Dyes and Pigments as Building Blocks for Novel High Performance Organic Semiconductors. Natural dyes and pigments are well known for their bright colours, photochemical and thermal stability, and cheap cost. Recently, the necessity of high performing materials in the organic electronics has stimulated a renaissance of these historical molecules and their subsequent derivatives into new families of ?-conjugated building blocks used to construct new donor-acceptor semiconductors. The aim of this p ....Dyes and Pigments as Building Blocks for Novel High Performance Organic Semiconductors. Natural dyes and pigments are well known for their bright colours, photochemical and thermal stability, and cheap cost. Recently, the necessity of high performing materials in the organic electronics has stimulated a renaissance of these historical molecules and their subsequent derivatives into new families of ?-conjugated building blocks used to construct new donor-acceptor semiconductors. The aim of this project is to explore various novel dyes, pigments and their derivatives for constructing outstanding materials for future organic electronics.Read moreRead less
High performance durable perovskite solar cells for space applications . There has been a rapid growth in space exploration and experimentation fuelled by global support. Space hardware needs to be powered by a sustainable source of energy. The use of solar photovoltaics is the preferred choice. As we move into the era of 'commercial space', cost will become paramount necessitating the development of new cost effective photovoltaic technologies. Metal halide perovskite solar cells show the great ....High performance durable perovskite solar cells for space applications . There has been a rapid growth in space exploration and experimentation fuelled by global support. Space hardware needs to be powered by a sustainable source of energy. The use of solar photovoltaics is the preferred choice. As we move into the era of 'commercial space', cost will become paramount necessitating the development of new cost effective photovoltaic technologies. Metal halide perovskite solar cells show the greatest potential. They have a higher power to weight ratio and are significantly cheaper to be manufactured compared to incumbent space cells. This project aims to develop and demonstrate perovskite solar cells to achieve high areal power conversion efficiencies and long operating lifetimes withstanding space environment. Read moreRead less
Defect control for high-performance green kesterites energy materials. This project will tackle the fundamental challenge of defect control of the quaternary compound kesterite, revolutionizing the way we can understand the hidden defect-evolution process and design accordingly effective defect-control approaches. This will be realized by a systematic approach integrating multiscale materials characterization, process and materials modeling, and linking microscopic local chemical potential and m ....Defect control for high-performance green kesterites energy materials. This project will tackle the fundamental challenge of defect control of the quaternary compound kesterite, revolutionizing the way we can understand the hidden defect-evolution process and design accordingly effective defect-control approaches. This will be realized by a systematic approach integrating multiscale materials characterization, process and materials modeling, and linking microscopic local chemical potential and macroscopic processing conditions, and associated compound properties and device performance to control defects evolution. Successfully achieved, this project will realize full potential of kesterite in photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical applications, and leading to new discoveries in other compound energy materials.Read moreRead less
Nanostructured Upconvertors for Advanced Solar Energy Harvesting. The efficiency of many solar energy conversion processes, such as solar photovoltaic and solar hydrogen, can be improved by management of the solar spectrum. One photon management strategy is up-conversion, whereby two lower energy, unusable photons are conjoined to bring about a higher energy photon. Photochemical up-conversion, where light harvesting and energy-pooling is performed in organic molecules, has been rapidly advanced ....Nanostructured Upconvertors for Advanced Solar Energy Harvesting. The efficiency of many solar energy conversion processes, such as solar photovoltaic and solar hydrogen, can be improved by management of the solar spectrum. One photon management strategy is up-conversion, whereby two lower energy, unusable photons are conjoined to bring about a higher energy photon. Photochemical up-conversion, where light harvesting and energy-pooling is performed in organic molecules, has been rapidly advanced in recent years, and promises to deliver the efficiencies required to find real-world application. This project brings together laser spectroscopy, organic and materials chemistry and nanotechnology to realise efficient up-convertors which will be applied to solar cells and solar fuels.Read moreRead less
Nanoscale characterisation and manipulation of complex oxide interfaces and topological boundaries. Working at the forefront of complex oxide materials research, this project will explore novel material properties and develop new material application concepts. The project will specifically investigate nanoscale interfaces for potential breakthrough applications in nanoscience.
