Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0237874
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$424,000.00
Summary
Active Polymer Research Facility. Sustainable economic growth for Australia requires renewable, environmentally acceptable energy resources. Solar cells made from conducting polymers present the tantalising possibility of producing cheap electricity from sunlight. Future development of these devices depends critically upon ready access to the advanced equipment necessary to investigate their material, device and photovoltaic characteristics. This project aims to establish the first integrated ch ....Active Polymer Research Facility. Sustainable economic growth for Australia requires renewable, environmentally acceptable energy resources. Solar cells made from conducting polymers present the tantalising possibility of producing cheap electricity from sunlight. Future development of these devices depends critically upon ready access to the advanced equipment necessary to investigate their material, device and photovoltaic characteristics. This project aims to establish the first integrated characterisation facility in Australia dedicated to developing efficient polymer solar cells. The Active Polymer Research Facility will allow researchers from Newcastle, Wollongong and Massey University to maintain their position at the forefront of international research into polymer photovoltaic devices.Read moreRead less
Plastic Solar Cells: Polymers that Harvest Sunlight. Sustainable economic growth for Australia requires renewable, environmentally acceptable energy resources. The most attractive option for the future generation of electrical energy is via the direct conversion of sunlight. The utilisation of solar energy has significant advantages over other energy sources in that it is inexhaustible and does not produce carbon dioxide or other pollutants. Conventional photovoltaic technology is not cost effe ....Plastic Solar Cells: Polymers that Harvest Sunlight. Sustainable economic growth for Australia requires renewable, environmentally acceptable energy resources. The most attractive option for the future generation of electrical energy is via the direct conversion of sunlight. The utilisation of solar energy has significant advantages over other energy sources in that it is inexhaustible and does not produce carbon dioxide or other pollutants. Conventional photovoltaic technology is not cost effective. Solar cells made from conducting polymers present the tantalising possibility of producing cheap electricity from sunlight. This project brings together experts in the physics and chemistry of conducting polymers with the goal of developing efficient plastic solar cells.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668257
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,200,000.00
Summary
Combinatorial Deposition and Characterisation Facility for New Alloy Thin Film Materials. Australia's competitive edge in materials research is key to maintaining our economic prosperity. Infrastructure that enables our researchers to synthesize novel materials with precise control over composition and structure is crucial to maintaining our strengths in this field. The proposed infrastructure will accelerate progress on the preparation and characterisation of new alloy and nanostructured materi ....Combinatorial Deposition and Characterisation Facility for New Alloy Thin Film Materials. Australia's competitive edge in materials research is key to maintaining our economic prosperity. Infrastructure that enables our researchers to synthesize novel materials with precise control over composition and structure is crucial to maintaining our strengths in this field. The proposed infrastructure will accelerate progress on the preparation and characterisation of new alloy and nanostructured materials and will pay dividends by providing early access to the best materials. This will give our energy technology, biomedical engineering, tooling, electronics and mining industries a competitive edge. Access to this new generation equipment will enhance our pool of highly skilled materials technologists.Read moreRead less
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
Spins in Organic Semiconductors. This project aims to understand the role that the quantum mechanical property of spin plays in the operation of electronic devices based on organic semiconductors, which will contribute to the design of better, more efficient devices. We will also investigate fundamental physics questions in organic material - the knowledge gained may be used to develop organic electronic devices with new, useful properties. Organic electronics are a growing industry and this res ....Spins in Organic Semiconductors. This project aims to understand the role that the quantum mechanical property of spin plays in the operation of electronic devices based on organic semiconductors, which will contribute to the design of better, more efficient devices. We will also investigate fundamental physics questions in organic material - the knowledge gained may be used to develop organic electronic devices with new, useful properties. Organic electronics are a growing industry and this research will enhance Australia's role in their development and commercialization. Improving the efficiency of organic lighting emitting devices will reduce Australia's energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, as lighting represents a significant fraction of our energy usage.Read moreRead less
Enhancing the Understanding and Performance of Passivating TiO2 Coatings for Photovoltaic Devices. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been widely used as an antireflection coating in the silicon (Si) photovoltaics industry as it exhibits excellent optical properties and low deposition cost. However, recently manufacturers have been turning to alternatives such as hydrogenated silicon nitride coatings that exhibit greatly improved electronic properties, but cost 4 - 10 times more to deposit. This proj ....Enhancing the Understanding and Performance of Passivating TiO2 Coatings for Photovoltaic Devices. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been widely used as an antireflection coating in the silicon (Si) photovoltaics industry as it exhibits excellent optical properties and low deposition cost. However, recently manufacturers have been turning to alternatives such as hydrogenated silicon nitride coatings that exhibit greatly improved electronic properties, but cost 4 - 10 times more to deposit. This project seeks to understand the fundamental limitations behind the poor surface passivation afforded by TiO2 to a Si wafer, and subsequently develop a passivating TiO2 coating that can reduce the cost of electricity generated by Si solar cells.Read moreRead less