A Self-Repairing Entropy-Stabilized Oxide as a Protective Coating. All biological organisms, from plants to living creatures, can heal minor wounds and damages. Based on the recent breakthrough by the CI’s team, this project aims to design and develop a new oxide containing multiple elements in a form of (AlCoCrCu0.5FeNi)3O4 that can resist damages through a self-repairing mechanism. Fabricated by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, this extraordinary self-repairing phenomenon makes this ....A Self-Repairing Entropy-Stabilized Oxide as a Protective Coating. All biological organisms, from plants to living creatures, can heal minor wounds and damages. Based on the recent breakthrough by the CI’s team, this project aims to design and develop a new oxide containing multiple elements in a form of (AlCoCrCu0.5FeNi)3O4 that can resist damages through a self-repairing mechanism. Fabricated by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering, this extraordinary self-repairing phenomenon makes this new material highly desirable as a coating to protect structures and machinery working in hash conditions. Therefore, it has broad applications in space technologies, nuclear power facilities and aerospace industry, as well as in shipbuilding industry. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100662
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$453,000.00
Summary
Engineering interfaces to enable a new generation of hybrid materials. Hybrid combinations of hydrogel and solid materials allow a high level of functionality for devices such as tissue-engineering scaffolds and soft machines. However, the weak bonding between hydrogels and solids severely hampers their function. This project aims to develop versatile plasma processes that facilitate strong interfaces between hydrogels of choice and solid materials of all kinds. The expected outcome is a green p ....Engineering interfaces to enable a new generation of hybrid materials. Hybrid combinations of hydrogel and solid materials allow a high level of functionality for devices such as tissue-engineering scaffolds and soft machines. However, the weak bonding between hydrogels and solids severely hampers their function. This project aims to develop versatile plasma processes that facilitate strong interfaces between hydrogels of choice and solid materials of all kinds. The expected outcome is a green platform technology for the modular construction of advanced solid-hydrogel hybrids with tailor-made functions; enabling critical advances in the design and synthesis of structured soft matter devices. The project offers significant benefits for Australian high-tech manufacturing industries from health to electronics.Read moreRead less
Advanced materials for space propulsion: satellites and cubesats. Poorly controlled interactions between plasmas and surfaces often mean loss of process efficiency and surface degradation over time. For Hall thrusters, a type of engine used to move satellites in space, this means increased fuel consumption and shorter useful life. Through modelling and experiment, this project will show how intelligent selection of advanced materials and plasma parameters can minimise surface wear, enable in sit ....Advanced materials for space propulsion: satellites and cubesats. Poorly controlled interactions between plasmas and surfaces often mean loss of process efficiency and surface degradation over time. For Hall thrusters, a type of engine used to move satellites in space, this means increased fuel consumption and shorter useful life. Through modelling and experiment, this project will show how intelligent selection of advanced materials and plasma parameters can minimise surface wear, enable in situ material repair to extend device lifetime, and modulate plasma properties to increase thruster efficiency for a given task. These benefits enable reliable propulsion platforms for massive communication and observation satellite networks and deep space exploration.Read moreRead less
New generation pulsed magnetron sputtering for the synthesis of advanced materials. Magnetron sputtering underpins the manufacture of many products ranging from semiconductor microelectronics to energy efficient windows. This project will create a new generation sputtering process fully compatible with current technology but capable of synthesising new phases and new film microstructures with greatly enhanced performance.
