New biosensing strategies based on bipolar electrochemiluminescence. Chemical analysis is a vital activity in our society, which is to a large extent confined to scientific laboratories and carried out with complex instrumentation. The breakthrough technology envisioned in this proposal will pave the way for simple, low-cost tests which can be used by non-scientists. The development of small, portable sensors for applications ranging from pollution monitoring to health testing, will enable ordi ....New biosensing strategies based on bipolar electrochemiluminescence. Chemical analysis is a vital activity in our society, which is to a large extent confined to scientific laboratories and carried out with complex instrumentation. The breakthrough technology envisioned in this proposal will pave the way for simple, low-cost tests which can be used by non-scientists. The development of small, portable sensors for applications ranging from pollution monitoring to health testing, will enable ordinary people to gain knowledge about the concentrations of molecular compounds in their environments and in themselves. This will stimulate economic and social benefits related to environmental testing and early disease diagnosis and generate new commercial opportunities for the Australian biotechnology industry.Read moreRead less
New Synthetic Routes to the Immobilisation of Mixed Valence Transition Metal Complexes on Conducting Metal Oxides. Highly coloured, electrochemically active transition metal dyes may find application electrochromic devices, where they may switch between contrasting coloured forms through a simple redox reaction. A prerequisite is that the dye be immobilised onto a solid conducting support whilst preserving the electrochemical and optical properties of the dye found in solution. This project tack ....New Synthetic Routes to the Immobilisation of Mixed Valence Transition Metal Complexes on Conducting Metal Oxides. Highly coloured, electrochemically active transition metal dyes may find application electrochromic devices, where they may switch between contrasting coloured forms through a simple redox reaction. A prerequisite is that the dye be immobilised onto a solid conducting support whilst preserving the electrochemical and optical properties of the dye found in solution. This project tackles this problem through a combination of organic and inorganic synthesis to develop new electrochromic dyes that may be attached to mesoporous titania.Read moreRead less
Two-dimensional nanoporous structured high performance gas evolution electrocatalysts. This project aims to develop nano-catalysts with high catalytic activity and rapid gas detachment properties for efficient fuel gas production. Heterogeneous electrocatalytic gas evolution reactions are important for clean energy generation and storage technologies, but high overpotentials caused by slow gaseous products’ detachment from catalyst surface severely hinder their efficiencies. Expected outcomes in ....Two-dimensional nanoporous structured high performance gas evolution electrocatalysts. This project aims to develop nano-catalysts with high catalytic activity and rapid gas detachment properties for efficient fuel gas production. Heterogeneous electrocatalytic gas evolution reactions are important for clean energy generation and storage technologies, but high overpotentials caused by slow gaseous products’ detachment from catalyst surface severely hinder their efficiencies. Expected outcomes include insights into gas bubble formation and evolution during electrocatalysis, effective catalyst structures to mitigate negative effects of gas bubble formation, and improved catalytic efficiency of gas evolution reactions and develop high performance electrocatalysts for fuel gas production.Read moreRead less
Electrochemically Driven Molybdoenzyme Catalysis. Enzymes that catalyse oxidation and reduction reactions need to exchange electrons with their substrate and this supply of electrons needs to be sustained. Artificially reconstituted systems can be developed where the enzyme is coupled with an electrode and the current (electrons) exchanged during the reaction are measured directly. In this project we will reveal whether some unusual and unexplained electrochemical phenomena seen before are relat ....Electrochemically Driven Molybdoenzyme Catalysis. Enzymes that catalyse oxidation and reduction reactions need to exchange electrons with their substrate and this supply of electrons needs to be sustained. Artificially reconstituted systems can be developed where the enzyme is coupled with an electrode and the current (electrons) exchanged during the reaction are measured directly. In this project we will reveal whether some unusual and unexplained electrochemical phenomena seen before are related to the properties of the enzymes themselves or the ways in which their experiments have been conducted.Read moreRead less
Molybdenum enzyme electrochemical communication. This project aims to understand the activity of three novel, but related, molybdenum enzymes, human mARC and its bacterial homologs YcbX and YiiM. The role of mARC in humans remains unknown twelve years after its discovery. All three enzymes catalyse the reduction of potentially harmful N-hydroxylated compounds and there is interest in this area from the perspective of drug design. This project will apply an electrochemical methodology to rapidly ....Molybdenum enzyme electrochemical communication. This project aims to understand the activity of three novel, but related, molybdenum enzymes, human mARC and its bacterial homologs YcbX and YiiM. The role of mARC in humans remains unknown twelve years after its discovery. All three enzymes catalyse the reduction of potentially harmful N-hydroxylated compounds and there is interest in this area from the perspective of drug design. This project will apply an electrochemical methodology to rapidly identify enzyme substrates and inhibitors. Molybdenum enzymes pervade all life forms and the outcomes of this research include a unified understanding of an emerging enzyme class involved in drug metabolism.Read moreRead less
