Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101396
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,218.00
Summary
Designing Single-atom catalysts for Renewable Waste Conversion to Urea. This DECRA aims to realise the direct electrochemical conversion of waste resources using renewable energy to generate urea at ambient conditions. By designing impurity-tolerant single atom catalysts and unearthing their structure-activity relationships, the utilisation of flue gas and wastewater will be materialised. This will advance our understanding in the field as current energy conversion reactions require pure feedsto ....Designing Single-atom catalysts for Renewable Waste Conversion to Urea. This DECRA aims to realise the direct electrochemical conversion of waste resources using renewable energy to generate urea at ambient conditions. By designing impurity-tolerant single atom catalysts and unearthing their structure-activity relationships, the utilisation of flue gas and wastewater will be materialised. This will advance our understanding in the field as current energy conversion reactions require pure feedstocks. Expected outcomes from the program is envisioned to lead to deployment of scalable decentralised modes of green urea production (substituting imports), and the knowledge transferrable to other areas of Australia’s emerging hydrogen economy, extending the scope of renewable Power-to-X to realise a circular economy.Read moreRead less
Towards highly-efficient hydrogen gas turbines. The increasing interest in green hydrogen has led to a need for research and development in combustion systems that can accommodate hydrogen. One promising technology is low-emission gas turbines, which is a key player in the electricity market. However, hydrogen gas turbines are susceptible to a phenomenon called thermoacoustic instability, causing loud noise and can damage equipment. This project represents the first comprehensive study of the ef ....Towards highly-efficient hydrogen gas turbines. The increasing interest in green hydrogen has led to a need for research and development in combustion systems that can accommodate hydrogen. One promising technology is low-emission gas turbines, which is a key player in the electricity market. However, hydrogen gas turbines are susceptible to a phenomenon called thermoacoustic instability, causing loud noise and can damage equipment. This project represents the first comprehensive study of the effects of hydrogen fuel on thermoacoustic instability under conditions relevant to gas turbines. By examining low-order models, commonly used for designing gas turbines, this project can significantly advance the field and facilitate the adoption of green hydrogen as a fuel source.Read moreRead less
Electro-triggered solidification of supercooled fusible alloys. Stiffness is typically considered a static property of a material. Traditionally, once the stiffness is specified, it is not expected to change during operation. This project aims to turn a problem (i.e., supercooling) into an opportunity for creating fusible alloy composites with electroprogrammable stiffness that can outperform state-of-the-art materials by offering all desirable properties. Expected outcomes are the rapid, contin ....Electro-triggered solidification of supercooled fusible alloys. Stiffness is typically considered a static property of a material. Traditionally, once the stiffness is specified, it is not expected to change during operation. This project aims to turn a problem (i.e., supercooling) into an opportunity for creating fusible alloy composites with electroprogrammable stiffness that can outperform state-of-the-art materials by offering all desirable properties. Expected outcomes are the rapid, continuous, large, and reversible change in stiffness of the composite through electrical control. This project will provide significant benefits by enabling an increasing number of emerging applications in areas such as robotics, manufacturing, and consumer wearables that require materials with tuneable stiffness.Read moreRead less
Thermal engineering in semiconductor heterojunction for space transducers . Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) transducers, including sensors and actuators, are essential for space applications. However, MEMS transducers have not yet provided compelling performance for the space industry as they typically experience degradation of performance when subjected to elevated temperature and radiation. This research aims to develop an innovative transducer technology that uses a temperature gradient ....Thermal engineering in semiconductor heterojunction for space transducers . Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) transducers, including sensors and actuators, are essential for space applications. However, MEMS transducers have not yet provided compelling performance for the space industry as they typically experience degradation of performance when subjected to elevated temperature and radiation. This research aims to develop an innovative transducer technology that uses a temperature gradient to enhance performance and a radiation-hard material to ensure reliability and longevity. Expected outcomes include improved understanding of transducer performance under temperature gradient, appropriate material selection, and design recommendations for high-performance transducers with applications in space and defence.Read moreRead less
A New Nano Tip Fabrication Technique for Atomic Force Microscopy. This project aims to develop a new fabrication technique for high-aspect-ratio (long and sharp) tips for atomic force microscopy. The technique is expected to overcome the current fabrication limitation, that is fabricating one tip at a time which is unsuitable for batch fabrication. The proposed technique can be scaled up to mass produce nano tips. The technique is expected to create new commercial products and intellectual prope ....A New Nano Tip Fabrication Technique for Atomic Force Microscopy. This project aims to develop a new fabrication technique for high-aspect-ratio (long and sharp) tips for atomic force microscopy. The technique is expected to overcome the current fabrication limitation, that is fabricating one tip at a time which is unsuitable for batch fabrication. The proposed technique can be scaled up to mass produce nano tips. The technique is expected to create new commercial products and intellectual property. This innovation will lead to the emergence of breakthrough technologies in nanofabrication and nanomaterials synthesis. The benefits to Australia include new job opportunities and the development of local expertise in the field.Read moreRead less
