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06.10.2026 Multimodal synchrotron X-ray analysis of palm-leaf manuscripts
Combining synchrotron X-ray scattering and fluorescence with machine learning, we identified structural and compositional signatures in historical palm-leaf manuscripts that discriminate between botanical genera and reflect their processing. The non-destructive approach provides a material science basis for provenance studies, complementing codicological and historical evidence. See our publication in npj Heritage Science and the press release.
17.09.2026 A Tale of Two Waters: H₂O and D₂O Electrify Surfaces Differently
Hydrophobic nanoporous silicon acts as a single platform for comparing three solid–liquid triboelectrification regimes: immersion–emersion, droplet contact, and pressure-driven pore intrusion, with H2O and D2O highlighting isotope-dependent electrical responses. Rather than providing one simple mechanism, the study published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C opens new questions about the molecular origins of water–solid electrification—and shows how isotope substitution can help uncover them.
05.06.2026 Water, Clay and Carbon: A New Route to Sustainable Energy Storage
🌎 Water, Clay and Carbon: A New Route to Sustainable Energy Storage - we demonstrate an all-water supercapacitor stable over 60,000 charging cycles.
💧⚡Can pure water store electrical energy? A research team within the Cluster of Excellence BlueMat – Water-Driven Materials has now shown that it can.
🔋 By confining water within nanometer-sized channels in clay minerals, the team developed a supercapacitor capable of efficiently storing and transporting electrical charge with remarkable stability.
💡 Read more in our latest press release ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dttmcBcQ
Publication:
Artemov, V. et al., All-water supercapacitor enabled by 1-nm clay channels, Nat Commun 17, 5014 (2026).
23.04.2026 Lehmann Prize awarded to Patrick Huber
🏆 Congratulations to Patrick Huber on receiving the Volker Lehmann Prize for the most outstanding talk at the 2026 Porous Semiconductors Science and Technology Conference (PSST2026) in Naples, Italy.
💧 His presentation, “Nature’s Blueprint: Water-Enabled Functions in Hierarchically Porous Silicon,” showcased key research directions of the Cluster of Excellence BlueMat: Water-Driven Materials.
🏆 The Lehmann Prize honors Volker Lehmann, who—together with Leigh Canham and Ulrich Gösele - co-discovered the quantum confinement effect in silicon.
22.10.2025 Water as an energy carrier: nanoporous silicon generates electricity from friction with water
Exciting news! Our new publication in Nano Energy presents a novel way for converting mechanical energy into electricity – by harnessing water confined in nanometre-sized pores of silicon as the active working fluid (press release).
