An Innovative Solid-State Approach to Enhanced Solar-Hydrogen Production. The project will make a major step towards the development of solar-hydrogen technology, which promises to deliver a clean and renewable fuel - hydrogen - from water (seawater or other) using sunlight and a suitable photo-catalytic material. Not only will solar-hydrogen assist Australia to reduce its dependence on imported energy, but will also reduce Australia's carbon emissions and overall contribution to climate change. ....An Innovative Solid-State Approach to Enhanced Solar-Hydrogen Production. The project will make a major step towards the development of solar-hydrogen technology, which promises to deliver a clean and renewable fuel - hydrogen - from water (seawater or other) using sunlight and a suitable photo-catalytic material. Not only will solar-hydrogen assist Australia to reduce its dependence on imported energy, but will also reduce Australia's carbon emissions and overall contribution to climate change. When commercialized, solar-hydrogen technology may also enable Australia to become a global leader in the export of clean fuel, which will have very positive, far-reaching consequences for the economy.Read moreRead less
New concepts with multidisciplinary approach: novel functionalised nanostructures for hydrogen storage. This project addresses National Research Priorities in the areas of breakthrough science, frontier technologies and advanced materials. Developing new methodologies to fabricate novel functionalised nanostructured materials with tailored properties has great potential in areas including energy storage, novel catalysts, novel sensors, micro/nano-electronics, etc. This project will enhance the i ....New concepts with multidisciplinary approach: novel functionalised nanostructures for hydrogen storage. This project addresses National Research Priorities in the areas of breakthrough science, frontier technologies and advanced materials. Developing new methodologies to fabricate novel functionalised nanostructured materials with tailored properties has great potential in areas including energy storage, novel catalysts, novel sensors, micro/nano-electronics, etc. This project will enhance the international reputation and impact of Australian research in the internationally focused fields of nanotechnology and hydrogen energy technology. Applying innovative nanotechnology to the area of hydrogen energy will add to Australia's export potential and reduce Australia's reliance on foreign fuel sources.
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Increase in Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 through Intervalence Charge Transfer. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has many proposed and realised applications in energy and the environment. The main problem that has hindered development and commercialisation of devices using TiO2 is its low photocatalytic activity, which results from its poor absorption of visible and infrared light. Most researchers modify the properties of TiO2 by conventional electrochemical methods to improve its performance but the ....Increase in Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 through Intervalence Charge Transfer. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has many proposed and realised applications in energy and the environment. The main problem that has hindered development and commercialisation of devices using TiO2 is its low photocatalytic activity, which results from its poor absorption of visible and infrared light. Most researchers modify the properties of TiO2 by conventional electrochemical methods to improve its performance but these attempts have been of limited success. The present research involves a completely new approach to the problem, which is based on the method used in the heat treatment of sapphire to improve its colour. This approach uses a phenomenon involving the modification of the optical properties to improve its absorption of light.Read moreRead less