure of molecules—where individual atoms are arranged in space and how they're chemically bonded to each other. For decades, chemists could only indirectly determine chemical structures based on the response generated when samples interacted with x-rays or particles of light. For the special case of molecules on a surface, atomic force microscopy (AFM), invented in the 1980s, provided direct images of molecules and the patterns they form when assembling into two-dimensional (2D) arrays. In 2009, significant advances in high-resolution AFM (HR-AFM) allowed chemists for the first time to directly image the chemical structure of a single molecule with sufficient detail to distinguish different types of bonding inside the molecule.
- Spintronics: Exotic ferromagnetic order in two-dimensions 09/11/2021 The thinnest materials in the world are only a single atom thick. These kinds of two-dimensional or 2D materials—such as graphene, well-known as consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms—are causing a great deal of excitement among research teams worldwide. This is because these materials promise unusual properties that cannot be obtained using three-dimensional materials. As a result, 2D materials are opening the door to new applications in fields such as information and display technology, as well as for critical components in extremely sensitive sensors.
- Experiments reveal formation of a new state of matter-electron quadruplets 04/11/2021 The central principle of superconductivity is that electrons form pairs. But can they also condense into foursomes? Recent findings have suggested they can, and a physicist has published experimental evidence of this quadrupling effect and details of the mechanism by which this state of matter occurs.
- NEWS Flip battery sideways for NMR studies 02/11/2021 Researchers have recorded the first ever nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of unmodified, off-the-shelf button batteries as they are charged and discharged. The metal battery casing had so far prevented such studies as it blocks the NMR radiofrequency field. But a team from Sandia National Laboratories, US, has found a way around this – simply turn the battery by 90°.
- An easier, greener way to build molecules wins the chemistry Nobel Prize 28/10/2021 Making molecules is hard work. Atoms must be stitched together into specific arrangements through a series of chemical reactions that are often slow, convoluted and wasteful. The 2021 Nobel Prize in chemistry recognizes two scientists who developed a tool at the turn of the century that revolutionized how chemists construct new molecules, making the process faster and more environmentally friendly.
- “Exotic magnetic states in miniature dimensions” published in Nature 26/10/2021 Led by scientists at Empa, INL - International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory and an international team of researchers from Switzerland, Portugal, Germany, and Spain have succeeded in building carbon-based quantum spin chains, where they captured the emergence of one of the cornerstone models of quantum magnetism first proposed by the 2016 Nobel laureate F. D. M. Haldane in 1983.
- Induced flaws in quantum materials could enhance superconducting properties 21/10/2021 In a surprising discovery, an international team of researchers, led by scientists in the University of Minnesota Center for Quantum Materials, found that deformations in quantum materials that cause imperfections in the crystal structure can actually improve the material's superconducting and electrical properties.
- Nobel prize in physics goes to research on complex physical systems 19/10/2021 The 2021 Nobel prize in physics has been awarded to three scientists who improved our understanding of the complexity of systems that range in scale from atoms to our planet’s climate. Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and Giorgio Parisi’s research provided fundamental insights that underpin much of our knowledge of climate change.