Bioelectrochemical interconversion of the building blocks of life. This project aims to harness the efficiency of enzymes (Nature’s catalysts) by coupling them with an electrode for the electrochemical interconversion of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and formate; the organic building blocks of life. The significance of this research is that the efficient capture and reduction of carbon dioxide is an important quest in the environment and energy sectors. The expected outcomes of this project wi ....Bioelectrochemical interconversion of the building blocks of life. This project aims to harness the efficiency of enzymes (Nature’s catalysts) by coupling them with an electrode for the electrochemical interconversion of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and formate; the organic building blocks of life. The significance of this research is that the efficient capture and reduction of carbon dioxide is an important quest in the environment and energy sectors. The expected outcomes of this project will be an understanding of the reactivity of these enzymes and the conditions under which they may be utilised as part of a renewable electrochemical system. Benefits of this research should emerge in energy efficient technologies for generating fuels (formic acid) from waste products (carbon dioxide).Read moreRead less
Photoelectrocatalysis-based Techniques for Bactericidal Applications. Effective control of the quality of water supply is paramount for public health. This project aims to develop a novel photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) based bactericidal technology capable of instant inactivation and rapid decomposition of waterborne pathogens in recycled water. The PEC processes at the illuminated semiconductor photoanodes with ultraviolet (UV) and visible light activities will be innovatively utilised with the ai ....Photoelectrocatalysis-based Techniques for Bactericidal Applications. Effective control of the quality of water supply is paramount for public health. This project aims to develop a novel photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) based bactericidal technology capable of instant inactivation and rapid decomposition of waterborne pathogens in recycled water. The PEC processes at the illuminated semiconductor photoanodes with ultraviolet (UV) and visible light activities will be innovatively utilised with the aim of in-situ generation of stable di-halide radical anions, reactive oxygen species and photoholes as effectual bactericides to achieve instant inactivation and rapid decomposition of waterborne pathogens. The success of the project is expected to provide Australian water industry with enabling technology to safeguard recycled water usage.Read moreRead less
The fate of copper in atom transfer radical reactions. Copper (Cu) complexes of poly-amine ligands have emerged as extremely active homogeneous catalysts in atom transfer radical reactions, forming organic radicals from alkyl halide precursors, and they are now employed extensively in polymer and organic chemistry. The catalyst cycles between its Cu(I) and Cu(II) oxidation states reversibly yet both forms are susceptible to side reactions, particularly with solvents which can lead to loss of cat ....The fate of copper in atom transfer radical reactions. Copper (Cu) complexes of poly-amine ligands have emerged as extremely active homogeneous catalysts in atom transfer radical reactions, forming organic radicals from alkyl halide precursors, and they are now employed extensively in polymer and organic chemistry. The catalyst cycles between its Cu(I) and Cu(II) oxidation states reversibly yet both forms are susceptible to side reactions, particularly with solvents which can lead to loss of catalytic activity. This project aims to apply a multifaceted approach to interrogate the catalysts in both their Cu(I) and Cu(II) oxidation states and identify for the first time the pathways that lead to undesirable side reactions and provide new ways of optimising catalyst performance.Read moreRead less
Enzyme Electrochemical Communication. The ways that redox enzymes communicate with an electrochemical electrode are poorly understood and most systems rely on small molecule mediators as electron shuttles to complete the circuit. The few examples where direct (unmediated) enzyme electrochemistry has been achieved have relied on empirical experimental approaches in electrode modification. In this project a rational approach will be taken, starting with a mediated enzyme electrochemical system whi ....Enzyme Electrochemical Communication. The ways that redox enzymes communicate with an electrochemical electrode are poorly understood and most systems rely on small molecule mediators as electron shuttles to complete the circuit. The few examples where direct (unmediated) enzyme electrochemistry has been achieved have relied on empirical experimental approaches in electrode modification. In this project a rational approach will be taken, starting with a mediated enzyme electrochemical system which is then systematically deconstructed to produce a minimal enzyme-electrode that is stabilised by non-covalent forces and functions without a mediator. This rational approach will provide new routes to the direct enzyme electrochemistry of other enzyme systems as yet unexplored.Read moreRead less
Development of novel cathodes for next generation solid oxide fuel cells. This project will provide novel cathodes to reduce the operating temperature of the Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) as low as 500 degrees celsius. The technology may lead to widespread utilization of SOFCs, thus providing great assistance to Australia's industries in term of reducing carbon dioxide emission and easing pressure from carbon tax.