Engineered redox polymers for catalytic water purification. This project aims to develop a novel family of chemically and structurally controlled redox polymer as metal-free catalysts for wastewater micropollutant treatment. Innovations lie in the synthesis of high-performance and nanostructured carbon-based materials, multiscale modeling, and in situ characterizations for understanding structure-property relationship in carbon catalysis. Expected outcomes will deliver innovations in functional ....Engineered redox polymers for catalytic water purification. This project aims to develop a novel family of chemically and structurally controlled redox polymer as metal-free catalysts for wastewater micropollutant treatment. Innovations lie in the synthesis of high-performance and nanostructured carbon-based materials, multiscale modeling, and in situ characterizations for understanding structure-property relationship in carbon catalysis. Expected outcomes will deliver innovations in functional materials, mechanism, catalytic engineering, and sustainable separation processes. This project will provide significant benefits in renovating smart nanomaterials in advanced manufacturing and clean environmental technologies, promoting Australia’s economic development and environment protection.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100021
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$440,154.00
Summary
Kesterite/Si Tandem Structure for Unassisted Overall Solar Fuel Production. This project aims to develop Kesterite/Si tandem device for photoelectrochemical carbon dioxide reduction to produce solar fuels. It is expected to reveal the photoelectrochemical mechanism of the p-n heterojunction, thereby promoting solar energy utilisation and greenhouse gas reduction. Expected outcomes include delivery of a high-performance kesterite photocathode for efficient CO2 reduction, a kesterite/Si tandem dev ....Kesterite/Si Tandem Structure for Unassisted Overall Solar Fuel Production. This project aims to develop Kesterite/Si tandem device for photoelectrochemical carbon dioxide reduction to produce solar fuels. It is expected to reveal the photoelectrochemical mechanism of the p-n heterojunction, thereby promoting solar energy utilisation and greenhouse gas reduction. Expected outcomes include delivery of a high-performance kesterite photocathode for efficient CO2 reduction, a kesterite/Si tandem device for overall unassisted solar fuel production, and an in-depth understanding of structure-performance correlation to guide future heterojunction photocathode design. This project should provide significant benefits in minimising fossil fuel consumption, increasing energy security, and expanding the clean energy industry.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100138
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,804.00
Summary
Developing Switchable Ligands to Control Gold Nanocluster Interfaces. This project aims to unlock the promising catalytic activity of protected gold nanoclusters by developing switchable ligands capable of undergoing controlled detachment and exchange. This project expects to provide a detailed understanding of how the gold thiolate interface of nanoclusters influences their physical and chemical properties. Expected outcomes include the design of improved catalysts for chemical synthesis and bi ....Developing Switchable Ligands to Control Gold Nanocluster Interfaces. This project aims to unlock the promising catalytic activity of protected gold nanoclusters by developing switchable ligands capable of undergoing controlled detachment and exchange. This project expects to provide a detailed understanding of how the gold thiolate interface of nanoclusters influences their physical and chemical properties. Expected outcomes include the design of improved catalysts for chemical synthesis and biological assays using computer aided chemical modelling. These catalysts should be easier to recover after use, which should improve cost-effectiveness. They should also improve the accuracy of biological sensors, which could ultimately be used for the rapid and early detection of diseases.Read moreRead less
Tuning catalyst reaction environments towards photoreforming of wastewater. This project aims to combine high-throughput computation and machine learning to screen photocatalysts more thoroughly for photoreforming of wastewater. The reaction environments effects on surface active units will be tailored for COx-emission-free selective organic synthesis with hydrogen production from organic-contained wastewater at ambient conditions. The project expects to expand our knowledge on the fast, reliabl ....Tuning catalyst reaction environments towards photoreforming of wastewater. This project aims to combine high-throughput computation and machine learning to screen photocatalysts more thoroughly for photoreforming of wastewater. The reaction environments effects on surface active units will be tailored for COx-emission-free selective organic synthesis with hydrogen production from organic-contained wastewater at ambient conditions. The project expects to expand our knowledge on the fast, reliable screening strategies, and the relationship between electric field (or lattice strain) and reaction pathways. This project will develop a photoreforming system for selective co-production of organics and hydrogen from wastewater, benefiting sustainable technologies development for chemical synthesis and hydrogen economy.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100625
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$446,700.00
Summary
