Development of inorganic-conducting polymer composites and ionic liquid-based electrolytes for rechargeable lithium batteries. The project will lead to development of safe lithium batteries for electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles to contribute to the national priority goal of reducing and capturing emissions in transport to improve our environment. Small, flexible batteries for new implantable medical devices will also be developed to treat millions of people suffering from different ....Development of inorganic-conducting polymer composites and ionic liquid-based electrolytes for rechargeable lithium batteries. The project will lead to development of safe lithium batteries for electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles to contribute to the national priority goal of reducing and capturing emissions in transport to improve our environment. Small, flexible batteries for new implantable medical devices will also be developed to treat millions of people suffering from different diseases. The development of new scientific knowledge related to this project will place Australia at the forefront of an emerging domain of research. The project will take the incentive in establishing a leading national position in development of new energy storage technology.
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Advanced Ionic Materials for Organic Photovoltaics. Australia will greatly benefit from the development of improved solar energy technology, as a means of addressing the issue of climate change as a result of continued fossil fuel use. Solar power is also advantageous as it also allows electricity to be generated locally where it is needed, which is particularly important for the many remote areas of Australia. The climate in Australia is ideally suited for the electricity production through pho ....Advanced Ionic Materials for Organic Photovoltaics. Australia will greatly benefit from the development of improved solar energy technology, as a means of addressing the issue of climate change as a result of continued fossil fuel use. Solar power is also advantageous as it also allows electricity to be generated locally where it is needed, which is particularly important for the many remote areas of Australia. The climate in Australia is ideally suited for the electricity production through photovoltaics, and this project will focus on improving the performance of these devices to enable their widespread use. Read moreRead less
Advanced polymer fibres with multiple functionalities. This project will add value to the local polymer and fibre industries. Australia is a significant producer of synthetic polymers such as polypropylene and the largest producer of wool. There is also local production of nanoparticles such as zinc oxide. This project will add value to all these producers through innovative uses and applications of different types of material. Combining organic and inorganic particles in a polymer matrix has no ....Advanced polymer fibres with multiple functionalities. This project will add value to the local polymer and fibre industries. Australia is a significant producer of synthetic polymers such as polypropylene and the largest producer of wool. There is also local production of nanoparticles such as zinc oxide. This project will add value to all these producers through innovative uses and applications of different types of material. Combining organic and inorganic particles in a polymer matrix has not been reported. This innovation will strengthen our position in research into advanced materials, which is a national research priority.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882948
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$440,000.00
Summary
Multidisciplinary 'Environmental' Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope. The present proposal is for a high resolution electron microscope for use in the development of new materials for the automotive, textile and bio-medical sectors. The new generation of automotive materials will be lighter and more crash resistant. New textiles will be 'active' in providing warmth and cooling through their conducting properties. They will also provide enhanced dynamic protection against physical ha ....Multidisciplinary 'Environmental' Field Emission Gun Scanning Electron Microscope. The present proposal is for a high resolution electron microscope for use in the development of new materials for the automotive, textile and bio-medical sectors. The new generation of automotive materials will be lighter and more crash resistant. New textiles will be 'active' in providing warmth and cooling through their conducting properties. They will also provide enhanced dynamic protection against physical harm. The facility will support the development of new cellular scaffolds made from metals and polymers. These scaffolds will be used for tissue growth and engineering. The facility will also be used to support Deakin University's regional collaborators.Read moreRead less
Enhancing the performance of thin-film photovoltaic cells via the application of luminescent down-shifting layers. Photovoltaic (PV) devices convert sunlight directly into electricity. For decades, the dominant PV technology has been based on thick, costly silicon wafers. However, due to higher energy conversion efficiencies and manufacturing processes, thin film PV cells can provide lower price than of the conventional wafer-based technologies. This project takes one of the leading thin film ....Enhancing the performance of thin-film photovoltaic cells via the application of luminescent down-shifting layers. Photovoltaic (PV) devices convert sunlight directly into electricity. For decades, the dominant PV technology has been based on thick, costly silicon wafers. However, due to higher energy conversion efficiencies and manufacturing processes, thin film PV cells can provide lower price than of the conventional wafer-based technologies. This project takes one of the leading thin film technologies and couples it with a passive optical layer, which will result in a 30% performance enhancement by overcoming internal absorption losses. It is anticipated that the increased performance will enable the thin film PV technology to be far more commercially viable and attractive for future commercialisation, and hence reduce the cost of solar power.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0883017