Rational Design of Novel Multiferroic Materials for Energy Harvesting and Energy Efficiency. Multiferroics are a class of fundamentally complex materials in which several ferroic orders (for example, ferroelectric and ferromagnetic) coexist. The coupling between their electric and magnetic degrees of freedom is controllable via stress and external fields, thus opening the possibility for breakthrough technological developments. By working at the frontier of complex nanostructured oxide materials ....Rational Design of Novel Multiferroic Materials for Energy Harvesting and Energy Efficiency. Multiferroics are a class of fundamentally complex materials in which several ferroic orders (for example, ferroelectric and ferromagnetic) coexist. The coupling between their electric and magnetic degrees of freedom is controllable via stress and external fields, thus opening the possibility for breakthrough technological developments. By working at the frontier of complex nanostructured oxide materials, this project aims to establish the rational basis for systematic design of novel artificially layered multiferroics, develop accurate and computationally affordable methods to simulate these materials under finite-temperature conditions, and exploit this knowledge to devise likely revolutionary photovoltaic, nanoelectronic and energy conversion applications.Read moreRead less
Characterising and Manipulating Triplet Interactions. Organic optoelectronic devices are based on organic semiconductors and are found throughout modern life. They underpin technologies such as phone and television displays, low-energy lighting, and solar cells.
The project Aims to use spectroscopy to comprehensively understand the underlying physics of organic optoelectronic device materials. This is Significant enabling science that will accelerate development of light-emitting diodes, solar ....Characterising and Manipulating Triplet Interactions. Organic optoelectronic devices are based on organic semiconductors and are found throughout modern life. They underpin technologies such as phone and television displays, low-energy lighting, and solar cells.
The project Aims to use spectroscopy to comprehensively understand the underlying physics of organic optoelectronic device materials. This is Significant enabling science that will accelerate development of light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and new quantum information technologies. Expected outcomes include new knowledge about organic semiconductors, enhanced Australian research capacity, and international collaboration. Benefits include device innovations and the training of researchers in synthesis, fabrication, and spectroscopy.Read moreRead less
Interactions, phase behavior and self-assembly of colloidal nanorods: Establishing design rules for creating new nano-structured materials. This project aims to apply new computational methods developed by the applicant to characterise the interactions between colloidal nanorods and their self-assembly in the presence of interfaces and directional interactions. While nanoparticles can currently be made in a staggering array of shapes, patterns and materials, organising such objects into extended ....Interactions, phase behavior and self-assembly of colloidal nanorods: Establishing design rules for creating new nano-structured materials. This project aims to apply new computational methods developed by the applicant to characterise the interactions between colloidal nanorods and their self-assembly in the presence of interfaces and directional interactions. While nanoparticles can currently be made in a staggering array of shapes, patterns and materials, organising such objects into extended structures that could revolutionise technology remains a challenge. The expected outcome is a robust strategy for making monolayer films of rods aligned perpendicular to a variety of interfaces for the fabrication of solar cells, microfiltration membranes and biosensors.Read moreRead less
Charge transfer kinetics at nanostructured semiconductor surfaces. This project aims to enhance understanding of the interface science associated with charge-transfer reactions at nanostructured semiconductor surfaces. Experimental and modelling approaches will be used to unravel the contributions of surface wetting and nanostructure geometry to the kinetics of charge transfer reactions at the surfaces. Expected outcomes include an enhanced capacity to engineer nanostructured semiconductor surf ....Charge transfer kinetics at nanostructured semiconductor surfaces. This project aims to enhance understanding of the interface science associated with charge-transfer reactions at nanostructured semiconductor surfaces. Experimental and modelling approaches will be used to unravel the contributions of surface wetting and nanostructure geometry to the kinetics of charge transfer reactions at the surfaces. Expected outcomes include an enhanced capacity to engineer nanostructured semiconductor surfaces for designed functionality and an extended collaborative network which can collectively address significant problems in energy science. It is anticipated that these outcomes will be realised in reliable, low-cost metallisation for silicon photovoltaics and increased power densities for electrochemical storage systems.Read moreRead less
Hot carrier solar cells: new approaches and demonstration of devices. The hot carrier solar cell aims to capture a large fraction of energy from solar photons normally lost as heat. This will give much higher efficiencies, and allow fabrication of cheap high efficiency devices. This can be achieved by modifying the way electrons lose their energy as heat, by blocking the lattice vibrations which cause this loss.