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL190100216
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,279,753.00
Summary
Plasma surface engineering for break-through technologies in biomedicine. This program aims to develop new plasma surface modification processes for complex porous structures using a strongly multidisciplinary approach combining plasma physics, materials engineering and expertise from biosciences. It will establish fundamental new understanding of plasma interactions within complex materials by combining innovations in simulation and experiment. Expected outcomes will be new research capacity i ....Plasma surface engineering for break-through technologies in biomedicine. This program aims to develop new plasma surface modification processes for complex porous structures using a strongly multidisciplinary approach combining plasma physics, materials engineering and expertise from biosciences. It will establish fundamental new understanding of plasma interactions within complex materials by combining innovations in simulation and experiment. Expected outcomes will be new research capacity in the increasingly important field of bioengineering, and environmentally friendly plasma processes that enable the creation of robust biologically functional surfaces, providing significant benefits for diagnostic and therapeutic biomedical applications.Read moreRead less
Low-temperature plasma processes for high-quality graphene films. The project aims to develop novel plasma-enabled processes for low-cost, energy-efficient, and scalable growth of high-quality graphene films for applications in touch screen, solar cell and other devices. It aims to discover non-equilibrium plasma-surface interactions enabling nucleation and growth of graphene films with large and low-defect domains on metal catalysts at low temperatures, and then develop energy-efficient, enviro ....Low-temperature plasma processes for high-quality graphene films. The project aims to develop novel plasma-enabled processes for low-cost, energy-efficient, and scalable growth of high-quality graphene films for applications in touch screen, solar cell and other devices. It aims to discover non-equilibrium plasma-surface interactions enabling nucleation and growth of graphene films with large and low-defect domains on metal catalysts at low temperatures, and then develop energy-efficient, environment-friendly, and scalable fabrication and device transfer processes. These processes are designed to retain high quality of graphene films upon scale-up and will be compatible with the existing and emerging applications in touch screens and other devices. The expected outcomes include fundamental understanding and novel practical approaches to control synthesis and device integration of two-dimensional atomically-thin materials.Read moreRead less
In-situ biofunctionalisation for additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing that incorporates printing of live cells can create hierarchical, multi-component structures that mimic biology. However, an ability to include spatially segregated biological cues is currently lacking. This project will develop plasma pen modules to selectively functionalise surfaces and interfaces, as they are being printed, with robustly immobilised hydrogels and biological signalling molecules to direct cell beha ....In-situ biofunctionalisation for additive manufacturing. Additive manufacturing that incorporates printing of live cells can create hierarchical, multi-component structures that mimic biology. However, an ability to include spatially segregated biological cues is currently lacking. This project will develop plasma pen modules to selectively functionalise surfaces and interfaces, as they are being printed, with robustly immobilised hydrogels and biological signalling molecules to direct cell behaviour. The expected outcome is a green technology enabling the fabrication of structures that replicate the native environments of cells in the body to provide optimal efficacy in drug discovery and regenerative medicine, and significant benefits for the Australian biomedical sector.Read moreRead less
A new dimension of functionality for high surface-area-to volume materials. This project aims to develop processes that can successfully functionalise the inner surfaces of high surface area to volume structures with interconnected porosity. These structures underpin many processes in modern manufacturing. Examples include columns and fluidised beds for purification, materials for energy storage and conversion, biomedical scaffolds and structures for high sensitivity sensing. The efficacy of the ....A new dimension of functionality for high surface-area-to volume materials. This project aims to develop processes that can successfully functionalise the inner surfaces of high surface area to volume structures with interconnected porosity. These structures underpin many processes in modern manufacturing. Examples include columns and fluidised beds for purification, materials for energy storage and conversion, biomedical scaffolds and structures for high sensitivity sensing. The efficacy of these materials is strongly affected by the condition of the surfaces, but modifying the surfaces of internal pores deep within such structures presents major challenges. This project will provide environmental friendly, dry plasma processes to tailor surface functionality, improving the efficacy of existing processes and opening up new far reaching applications for such materials.Read moreRead less
Crystal engineering of membranes for chiral separation . This project addresses the urgent challenge of chiral separation in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals by creating a new class of membranes produced by engineering functionalised porous framework crystals. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding how membrane chemistry and architecture can be used to achieve highly selective, fast chiral molecule transport. The expected outcomes of the project include ne ....Crystal engineering of membranes for chiral separation . This project addresses the urgent challenge of chiral separation in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals by creating a new class of membranes produced by engineering functionalised porous framework crystals. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding how membrane chemistry and architecture can be used to achieve highly selective, fast chiral molecule transport. The expected outcomes of the project include new membrane compositions, design principles, fabrication techniques, and proof-of-concept production of scalable, high-performance composite membranes. This project should produce significant economic and environmental benefits in the development of advanced membranes, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals.Read moreRead less
Flotation separation of nanoparticles. This project deals with the separation of fine nanoparticles suspended in water, by attachment to small gas bubbles. It aims to find a way of removing nanoparticles from water, or of separating one species from another. The process could be used for simple solids such as metal oxides, and for biological materials such as large molecules, viruses and small bacteria. The work will be both theoretical and experimental. This ground-breaking project will build u ....Flotation separation of nanoparticles. This project deals with the separation of fine nanoparticles suspended in water, by attachment to small gas bubbles. It aims to find a way of removing nanoparticles from water, or of separating one species from another. The process could be used for simple solids such as metal oxides, and for biological materials such as large molecules, viruses and small bacteria. The work will be both theoretical and experimental. This ground-breaking project will build upon past successes of the applicant, whose invention in the field of resource recovery is contributing close to $1 billion a year to Australia's exports.Read moreRead less