Flexible electronic parts could significantly improve medical implants. However, electroconductive gold atoms usually hardly bind to silicones. Researchers from the University of Basel have now been able to modify short-chain silicones in a way, that they build strong bonds to gold atoms. The results have been published in the journal «Advanced Electronic Materials». Ultra-thin and […]

Scientists have developed a new method of characterizing graphene’s properties without applying disruptive electrical contacts, allowing them to investigate both the resistance and quantum capacitance of graphene and other two-dimensional materials. Researchers from the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the University of Basel’s Department of Physics reported their findings in the journal Physical Review Applied. Graphene […]

Two-dimensional magnetic structures are regarded as a promising material for new types of data storage, since the magnetic properties of individual molecular building blocks can be investigated and modified. For the first time, researchers have now produced a wafer-thin ferrimagnet, in which molecules with different magnetic centers arrange themselves on a gold surface to form […]

The new issue of our newsletter SNI update is now online. We explain some phenomena of the quantum world, introduce Dr Sonja Neuhaus who heads a research group in the School of Engineering (FHNW) and report about activities of SNI members in recent months.  SNI update is published four times a year. If you are interested to receive our […]

For the first time, scientists have succeeded in studying the strength of hydrogen bonds in a single molecule using an atomic force microscope. Researchers from the University of Basel’s Swiss Nanoscience Institute network have reported the results in the journal Science Advances. Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe and is an integral […]

Basel chemist Thomas Ward, Professor of Bioinorganic Chemistry at the University of Basel and Director of the NCCR Molecular Systems Engineering, is the Royal Society of Chemistry Bioinorganic Chemistry Award winner for 2017. Professor Ward’s group has been combining chemical and biological tools for fifteen years. They create artificial metalloenzymes that can be used for […]

The University of Basel team has won the first international nanocar race, which was held on a gold racetrack. The young scientists from the Department of Physics and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute at the University of Basel were the fastest at steering a single molecule along a miniscule gold track measuring around 100 nanometers. The […]

The Swiss team that was supported by the SNI won the first international nano car race on a gold surface. The two pilots Dr. Rémy Pawlak and Tobias Meier from the research group of Prof. Dr. Ernst Meyer (Department of Physics, University of Basel) were the first who reached the finishing line on the gold surface. The […]

On April 28th and 29th, the first international nanocar race takes place in Toulouse. A team of the Department of Physics and the Swiss Nanoscience Institute at the University of Basel participates and has good chances to win. We keep our fingers crossed for the pilots Dr. Rémy Pawlak und Tobias Meier from the research […]

The Annual Report is finalized and can be downloaded. The general part of the report describes some highlights of 2016, the scientific part contains reports of the running projects in the Nano Argovia Program and of the SNI PhD school. download