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
Advanced processing and characterisation facility for functional polymers and polymer nanofibres. The pilot-scale processing and advanced characterisation facility will significantly strengthen R&D capacity for innovative research and development of functional polymers and polymer nanofibres, hence adding value to the $10-billion plus market for plastics, rubber and biopolymers manufactured and used in Australia. It will further strengthen Australia's position in polymer and nanofibre research a ....Advanced processing and characterisation facility for functional polymers and polymer nanofibres. The pilot-scale processing and advanced characterisation facility will significantly strengthen R&D capacity for innovative research and development of functional polymers and polymer nanofibres, hence adding value to the $10-billion plus market for plastics, rubber and biopolymers manufactured and used in Australia. It will further strengthen Australia's position in polymer and nanofibre research and innovation.Read moreRead less
Novel Fuel-Cell Structures based on Electroactive Polymers. The Discovery Project will tackle some of the challenging issues regarding the conversion of our society into a post-petroleum era through: Development and understanding of a new class of organic catalysts for efficient low temperature fuel-cells; Developing cheap and effective, ultra-thin, ion-conducting membranes for fuel-cells based on new plasma-polymers; and Integrating the components into fuel-cells suitable for stationary, portab ....Novel Fuel-Cell Structures based on Electroactive Polymers. The Discovery Project will tackle some of the challenging issues regarding the conversion of our society into a post-petroleum era through: Development and understanding of a new class of organic catalysts for efficient low temperature fuel-cells; Developing cheap and effective, ultra-thin, ion-conducting membranes for fuel-cells based on new plasma-polymers; and Integrating the components into fuel-cells suitable for stationary, portable and automotive applications. These outcomes will contribute to national research priorities: Frontier Technologies for building and transforming Australian Industries, and An Environmentally Sustainable Australia.
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Development of nonvolatile fast proton-transport materials. There are many problems with existing proton-transport materials for emerging fuel cell applications such as electric vehicles. A high proton conductivity and high thermal stability are some of the requirements for fuel cell electrolytes. The aims of this project are to develop nonvolatile proton-transport matrices based on zwitterionic liquids with various acids, develop polymer gel materials based on these, and characterize these ne ....Development of nonvolatile fast proton-transport materials. There are many problems with existing proton-transport materials for emerging fuel cell applications such as electric vehicles. A high proton conductivity and high thermal stability are some of the requirements for fuel cell electrolytes. The aims of this project are to develop nonvolatile proton-transport matrices based on zwitterionic liquids with various acids, develop polymer gel materials based on these, and characterize these new proton-transport materials by analyzing ionic conductivity, viscosity, thermal behaviors, and their interrelationships.Read moreRead less
NANOSCALE NETWORKS OF ORGANIC POLYMER/C60 FULLERENE BLENDS FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY SOLAR CELLS. Recent demonstrations of increased efficiencies in polymer-fullerene blend plastic films provide the prospect of low cost photovoltaic elements with the potential for widespread application. Further progress with these materials is strongly indicated. We will characterise these materials at the nanoscale to make further improvements in film morphology and employ our expertise in experimental investigation ....NANOSCALE NETWORKS OF ORGANIC POLYMER/C60 FULLERENE BLENDS FOR HIGH EFFICIENCY SOLAR CELLS. Recent demonstrations of increased efficiencies in polymer-fullerene blend plastic films provide the prospect of low cost photovoltaic elements with the potential for widespread application. Further progress with these materials is strongly indicated. We will characterise these materials at the nanoscale to make further improvements in film morphology and employ our expertise in experimental investigation of transport properties to gain a more complete understanding of the electronic and photonic processes underlying photovoltaic efficiency. Australia is ideally situated geographically and has a strong tradition of inventive engineering from which we can benefit and capitalise significantly on further improvements in the materials to be investigated.Read moreRead less
Improving Tribological Performance Through The Control of Surface Microstructure Using Plasma Based Surface Engineering Technologies. This project aims to improve the tribological performance of a new type of rotary valving system required to operate under marginal boundary lubrication conditions. The intention is to develop innovative plasma based methods of generating inherently low friction modified surfaces through the control of microstructure. The latter will be analysed using focused ion ....Improving Tribological Performance Through The Control of Surface Microstructure Using Plasma Based Surface Engineering Technologies. This project aims to improve the tribological performance of a new type of rotary valving system required to operate under marginal boundary lubrication conditions. The intention is to develop innovative plasma based methods of generating inherently low friction modified surfaces through the control of microstructure. The latter will be analysed using focused ion beam milling. The performance of modified surfaces will be assessed in simulated friction and wear tests. Success could lead to more widespread adoption of the technology within the automotive industry with benefits for more efficient use of energy and cleaner exhaust emissions.Read moreRead less