Formation Mechanism and Controlled Growth of Carbon Nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes are exciting nano-materials and important "building blocks" of nanotechnology. Research and application of nanotubes are at the forefront of nanotechnology development. This project will investigate the formation mechanisms and controlled growth of carbon nanotubes in a new mechano-thermal synthesis process in which carbon nanotubes are produced in the order of kilogram from graphite powder by mechanical milling and ....Formation Mechanism and Controlled Growth of Carbon Nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes are exciting nano-materials and important "building blocks" of nanotechnology. Research and application of nanotubes are at the forefront of nanotechnology development. This project will investigate the formation mechanisms and controlled growth of carbon nanotubes in a new mechano-thermal synthesis process in which carbon nanotubes are produced in the order of kilogram from graphite powder by mechanical milling and thermal annealing. The outcomes of this research will be profoundly enhanced understanding of the controlled assembly of carbon atoms into a variety of nanosized tubules with excellent mechanical, chemical and physical properties, and an innovative synthesis/manipulation technology for industrial applications.Read moreRead less
Synchrotron radiation techniques applied to melting and resolidification at a nanometric scale. By delivering underpinning knowledge of melting characteristics of nanoparticles, the proposal seeks results that can lead to breakthrough applications in advanced materials engineering. Measurements of the liquid nanoparticle structure performed at the Australian Synchrotron are unprecedented and are thus likely to include the development of new methodology. National and international exposure of Aus ....Synchrotron radiation techniques applied to melting and resolidification at a nanometric scale. By delivering underpinning knowledge of melting characteristics of nanoparticles, the proposal seeks results that can lead to breakthrough applications in advanced materials engineering. Measurements of the liquid nanoparticle structure performed at the Australian Synchrotron are unprecedented and are thus likely to include the development of new methodology. National and international exposure of Australian science and the Australian Synchrotron will have both scientific and economic ramifications. Involvement of students will contribute to developing the local synchrotron knowledge base and is beneficial to the Australian synchrotron-research community as a whole.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of the electrical and optical properties of ZnO nanowires for advanced nanodevice applications. It is widely accepted that nanowires and related structures will provide the key for the construction of future functional nano-devices with unprecedented performance. In this project we will develop robust protocols for the fabrication of ZnO nanowires in the lab which can be meet the needs of specific nanotechnology and nanodevice applications and once established these growth technique ....Optimisation of the electrical and optical properties of ZnO nanowires for advanced nanodevice applications. It is widely accepted that nanowires and related structures will provide the key for the construction of future functional nano-devices with unprecedented performance. In this project we will develop robust protocols for the fabrication of ZnO nanowires in the lab which can be meet the needs of specific nanotechnology and nanodevice applications and once established these growth techniques can reconfigured for industrial scale fabrication. Development of these nanowire growth techniques will enable Australia to be at the leading edge in the rapidly emerging field of nano-science and nano-technology.Read moreRead less
Development of new membrane-electrode assemblies for low temperature fuel cells. New electrodes and electrolytes for low temperature fuel cells will herald in a new epoch in the hydrogen economy for Australia. The IP developed in this project will form the basis for new transportation systems that do not lead to chemical pollution in Australia's cities. The new materials and processing techniques will lead to cheaper and more efficient fuel cells, allowing their use in portable computers, small ....Development of new membrane-electrode assemblies for low temperature fuel cells. New electrodes and electrolytes for low temperature fuel cells will herald in a new epoch in the hydrogen economy for Australia. The IP developed in this project will form the basis for new transportation systems that do not lead to chemical pollution in Australia's cities. The new materials and processing techniques will lead to cheaper and more efficient fuel cells, allowing their use in portable computers, small electrical appliances, public transport and in private cars in about ten years. Read moreRead less
Development of Low Cost, High Quality Nitrides for Solid-State Lighting and Other Power Saving Applications. The advent of high brightness, low cost, compact, low power white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) will revolutionise lighting as we currently know it. Incandescent light bulbs and fluorescent tubes are inefficient light sources and their replacement with high efficiency solid state LED lighting over the next 10 years will provide a 10% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. The develo ....Development of Low Cost, High Quality Nitrides for Solid-State Lighting and Other Power Saving Applications. The advent of high brightness, low cost, compact, low power white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) will revolutionise lighting as we currently know it. Incandescent light bulbs and fluorescent tubes are inefficient light sources and their replacement with high efficiency solid state LED lighting over the next 10 years will provide a 10% reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. The development and enhancement of a recent Australian innovation for the fabrication of low cost high brightness LEDs will enable Australia to be at the frontier of this technology and to be a world leader in the next stage of its development.Read moreRead less
