News+Stories: Advanced Material Science

Artificial Tissue from the 3D Bioprinter

CO₂-Saving Eco-Concrete: ÖBB, Wopfinger and TU Graz prove practicality

For the construction of a small animal culvert in the course of the double-track extension of the Pottendorf railway line between Vienna Meidling and Wiener Neustadt, a concrete mix was used for the first time, whose production emits a quarter less CO₂ compared with conventional concrete.

Electrons in quantum liquid gain energy from laser pulses

The absorption of energy from laser light by free electrons in a liquid has been demonstrated for the first time. Until now, this process was observed only in the gas phase. The findings, led by Graz University of Technology, open new doors for ultra-fast electron microscopy.

It takes some heat to form ice

Researchers from TU Graz in Austria and the Universities of Cambridge and Surrey succeeded to track down the first step in ice formation at a surface, revealing that additional energy is needed for water before ice can start to form.

TU Graz SciPix: Vote now for the most beautiful research pictures!

How beautiful is research at TU Graz? This is what we show in the TU Graz SciPix photo competition. Now you can vote for your favourite photo!

Materials Research Says Yes to Wood

Researchers at TU Graz develop green alternatives to fossil raw materials. Bio-based materials are expected to reduce pollution and drive the shift to a more sustainable economy.

Understanding Interfaces of Hybrid Materials with Machine Learning

Using machine learning methods, researchers at TU Graz can predict the structure formation of functionalized molecules at the interfaces of hybrid materials. Now they have also succeeded in looking behind the driving forces of this structure formation.

Starting Signal for the NAWI Graz Center of Physics

All parties involved have given the green light for the establishment of the Graz Center of Physics, the big physics centre of TU Graz and the University of Graz in the framework of the NAWI Graz research and teaching network. The architectural competition is under way, and construction is scheduled...

Electromagnetic Fields of Nanostructures Visualized in 3D for the First Time

Researchers at TU Graz and the University of Graz, together with experts from France, have succeeded in imaging surface phonons in 3D for the first time. This success could accelerate the development of new, efficient nanotechnologies.

TU Graz Researchers Identify Chemical Processes as Key to Understanding Landslides

The study results are based on investigations of repeated mass movements and are expected to benefit planning, maintenance, and development of transportation infrastructure in affected areas.

Brenner Base Tunnel as a Lighthouse Project: Tunnels to become CO₂-neutral energy suppliers

Research association led by TU Graz wants to use the heat contained in the discharged tunnel water to supply energy to entire city districts. As part of the FFG programme "City of the Future", a sustainable concept for the city of Innsbruck is being developed.

New research project on environmental and safety aspects of stationary energy storage

The SABATLE project coordinated by TU Graz focuses on the sustainability and safety of redox flow technologies, which are of immanent importance for the stabilization of the power grid.

Hydrogen: Electricity Storage of the Future?

If our energy system is to become more eco-friendly, there is no way to avoid hydrogen as an energy carrier. Researchers around the world are certain of this.

Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE)...

... of Ultra-High-Strength Steel Screws in Service: Still a Development Potential?

Samir Kopacic: From crude oil to bioplastics

TU Graz researcher Samir Kopacic would like to contribute to less plastic and more biodegradable materials being used in the future. Meanwhile he is developing his own paper-based packaging.

Sustainable shotcrete mix-designs for tunnels with longer service-life

A project jointly initiated by the Austrian Society for Construction Technology (ÖBV), TU Graz and OTH Regensburg provides a more systematic understanding of shotcrete applications and forms the basis for new, even more durable concrete mixes and thus for more durable tunnels.

TU Graz launches Christian Doppler Laboratory for Solid-State Batteries

The focus of the new CD laboratory is the reduction of interface resistances within the solid-state battery. The aim is to make this particularly safe energy storage system fit for electric vehicles and other high-energy applications.

TU Graz researchers discover new sediment archive for historical climate research

Geological investigations of low-temperature young deposits on the Styrian Erzberg provide paleoclimatology with new data on the earth's history and its development.

