NOVEL Fe-Cr OXIDE AND SKELETAL (RANEY) CATALYSTS FOR WATER GAS SHIFT REACTION. The water gas shift reaction has an importance implication in the control of carbon monoxide/hydrogen ratios of gas mixtures used during the synthesis of methanol, diesel and hydrogen. The research study aims to develop and characterise Fe-Cr oxide and chromia-promoted Raney Cu catalysts for water gas shift reaction using a tube wall reactor. The catalyst fabrication is based on leaching and electrochemical deposition ....NOVEL Fe-Cr OXIDE AND SKELETAL (RANEY) CATALYSTS FOR WATER GAS SHIFT REACTION. The water gas shift reaction has an importance implication in the control of carbon monoxide/hydrogen ratios of gas mixtures used during the synthesis of methanol, diesel and hydrogen. The research study aims to develop and characterise Fe-Cr oxide and chromia-promoted Raney Cu catalysts for water gas shift reaction using a tube wall reactor. The catalyst fabrication is based on leaching and electrochemical deposition to promote the catalytic activity. The produced catalysts will be characterised and tested for catalytic activity, temperature stability and other physical properties to determine fundamental understanding for future commercial applications.Read moreRead less
Investigation and Prediction of the Novel Properties of Dendrimers. Dendrimers are a new class of highly branched polymers, which have, until now, been difficult to characterise by conventional means. This project will develop and apply molecular simulation techniques to reveal the chemical and physical properties of dendrimers and their interactions with other molecules. These novel molecules potentially have beneficial applications to areas such as drug delivery and electronic materials. Th ....Investigation and Prediction of the Novel Properties of Dendrimers. Dendrimers are a new class of highly branched polymers, which have, until now, been difficult to characterise by conventional means. This project will develop and apply molecular simulation techniques to reveal the chemical and physical properties of dendrimers and their interactions with other molecules. These novel molecules potentially have beneficial applications to areas such as drug delivery and electronic materials. The outcome of this work will assist in the exploitation of this beneficial application and will provide the basis for efficient processing.Read moreRead less
Nanomaterials: Probing supramolecular self-assembly at the solution/solid interface. Australia's competitiveness in nanotechnology must be underpinned by fundamental innovation and research. In a "bottom-up" approach to nanomaterials, it is important to understand, for the smallest possible machines that can be produced, how singular molecular components interact with one another, both during the assembly of any device and afterwards as it performs its function. For working devices the molecule ....Nanomaterials: Probing supramolecular self-assembly at the solution/solid interface. Australia's competitiveness in nanotechnology must be underpinned by fundamental innovation and research. In a "bottom-up" approach to nanomaterials, it is important to understand, for the smallest possible machines that can be produced, how singular molecular components interact with one another, both during the assembly of any device and afterwards as it performs its function. For working devices the molecules need to be assembled on a solid surface so that they can work in unison. In this project, in conjunction with researchers at the University of Cambridge, we use the new technique of gel-phase NMR spectroscopy to understand the factors involved as molecular components assemble on the surface of polystyrene beads.Read moreRead less
Supramolecular assembly in photovoltaic electrode design: Studies of ordered porphyrin/acceptor complexes on polythiophene electrodes. This research outlines an improved way to develop dye-sensitised photovoltaic solar cells for the conversion of sunlight into electricity, by increasing the molecular order of the cell components using host, guest interrelationships. As such, it addresses a problem of international concern 'How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop global warming?' since s ....Supramolecular assembly in photovoltaic electrode design: Studies of ordered porphyrin/acceptor complexes on polythiophene electrodes. This research outlines an improved way to develop dye-sensitised photovoltaic solar cells for the conversion of sunlight into electricity, by increasing the molecular order of the cell components using host, guest interrelationships. As such, it addresses a problem of international concern 'How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop global warming?' since solar cells do not produce carbon dioxide. To achieve our goals we draw on the skills of a team of experts from Australia (synthetic organic chemists), New Zealand (polymer and surface chemists) and Italy (photochemist and photophysicist). Such research is very appropriate for regional Australia, especially Central Queensland.Read moreRead less
Organometallic materials for photonics. New high performance materials are required for applications in photonics, an area of increasing importance for Australia's high technology industries. This project addresses two critically important requirements in photonics: materials with enhanced nonlinear optical merit (both quadratic and cubic), needed for applications in optical communications, data storage and computer systems, and materials with significant optical limiting properties, required fo ....Organometallic materials for photonics. New high performance materials are required for applications in photonics, an area of increasing importance for Australia's high technology industries. This project addresses two critically important requirements in photonics: materials with enhanced nonlinear optical merit (both quadratic and cubic), needed for applications in optical communications, data storage and computer systems, and materials with significant optical limiting properties, required for laboratory optical device protection and military applications. Concomitant with these studies, the fundamental organometallic chemistry of alkynylmetal complexes and clusters will be developed, leading into oligomeric, dendritic and polymeric species which are of intrinsic, as well as applied, interest.Read moreRead less
Metal catalysed reactions in organic synthesis. The major aim of this project is to develop highly efficient metal-catalysed routes to pharmaceuticals, e.g. new antibiotics and other commercially important organic molecules.