Boron Nitride Nanotub Synthesis and Applications. Boron nitride (BN) nanotubes have an analogous structure to carbon nanotubes but offer many electronic and chemical properties. This project aims to synthesis BN nanotubes with controlled structures using a mechano-thermal method involving ball milling of boron powder at room temperature followed by thermal annealing in nitrogen gas. Systematic investigation will be conducted to clarify the fundamental formation mechanism related to various nano ....Boron Nitride Nanotub Synthesis and Applications. Boron nitride (BN) nanotubes have an analogous structure to carbon nanotubes but offer many electronic and chemical properties. This project aims to synthesis BN nanotubes with controlled structures using a mechano-thermal method involving ball milling of boron powder at room temperature followed by thermal annealing in nitrogen gas. Systematic investigation will be conducted to clarify the fundamental formation mechanism related to various nanostructures. New chemical, mechanical and thermal properties and possible applications will be explored. The outcomes of this research will be profoundly understanding of the controlled assembly of small atoms into nanosized tubules and an innovative synthesis technology.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0989127
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
A High-Throughput Neutron Spectrometer for The Study of Atomic and Molecular Motion at ANSTO. Neutron scattering enables new science across a broad range of disciplines, and for this reason it is undergoing major expansion in the USA, Europe, Japan and Australia. Various diffactometers and spectrometers have recently been built at ANSTO, but an instrumental option for a high-throughput cross-discipline spectroscopy is urgently needed. Fortunately, it is fairly straightforward to add this type of ....A High-Throughput Neutron Spectrometer for The Study of Atomic and Molecular Motion at ANSTO. Neutron scattering enables new science across a broad range of disciplines, and for this reason it is undergoing major expansion in the USA, Europe, Japan and Australia. Various diffactometers and spectrometers have recently been built at ANSTO, but an instrumental option for a high-throughput cross-discipline spectroscopy is urgently needed. Fortunately, it is fairly straightforward to add this type of option to an existing spectrometer that will broaden its user-base from specialised applications in physics to more general applications in physics, chemistry, materials-science and biology. This additional option provides a totally new way for Australian scientists to study atomic and molecular motions. Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354821
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000.00
Summary
Innovative Materials Production, Processing and Analysis Network. Materials science and engineering is decidedly interdisciplinary, covering a diverse spectrum of research from biology to construction, with an equally broad applications span encompassing all manufacturing industry. Australia has distinct strengths in materials but it has been difficult to promote sufficient interaction across discipline boundaries to fully exploit such strengths. The current network focuses on interdisciplinar ....Innovative Materials Production, Processing and Analysis Network. Materials science and engineering is decidedly interdisciplinary, covering a diverse spectrum of research from biology to construction, with an equally broad applications span encompassing all manufacturing industry. Australia has distinct strengths in materials but it has been difficult to promote sufficient interaction across discipline boundaries to fully exploit such strengths. The current network focuses on interdisciplinary materials interactions nationally by: i) bringing the materials community together at an annual workshop, ii) exposing PhD students and young researchers to cross-disciplinary research initiatives and facilities, iii) identifying common infrastructure needs, iv) linking with industry networks, eg AMTN, and to the international community.Read moreRead less
Wet Granular Materials: A Three-Dimensional Study Using X-Ray Microtomography. Wet granular materials are of immense economic importance in industries such as mining, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and food processing. It has been estimated that operations involving the storage, handling and transport of granular materials account for over a third of the capital costs and over half of all the operating costs involved in process industries worldwide. An improved understanding of the dramatic effec ....Wet Granular Materials: A Three-Dimensional Study Using X-Ray Microtomography. Wet granular materials are of immense economic importance in industries such as mining, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and food processing. It has been estimated that operations involving the storage, handling and transport of granular materials account for over a third of the capital costs and over half of all the operating costs involved in process industries worldwide. An improved understanding of the dramatic effects of liquid on the cohesion, flow and mixing of granular materials will be of benefit to Australian industry both in terms of helping to reduce costly problems, such as caking and segregation, and in terms of the development of better particulate-based products, such as ceramics and pharmaceuticals.Read moreRead less
Poly-crystalline Thin Films for LASER Applications. This project is based on a recent discovery which reports LASER emission in disordered media such as polycrystalline ZnO. This behaviour appears to be related to the crystallographic properties of ZnO (wurztite) material. Using a novel deposition process the defect density, size of crystallites and macroscopic orientation within such thin films will be controlled independently. This will provide an opportunity to study the fundamental basis of ....Poly-crystalline Thin Films for LASER Applications. This project is based on a recent discovery which reports LASER emission in disordered media such as polycrystalline ZnO. This behaviour appears to be related to the crystallographic properties of ZnO (wurztite) material. Using a novel deposition process the defect density, size of crystallites and macroscopic orientation within such thin films will be controlled independently. This will provide an opportunity to study the fundamental basis of such behaviour. In conjunction with this the development of structure in similarly produced GaN (wurztite) films will be examined. This work should also provide practical information concerning the potential performance of LASER devices based on disordered materials.Read moreRead less