New findings pave the way to environmentally friendly supercapacitors

Similar to batteries, supercapacitors are suitable for the repeated storage of electrical energy. TU Graz researchers have presented a particularly safe and sustainable variant of such a supercapacitor in Nature Communications.

Ecological power storage battery made of vanillin

Researchers at TU Graz have found a way to convert the aromatic substance vanillin into a redox-active electrolyte material for liquid batteries. The technology is an important step towards ecologically sustainable energy storage.

Experimental physics: inching closer to outer space

Peter Pichler from TU Graz’s Institute of Experimental Physics is researching liquid metal. At the moment, he is waiting for data from the ISS, which he will analyse in his dissertation.

Machine learning methods provide new insights into organic-inorganic interfaces

Simulations at Graz University of Technology refute earlier theories on long-range charge transfer between organic and inorganic materials.

TU Graz Researchers synthesize nanoparticles tailored for special applications

“Core-shell” clusters pave the way for new efficient nanomaterials that make catalysts, magnetic and laser sensors or measuring devices for detecting electromagnetic radiation more efficient.

TU Graz physicists study steel on board the ISS

For the Institute of Experimental Physics, heading into outer space is on the agenda: the researchers are taking part in an experiment on board the international space station to measure the surface tension of Böhler steel.

TU Graz researchers want to fundamentally improve concrete diagnostics

Under the scientific direction of Graz University of Technology, an Austrian consortium is working on new investigation methods for rapid and precise assessments of concrete structures.

TU Graz physicist Birgitta Schultze-Bernhardt receives START Prize 2020

The researcher receives the science prize worth up to 1.2 million euros for her work on a new measurement technology that enables UV-light-induced chemical processes to be investigated with unprecedented detail.

Extending the Building Blocks of Materials Science: What Viruses have to Offer.

When it comes to nanotechnology, nature is truly the most successful researcher.

Technology innovation for neurology: Brain signal measurement using printed tattoo electrodes

TU Graz researcher Francesco Greco has developed ultra-light tattoo electrodes that are hardly noticeable on the skin and make long-term measurements of brain activity cheaper and easier.

Researchers observe ultrafast processes of single molecules in liquid helium for the first time

Graz University of Technology researchers describe in Physical Review Letters how a molecule moves in the protective environment of a quantum fluid.

Using measuring instruments to protect against explosion

Doctoral student Manuel Maier from TU Graz’s Institute of Process and Particle Technology received the Anton Paar Research Award for a measuring instrument that controls reactions of highly reactive substances.

New simulation-experiment combination allows deeper insights into ultrafast light-induced processes

Researchers from Graz University of Technology and the University of Vienna are demonstrating for the first time how the energy flow between strongly interacting molecular states can be better described.

Sustainable 3D-printed super magnets

Magnetic materials play important roles in electrical products. These materials are usually manufactured by means of established production techniques and use of rare earth metals. Several research teams at TU Graz are working on alternative, more environmentally friendly production methods.

The mysterious movement of water molecules

Water is all around us and essential for life. Nevertheless, research into its behaviour at the atomic level – above all how it interacts with surfaces – is thin on the ground. Thanks to a new experimental method, TU Graz researchers have now delivered insights into the atomic-level movement of...

Magnetic energy gaps in topological materials unravelled

Newly discovered properties of magnetically doped topological insulators could significantly accelerate the development of quantum computers. The transmission electron microscope ASTEM, located at Graz University of Technology, played a major role in the success of these discoveries.

Wire-Based Additive Manufacturing of Ti-6Al-4V Using Electron Beam Welding

By using modern CNC-controlled, highly sophisticated welding processes, new production methods can be utilized to build arbitrary structures on a substrate. Although the basic patent dates back to 1925, so-called additive manufacturing is a hot topic nowadays.

The Craziest Ideas Are the Best Ones

Sergio Amancio is a materials scientist. Despite spending less and less time in the lab, he remains a passionate inventor.

