Water causes wood to rot and weather, which looks unsightly and gradually destroys the material. Empa researchers have now developed a strategy to combat this.

Wood has one particular property that tends to cause problems: it swells when it gets wet. As this occurs according to strict rules, however, a team of Empa researchers is looking to produce wooden building components...

Researchers from Empa and the University of Basel developed a new method of electrospraying which enables artificial muscles to be fabricated from nanometer-thin silicone layers. Since muscles of this type can operate at...

Enzymes from fungi, bacteria and plants render wood resistant to decomposing and pathogenic microorganisms. Possible applications might be germ-resistant wood surfaces for hospitals and nursing homes, but also...

Levels of greenhouse gas CO2 continue to rise and are about to exceed the next threshold. Empa makes sure that this and other air pollutants can be measured correctly and in a globally comparable way. To do this, Empa...

About 18 months ago, Davide Bleiner took over the helm at Empa’s Laboratory for Advanced Analytical Technologies. And he has big plans – for small things. Right at the top of his wish list is the development of a...

There will be a new face at the helm of the Empa “Technology and Society” laboratory, with Patrick Wäger heading up the department from May 2016. He will thus replace the interim head of laboratory, Heinz Böni.

As reported by the journal Nature in its latest issue, researchers from Empa, the Max Planck Institute in Mainz and the Technical University of Dresden have for the first time succeeded in producing graphene nanoribbons...

Mistakes can happen when estimating emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Researchers from Empa, the University of Berne and ETH Zurich funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation have...

The STARTFELD development platform has taken a decisive step forward, with the opening of an innovation centre adjacent to the Empa site in St. Gallen. It is intended to act as a crystallization nucleus for innovative...

Varnishes protect works of art and wooden instruments from environmental damage. However, until recently, little research had been carried out into the effects of varnish on the sound of violins. Empa researchers have...

In more than three years of work european scientists finally made future lighting technology ready to market. They developed flexible lighting foils that can be produced roll-to-roll – much like newspapers are printed....

Thanks to a close collaboration between the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa), SR Technics and the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA), Switzerland is setting an international...

Noise is disturbing and can be harmful to health. Empa researchers have now succeeded in simulating road noise by means of «auralisation». The aim is to make noise audible along traffic routes that are merely in the...

Crystals of biominerals like the ones in bone or teeth oftentimes occur only either in a left- or right-handed form, which relate to each other like an object and its mirror image. How this “chirality” is conferred to...

Fuel cells generate electrical energy through a chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. To obtain clean energy, the splitting of water into its components of hydrogen and oxygen is critical. Researchers at Empa and the...

Generous research funding is allocated to Empa from the EU's budget. Two Empa researchers – Rolf Erni, Manager of the Electron Microscopy Center, and Josep Puigmarti, who works in the Department of Safety and Physiology...

Bolivia’s cities suffer from severe air pollution. A Swiss project entitled Aire Limpio is helping to improve their air quality. Empa is also on board, readily passing on its expertise in the field of air measuring...

Just how safe, sustainable and economical are hydrogen-powered vehicles? This was the question that around 300 experts and members of the interested public addressed during a conference held at Empa. While the safety of...

At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos a key topic is focusing on the "Digital Transformation of Industries”. The fourth industrial revolution is imminent. It goes by the name “Industry 4.0” and is expected to...