Innovative Electrohydrodynamic Atomisation for Improved Nasal Drug Delivery. Inhalation offers high and rapid drug absorption into the bloodstream. This project aims to establish key technologies for a revolutionary system in inhaled nanomedicine delivery. The study will investigate the underlying physics of nanoparticles to create a world-first electrostatic nebuliser, enabling the more effective drug delivery. This technique is expected to overcome the current limitations by providing better c ....Innovative Electrohydrodynamic Atomisation for Improved Nasal Drug Delivery. Inhalation offers high and rapid drug absorption into the bloodstream. This project aims to establish key technologies for a revolutionary system in inhaled nanomedicine delivery. The study will investigate the underlying physics of nanoparticles to create a world-first electrostatic nebuliser, enabling the more effective drug delivery. This technique is expected to overcome the current limitations by providing better control over the size and charge of delivered drugs. The outcomes of this project will benefit pharmaceutical companies in developing products with more efficient nasal delivery of advanced drugs, vaccines, and nanocariers, make it easier for doctors to prescribe, and benefit patients with more accurate dosages.Read moreRead less
Micro-electromechanical technology for harnessing terahertz waves. This project proposes novel low-cost miniature devices for spectral, spatial and temporal manipulation of terahertz waves realised using a unified platform based on a single material and fabrication technology sufficiently generic to span the entire very broad terahertz band. It inherently overcomes the most hindering issue of current terahertz instruments relating to the limited span of the spectrum each tool can cover and the h ....Micro-electromechanical technology for harnessing terahertz waves. This project proposes novel low-cost miniature devices for spectral, spatial and temporal manipulation of terahertz waves realised using a unified platform based on a single material and fabrication technology sufficiently generic to span the entire very broad terahertz band. It inherently overcomes the most hindering issue of current terahertz instruments relating to the limited span of the spectrum each tool can cover and the high costs associated with increasing this span; removing the need for making spectral band compromises in the design of future tools. The intended outcome is a platform for terahertz spectroscopic imaging, target recognition, detection of chemical composition of objects, and future high-bandwidth communications.Read moreRead less
Liquid metal composite tactile sensor. Tactile sensing electronic skin is a key enabling technology for smart robotic grippers and neuroprosthetics. However, traditional electronic skin is still underdeveloped in sensing of slip and force direction. Therefore, this project aims to imitate human skin structure to develop a highly sensitive liquid metal-enabled electronic skin that can achieve high-performance multiple tactile sensation capabilities, including normal-tangential force decoupling a ....Liquid metal composite tactile sensor. Tactile sensing electronic skin is a key enabling technology for smart robotic grippers and neuroprosthetics. However, traditional electronic skin is still underdeveloped in sensing of slip and force direction. Therefore, this project aims to imitate human skin structure to develop a highly sensitive liquid metal-enabled electronic skin that can achieve high-performance multiple tactile sensation capabilities, including normal-tangential force decoupling and slip detection. The expected outcome will enable future manipulator and prosthetics to detect complex forces for precision manipulation, which will provide benefits to advanced manufacturing and bring significant economic and social benefits.Read moreRead less
Resilient Remote Environment Emulation for Human-to-Machine Communication. Human-to-machine haptic communication allow humans to immersively interact with remotely-located robots/machines. Current networks cannot support its technical demands, thereby limiting the achievable human-machine distance. This project aims to develop cloudlet intelligence together with a programmable resilient network to realise reliable remote environment emulation, a concept where the physical environment at the remo ....Resilient Remote Environment Emulation for Human-to-Machine Communication. Human-to-machine haptic communication allow humans to immersively interact with remotely-located robots/machines. Current networks cannot support its technical demands, thereby limiting the achievable human-machine distance. This project aims to develop cloudlet intelligence together with a programmable resilient network to realise reliable remote environment emulation, a concept where the physical environment at the remote machine is emulated close to the human. A key outcome will be the first reliable remote environment emulation platform that achieves vast human-machine distances on current networks. Enabling immersive human-machine experience will significantly benefit many sectors, from education through to industrial manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Engineering nanomembranes for Long-term Implanted Flexible Electronics. This project aims to investigate the key technologies of inorganic semiconductor nanomembranes for long-lived bio-integrated electronics. Taking advantage of the well-established silicon carbide (SiC) synthesis and fabrication technology, the project expects to elucidate a new understanding of the SiC-on-polymer platform, establishing a foundational guideline for the development of chemically inert and mechanically flexible ....Engineering nanomembranes for Long-term Implanted Flexible Electronics. This project aims to investigate the key technologies of inorganic semiconductor nanomembranes for long-lived bio-integrated electronics. Taking advantage of the well-established silicon carbide (SiC) synthesis and fabrication technology, the project expects to elucidate a new understanding of the SiC-on-polymer platform, establishing a foundational guideline for the development of chemically inert and mechanically flexible devices. These findings will offer innovative solutions for daunting challenges in bio-integrated electronics, leveraging their safety, reliability, and long-term performance. The project expects to offer Australia cutting edge technologies and an impact profile in the fast-growing flexible bio-electronics market.Read moreRead less