Additive Manufacturing: The 3D Revolution

3D printing is the manufacturing technique of the future. And these are not just empty words: the approach’s significance is reflected in numerous examples from a wide variety of disciplines.

TU Graz researchers develop new 3D printing for the direct production of nanostructures

A team from Graz University of Technology succeeded in using the FEBID method to produce complex 3D-printed nano-components for the first time without additional support structures.

From Lego to New Material Building Blocks

Materials researcher Florian Lackner "wraps" highly reactive alkali metal atoms in gold and examines them in his laser laboratory. A job he dreamed of when he was a child.

L'Oréal Austria scholarship for TU Graz researcher Katrin Unger

Katrin Unger, PhD student at TU Graz, develops tattoo sensors that measure the acid content of the skin. For this she yesterday received the L'Oréal Austria scholarship “For Women in Science”, endowed with 25,000 euros.

An order of magnitude makes all the difference

In chemical analysis, when electron microscopes reach their limits, the field emission microprobe steps in. With this equipment, taking analysis down to the next level of magnitude is no problem.

Two new CD labs for TU Graz

Two new CD labs of TU Graz are working on producing proteins and high-quality plastics efficiently and cost-effectively.

… a summer job like no other.

Hannah Kaspret spent her summer as FIT intern at the Institute of Solid State Physics of TU Graz and built flower pedals out of Polydimenthylsiloxane that reacts to water vapour.

The beauty of defects

Peter Hadley tries to understand which defects give rise to which properties in certain materials – what makes a ruby red, electricity flow through silicon, or a wire break?

Searching for the most efficient molecular recipe

Andreas Jeindl simulates the properties that materials ought to have under certain conditions. Among other things, he hopes to improve the OLEDs used in mobile phone screens and solar panels.

“Frustrated” ions for solid-state batteries

An international team involving researchers from TU Graz has published research into a new solid-state electrolyte for batteries. The material exhibits one of the fastest lithium mobility processes ever measured in a lithium-ion conductor.

Researchers observe shortest magnetic event

For the first time ever, physicists have been able to change the magnetic moment of a material using a light wave within one femtosecond – the fastest magnetic event ever observed.

Innovative powder revolutionises 3D metal printing

At TU Graz a steel powder has been developed for additive manufacturing which decisively simplifies the production of complex components. In a spin-off funding programme, work is now being done on market maturity.

Radiation Damage in Microelectronics

Reliability is a wide-ranging subject in microelectronics, covering responses to different kinds of stress as well as measures to increase devices’ tolerance against them.

The Fascination of the Abstract

Jürgen Hartler hardly has time for swimming, his favourite pastime, because he’s busy conducting research into mass spectrometry of lipids at UC San Diego – where the sea is on his doorstop.

Battery research at TU Graz: new breakthroughs in research on super-batteries

Researchers at TU Graz have discovered a means of suppressing singlet oxygen formation in lithium-oxygen batteries in order to extend their useful lives.

Anti-Ageing for fuel cells

Vanja Subotic is conducting research on ageing in fuel cells at an early stage, halting it, and in the best case scenario reversing it. She has received the Josef Krainer Promotion Prize 2019 for her work.

Pit stop for paper bags

What does industry-scale cement bag filling have in common with a pit stop in Formula 1? Filling a 25kg paper bag with cement in the factory takes about three seconds, about as long as a pit stop.

Nano-composition: New synthesis of catalytic nanomaterials

Researchers at TU Graz describe the effects which occur upon evaporation of vanadium compounds in Chemical Science. Improvements for the development of SCR catalysts may be based on their results.

Tools of the trade: super-fast electrons

Max Burian uses bright light to look deep into the core of matter. He works in a silver laboratory container next to the Elettra synchrotron particle accelerator in Trieste, Italy.

Test tubes and crochet needles

Professionally speaking, chemist Beate Steller can look back on a successful year: she received several awards. At home, the 26-year-old prefers a quiet life and sees herself as “a bit of a granny”.