Particular attention will be paid to developing systems which facilitate the addition of readily available, cheap small molecules, e.g. hydrogen and carbon monoxide, to unsaturated organic molecules with high regio- and stereoselectivity.
Worldwide demand for enantiomeric ....Metal catalysed reactions in organic synthesis. The major aim of this project is to develop highly efficient metal-catalysed routes to pharmaceuticals, e.g. new antibiotics and other commercially important organic molecules.
Particular attention will be paid to developing systems which facilitate the addition of readily available, cheap small molecules, e.g. hydrogen and carbon monoxide, to unsaturated organic molecules with high regio- and stereoselectivity.
Worldwide demand for enantiomerically pure chiral molecules (i.e. one mirror-image form) continues to rise. New metal-catalysed asymmetric syntheses will help meet this challenge. Tandem metal-catalysed reactions will be used to prepare new heterocyclic compounds with potential as specific metal binding agents and biosensors.Read moreRead less
Biomimetic and Methodology Based Total Synthesis of Bioactive Natural Products. The proposal will study the synthesis of novel natural products that possess biological activities. Most significantly, this project will deliver compounds with anticancer activity. In addition, chemistry may be developed which could be utilised to synthesise a number of bioactive molecules. The rewards of the synthesis of compounds and application for the treatment of cancer and other diseases are enormous for the ....Biomimetic and Methodology Based Total Synthesis of Bioactive Natural Products. The proposal will study the synthesis of novel natural products that possess biological activities. Most significantly, this project will deliver compounds with anticancer activity. In addition, chemistry may be developed which could be utilised to synthesise a number of bioactive molecules. The rewards of the synthesis of compounds and application for the treatment of cancer and other diseases are enormous for the community and in the education and training of scientists.Read moreRead less
Syntheses and non-linear optical properties of B- and N-cored metal alkynyl dendrimers. This project will (i) advance fundamental science, (ii) establish and consolidate links between groups in the UK and Australia with interests in electronic and optical properties of metal alkynyl compounds, (iii) improve technology transfer between the two groups by the mobility of the ARC International Fellow, and (iv) may identify new materials with sufficient non-linear optical and materials processing per ....Syntheses and non-linear optical properties of B- and N-cored metal alkynyl dendrimers. This project will (i) advance fundamental science, (ii) establish and consolidate links between groups in the UK and Australia with interests in electronic and optical properties of metal alkynyl compounds, (iii) improve technology transfer between the two groups by the mobility of the ARC International Fellow, and (iv) may identify new materials with sufficient non-linear optical and materials processing performance for commercial development.Read moreRead less
Total Synthesis of Novel Metabolites form Microorganisms. The main aim of this proposal is to achieve the chemical synthesis of a number of biologically active novel natural products isolated from microorganisms. This will involve the development of new methods as well as improvement on exisiting approaches developed so far. The targets will include the myxobacteria metabolites crocacins A, B and D and apicularen A, the streptomyces metabolites reveromycin A and spirofungin A and the fungal meta ....Total Synthesis of Novel Metabolites form Microorganisms. The main aim of this proposal is to achieve the chemical synthesis of a number of biologically active novel natural products isolated from microorganisms. This will involve the development of new methods as well as improvement on exisiting approaches developed so far. The targets will include the myxobacteria metabolites crocacins A, B and D and apicularen A, the streptomyces metabolites reveromycin A and spirofungin A and the fungal metabolite zaragozic acid C.
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New synthetic strategies towards higher order fullerenes. Fullerene or C60 is a novel soccer-ball shaped molecule with many potential applications as new materials and pharmaceutical drugs. This project aims to develop novel methods for the preparation of new fullerene derivatives that will have potential future applications in materials science, medicinal/pharmaceutical chemistry and chemical synthesis.