News from the SNI network Christoph Gerber: A life devoted to the nanosciences Forty years ago, Gerd Binnig, Carl Quate and Chris- toph Gerber published their invention of the atomic force microscope. Even at the age of 83, Gerber con- tinues to share his enthusiasm for this special mi- croscope, which was instrumental in allowing sci- entists to explore the nanoworld. SNI post with video Single-layer MOF nanosheets: Great potential for versatile applications An international team from the SNI network has suc- ceeded in producing ultra-thin, ordered layers of met- al-organic frameworks (MOFs) at the interface between air and a liquid. The study opens up new avenues for the development of nanomaterials with tailored prop- erties. The researchers recently published their findings in the scientific journal Small Structures. SNI post with video Original publication ACS Nano Impact Award for publication on controllable quantum effects This year’s ACS Nano Impact Award goes to a re- search team from the universities of Basel and Bern. The researchers are receiving this award for a paper they published in the scientific journal ACS Nano. In the publication, they describe how they can pre- cisely arrange individual molecules on a supercon- ductor and selectively control their quantum prop- erties – which is important for developing quantum technologies. SNI post Original publication Using the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope, the spins of individual tetra- bromo-tetraazapyren derivative molecules can be “toggled” (between 1 and 0). Chains of these molecules exhibit regular patterns of quantum states. (Image: R. Pawlak, Department of Physics, University of Basel) In a short video, former SNI doctoral student Ajmal Roshan Unniram Parambil explains how the thin nanolayer MOFS are produced. 40 SNI INSight June 2026
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