TU Graz researchers are getting a (nano) perspective

TU Graz operates two beamlines at the ‘Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste’ research facility in which structures and properties of materials can be investigated at the tiniest scale.

Project MNEMONIC: Magnetic Porous Bio-Composites

Metal-Organic Frameworks, also known as MOFs, are attractive porous materials with huge implications for both basic and applied research.

Breakthrough in quantum physics: Reaction of a quantum fluid to photoexcitation of dissolved particles

Researchers from TU Graz have described for the first time the dynamics which takes place within a trillionth of a second after photoexcitation of a single atom inside a superfluid helium nanodroplet.

Battery-driven research at TU Graz

Batteries are a broad field of research. Energy storage systems of the future should be more powerful, more environmentally friendly, smaller and even safer – work is being done on this at TU Graz.

New Christian Doppler Laboratory

The Christian Doppler Laboratory for Design of High-Performance Alloys by Thermomechanical Processing has recently opened. The leading team, Cecilia Poletti and Friedrich Krumphals, will introduce it.

Material design: START Prize for TU Graz physicist

TU Graz physicist Oliver Hofmann has been awarded the renowned START Prize for his work in the field of material design. He aims to make production of materials with certain properties easier.

Interior Architecture at the Nanoscale

Although microporous crystals are tiny, their potential is enormous. To exploit this, TU Graz has initiated the interdisciplinary lead project Porous Materials@Work.

Searching for traces: Recovering gold, copper and aluminium from waste.

In New Zealand he prospected for gold. In Graz Andreas Hauser and his colleague Markus Koch have developed a device which can recover non-ferrous metals from waste.

Research trio: TU Graz opens three CD labs simultaneously

Research includes the fabrication of 3D nano-probes, radio-based positioning systems and the porosity of paper at three new Christian Doppler Laboratories to be opened at TU Graz on 25th April.

Tattoo electrodes from an ink-jet printer

Electrodes for longterm monitoring of electrical impulses of heart or muscles in the form of temporary tattoos produced using an ink-jet printer. An international research group involving TU Graz presents this novel method in Advanced Science.

Improved “energy harvest” in solar cells

Oliver Hofmann, solid-state physicist at TU Graz, is working on the simulation and prediction of material properties. All this to optimise solar cells. He gets help from a supercomputer in the USA.

Combating sulphuric acid corrosion at wastewater plants: Graz scientists develop new solution

Writing in Water Research, researchers from TU Graz and the University of Graz discuss new materials that prevent damage from microbial induced concrete corrosion.

Environmental sensor systems: a deep breath for science

Alexander Bergmann and his team at TU Graz’s Institute of Electronic Sensor Systems have made it their aim to improve our quality of air and life by means of sophisticated sensor systems.

An International PhD via Thinface

In the last four years, 14 young scientists worked in the field of advanced materials across Europe in the training network Thinface and are now completing their cross-border doctoral degrees.

Towards a Physical Theory of Plasticity

The relative ease of plastically deforming metallic materials is a prerequisite for their widespread application in mechanical engineering.

ERC grant for TU Graz materials researcher Paolo Falcaro

Paolo Falcaro has secured a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant for his research into microporous crystals, known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), at TU Graz. The ERC will provide EUR 2 million in funding for research into these high-performance, leading-edge materials.

Small – smaller – molecular electronics

The research area of molecular electronics focuses on miniaturisation. It’s a further development of microelectronics and deals with circuits at the molecular level.

Top research: Financial funding running into millions for TU Graz lead projects

Two interdisciplinary basic research projects in the fields of biomechanics and materials sciences will be funded to the amount of 3.5 million euros from TU Graz funds for three years from 2018.

New CD lab for high-performance alloys at TU Graz

Maria Cecilia Poletti heads the Christian Doppler Laboratory for Design of High-Performance Alloys by Thermomechanical Processing. Industrial partners are Böhler Schmiedetechnik and Nemak Linz.