Integrated slab-mode beam engineering for handheld terahertz systems. Current dominant system architectures for terahertz waves are adapted from other ranges, leading to critical bottlenecks. This project will address this with a new integration platform that is tailored to the particular needs of terahertz waves. This requires advances in the emerging field of micro-scale integrated optics, combined with antenna-theory principles, semiconductor science, and advanced microfabrication to incorpor ....Integrated slab-mode beam engineering for handheld terahertz systems. Current dominant system architectures for terahertz waves are adapted from other ranges, leading to critical bottlenecks. This project will address this with a new integration platform that is tailored to the particular needs of terahertz waves. This requires advances in the emerging field of micro-scale integrated optics, combined with antenna-theory principles, semiconductor science, and advanced microfabrication to incorporate active devices. Novel spatially-dependent dispersion engineering techniques will also be pioneered for phased-array-free beamforming. This will enable a broad variety of all-in-one handheld systems for practical applications of terahertz waves such as noninvasive standoff sensing and self-aligning wireless links.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101617
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$434,395.00
Summary
Re-engineering metallic-based nanostructures for carbon dioxide conversion. This project aims to fine-tune the interface of low-temperature liquid metals to produce functional hybrid nanomaterials for CO2 reduction. The expected outcomes of the projects are to develop fundamental knowledge on the integration of functional molecules on the bulk, core, and skin of liquid metals and their alloys. It intends to control the atomic arrangement of the elemental constituents, nucleation, as well as inte ....Re-engineering metallic-based nanostructures for carbon dioxide conversion. This project aims to fine-tune the interface of low-temperature liquid metals to produce functional hybrid nanomaterials for CO2 reduction. The expected outcomes of the projects are to develop fundamental knowledge on the integration of functional molecules on the bulk, core, and skin of liquid metals and their alloys. It intends to control the atomic arrangement of the elemental constituents, nucleation, as well as interaction and dissolution of organic/inorganic molecules in the interface and bulk of liquid metals. The anticipated outcomes of this project are to define a knowledge roadmap to exploit the untapped potentials of liquid metals in CO2 reduction, which would enable the production of the next generation of catalytic devices.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101068
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$454,554.00
Summary
Direct Electrolysis of Amine Captured CO2 for Producing Syngas. This project aims to develop electrolysis of amine captured carbon dioxide (CO2) technology to integrate CO2 capture and syngas production powered by renewable electricity. The aqueous amine captured CO2 will be directly electrolysed without CO2 desorption, compression, and purification, featuring extremely high efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Expected outcomes include the delivery of suitable amines, a family of chemically and s ....Direct Electrolysis of Amine Captured CO2 for Producing Syngas. This project aims to develop electrolysis of amine captured carbon dioxide (CO2) technology to integrate CO2 capture and syngas production powered by renewable electricity. The aqueous amine captured CO2 will be directly electrolysed without CO2 desorption, compression, and purification, featuring extremely high efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Expected outcomes include the delivery of suitable amines, a family of chemically and structurally controlled electrocatalysts, an in-depth understanding of CO2 electrolysis mechanisms, and the demonstration of robust electrolyser prototypes. This project will provide significant benefits to Australia’s energy and environmental security, and boost its clean energy industry and economic growth.Read moreRead less
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
Advanced Gas Diffusion Electrodes For Electrochemical Manufacturing. This project aims to develop electrochemical conversion technologies to convert carbon dioxide into globally needed chemicals. It targets the bottleneck issues in managing the gas-liquid-solid reaction sites and improving the conversion efficiency of reactor, through the synthesis of advanced electrode materials, understanding of mass transfer and the engineering design of an electrochemical reactor. The expected outcomes will ....Advanced Gas Diffusion Electrodes For Electrochemical Manufacturing. This project aims to develop electrochemical conversion technologies to convert carbon dioxide into globally needed chemicals. It targets the bottleneck issues in managing the gas-liquid-solid reaction sites and improving the conversion efficiency of reactor, through the synthesis of advanced electrode materials, understanding of mass transfer and the engineering design of an electrochemical reactor. The expected outcomes will promote carbon neutral goals, bridge the renewable energy storage and sustainable chemical manufacturing gap, thus addressing key challenges faced by Australia and the world.Read moreRead less
Novel devices for spatial light transformation. The aim of this project is to develop new optical instrumentation for spatially transforming light. This research expects to find solutions to problems that have thus far been out of reach by replacing what would traditionally be a human optical systems designer with computer algorithms. The expected outcomes include the development of three new devices as well as a set of design, fabrication and characterisation procedures that offer higher perfor ....Novel devices for spatial light transformation. The aim of this project is to develop new optical instrumentation for spatially transforming light. This research expects to find solutions to problems that have thus far been out of reach by replacing what would traditionally be a human optical systems designer with computer algorithms. The expected outcomes include the development of three new devices as well as a set of design, fabrication and characterisation procedures that offer higher performance, increased robustness and scalability. This should improve accessibility of this technology and provide benefits to a wide range of applications, including astronomical and biomedical imaging, telecommunications, as well as quantum and classical optical signal processing.Read moreRead less