X-ray Views into the Nanoworld: International SAXS Community Celebrates in Graz

Graz has been a hotspot for small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) for the analysis of nanostructured materials for 60 years now. The International SAXS Symposium at TU Graz demonstrates the continuing significance of this technology.

Plastics as Heat Managers for High-Tech Products

From laptops to generators: plastics are an integral part of every electronic and electrical device.

Modelling the Microstructure of an Aluminium Alloy

Understanding and modelling the mechanisms involved in shaping metallic alloys has become a major concern of manufacturers.

NAWI Graz researchers measure light fields in 3D

Researchers from TU Graz and the University of Graz present the new method of 3D-plasmon tomography in Nature Communications.

It all started with dirty water...

At the age of four years she got her hands on a microscope for the first time and investigated dirty water together with other children – today Cecilia Poletti is a successful materials scientist at TU Graz.

Electrostatic design of materials: TU Graz demonstrates a fundamentally new approach

Researchers at the Institute of Solid State Physics map out a radically new approach for designing optical and electronic properties of materials in Advanced Materials.

TU Graz researchers show that enzyme function inhibits battery ageing

Stefan Freunberger, beneficiary of an ERC grant at TU Graz, shows in Nature Energy the influence of the reactive singlet oxygen on ageing processes in non-aqueous oxygen batteries.

Porous crystalline materials: TU Graz researcher shows method for controlled growth

Microporous crystals (MOFs) have a great potential as functional materials of the future. Paolo Falcaro of TU Graz et al demonstrate in Nature Materials how the growth of MOFs can be precisely controlled on a large scale.

Energy hybrid: Battery meets super capacitor

Researchers from the universities of Montpellier, Bordeaux and TU Graz demonstrate in Nature Materials that it is possible to combine the high-energy density of batteries with the high-power output of super capacitors in a single system – thanks to liquid energy storage materials.

Health trackers for rail tracks and other structures

Structural health monitoring records the current "state of health" of structures and infrastructure. This allows "illnesses" to be diagnosed at an early stage and treated.

FELMI-ZFE: ‘looking through’ 65 years at TU Graz

Round about 65 years ago, the first electron microscope was set up at TU Graz, thus laying a foundation stone for many years of successful research work

Triple Doppler: Starting shot for new CD labs

From fibre swelling in paper by way of computer vision to efficient electric auxiliary drives: three new Christian Doppler Laboratories were launched at TU Graz in 2016. What this means and who benefits – a short survey.

Smart artificial skin: ERC grant for researcher at TU Graz

Anna Maria Coclite is the first woman to be awarded an ERC Starting Grant at TU Graz. Her research project deals with developing a hybrid material to produce an artificial skin with multi-responsive sensors.

Piggyback battery for microchips: TU Graz researchers develop new concept

Electrochemists at TU Graz have managed to use monocrystalline semiconductor silicon as an active storage electrode in lithium batteries. This enables an integrated power supply to be made for microchips with a rechargeable battery.

Economic fuel cells

The direct and efficient conversion of chemically stored energy into electrical energy using fuel cells requires durable, corrosion-resistant and electrochemically highly active materials.

Nanoworld in 3D

Gaining detailed knowledge about atomic structure and chemical composition is paramount for a deeper understanding of the properties of matter and their potential applications in technology.

Modelling for optimising the properties of paper

Paper is an extremely versatile material and can be used for countless applications. To make the natural all-rounder suitable for its special tasks, it’s necessary to know about its inner life.

Solar cell + battery: TU Graz researches hybrid systems

In the FFG project SolaBat, TU Graz is entering almost new research territory. Photovoltaic cells are to be combined into one device with electrochemical energy storage systems.

Paper down to fibre level

Paper is a sophisticated material. It has to satisfy many partly conflicting demands all at the same time, covering the full range from industrial printing to its use as a packaging material. Yesterday, Monday 11 January 2016, the “Christian-Doppler (CD) Laboratory for Fibre Swelling Paper...