Novel Nano Particles for Advanced Automotive and Industrial Coatings. In conjunction with our industrial partner (DuPont Australia), this project will develop a new generation of automotive and industrial coatings. The technology developed from this project can integrate into the existing system. The new coatings will be environmentally friendly and will make a significant contribution to solve the emission issue of volatile organic compound (VOC) faced by the industry. The novel nano particles ....Novel Nano Particles for Advanced Automotive and Industrial Coatings. In conjunction with our industrial partner (DuPont Australia), this project will develop a new generation of automotive and industrial coatings. The technology developed from this project can integrate into the existing system. The new coatings will be environmentally friendly and will make a significant contribution to solve the emission issue of volatile organic compound (VOC) faced by the industry. The novel nano particles developed from this project will provide unique properties for automotive paint and can be commercialized at an acceptable price. The science involved in this project represents the cutting edge of world leading technology and will bring polymer science into a new field.Read moreRead less
Optimising paint adhesion to polymers. The Australian automotive export market (vehicles, parts, engines) is worth approximately $4,500 million p.a. and is a major employer in many areas. A reliable, cheap and efficient method for preparing polymer surfaces for painting will significantly benefit that market. The ability to manufacture quality, cheaper, lightweight parts improves the competitiveness of the local automotive industry. More importantly, a technology for production of cheap, high qu ....Optimising paint adhesion to polymers. The Australian automotive export market (vehicles, parts, engines) is worth approximately $4,500 million p.a. and is a major employer in many areas. A reliable, cheap and efficient method for preparing polymer surfaces for painting will significantly benefit that market. The ability to manufacture quality, cheaper, lightweight parts improves the competitiveness of the local automotive industry. More importantly, a technology for production of cheap, high quality painted polymer surfaces vastly improves the competitiveness of local component manufacturers who supply to international vehicle manufacturers. This project falls under the National Research Priority Area 'Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries'.Read moreRead less
Enhanced pigment weathering resistance by coating with high dielectric ceramic. The partner company, Tiwest, based in Western Australia, is a major contributor to the economy, and earns more than $A400m annually in exports. It is the only company in the world that mines, separates, refines and manufactures titania products, including pigments, in one region. The current post-titania particle formation wet-coating process, however, presents a major capital and recurrent cost and necessitates a pi ....Enhanced pigment weathering resistance by coating with high dielectric ceramic. The partner company, Tiwest, based in Western Australia, is a major contributor to the economy, and earns more than $A400m annually in exports. It is the only company in the world that mines, separates, refines and manufactures titania products, including pigments, in one region. The current post-titania particle formation wet-coating process, however, presents a major capital and recurrent cost and necessitates a pigment regrind stage. The research will investigate the development of a highly durable dry-coated pigment utilising a novel high dielectric coating. This development has the potential to ensure the partner company's future competitiveness through reduced processing costs and improved product performance.Read moreRead less
Novel Waterborne Multifunctional Sealer for Asphalt Pavement. One of the long-term challenges and most serious problems faced by the asphalt surfacing and road construction industry is the rapid deterioration of asphaltic surfaces to the extent that they become unfit/unsafe for use in short time. The length of the Australian local government road system is approximately 810,000 kilometres and currently approximately $2,460 million/year is spent on road maintenance; the replacement value of ....Novel Waterborne Multifunctional Sealer for Asphalt Pavement. One of the long-term challenges and most serious problems faced by the asphalt surfacing and road construction industry is the rapid deterioration of asphaltic surfaces to the extent that they become unfit/unsafe for use in short time. The length of the Australian local government road system is approximately 810,000 kilometres and currently approximately $2,460 million/year is spent on road maintenance; the replacement value of the road asset exceeds $106,000 million. Thus providing satisfactory tough protective shield on asphalt pavements that locks out destructive elements and provide long-term protection is of enormous economic importance and national/community benefit.Read moreRead less
Nano-scale Modification of Paint Surfaces for Contamination Resistance. The main aim of this work is to develop a process to produce a dirt resistant paint surface. Dirt resistance is an important characteristic of prepainted steel sheets often used in architectural situations where dirt build-up is unsightly. To develop the process it will be necessary to understand the mechanism of dirt adhesion to paints and the modes of operation of current dirt resistant processes. In addition work will be ....Nano-scale Modification of Paint Surfaces for Contamination Resistance. The main aim of this work is to develop a process to produce a dirt resistant paint surface. Dirt resistance is an important characteristic of prepainted steel sheets often used in architectural situations where dirt build-up is unsightly. To develop the process it will be necessary to understand the mechanism of dirt adhesion to paints and the modes of operation of current dirt resistant processes. In addition work will be required on the rate of surface segregation of additives to the paint solution. We propose to combine experimental and theoretical modelling approaches to obtain a fundamentally sound practical solution.Read moreRead less
Next generation chromium free primers for galvanised steel. This project aims to develop a new family of chrome-free primers to protect galvanised steel against corrosion. Corrosion resistance is a critical factor in durability of galvanised steel, which is usually protected from corrosion by a primer and topcoat, which prolong life and provide aesthetics. The primer coating contains chromates. Chromates are recognised for their toxicity, but in spite of this they unfortunately remain the indust ....Next generation chromium free primers for galvanised steel. This project aims to develop a new family of chrome-free primers to protect galvanised steel against corrosion. Corrosion resistance is a critical factor in durability of galvanised steel, which is usually protected from corrosion by a primer and topcoat, which prolong life and provide aesthetics. The primer coating contains chromates. Chromates are recognised for their toxicity, but in spite of this they unfortunately remain the industry standard. Chromate-free primers are urgently required, and this project aims to conduct fundamental research to enable their development.Read moreRead less
Novel plastics using renewable signal chemistry to remove bacteria in water. This project plans to develop synthetic plastic surfaces that continuously generate nitric oxide to deter the formation of biofilms. Plastic surfaces exposed to aqueous environments rapidly become covered by a film of bacteria, which can cause infection. Trace levels of generated nitric oxide can combat this problem by breaking up existing bacterial biofilms. Current research has developed plastics that continuously gen ....Novel plastics using renewable signal chemistry to remove bacteria in water. This project plans to develop synthetic plastic surfaces that continuously generate nitric oxide to deter the formation of biofilms. Plastic surfaces exposed to aqueous environments rapidly become covered by a film of bacteria, which can cause infection. Trace levels of generated nitric oxide can combat this problem by breaking up existing bacterial biofilms. Current research has developed plastics that continuously generate nitric oxide, but not for extended periods of time. This project’s approach is significant because it avoids bacterial resistance to the nitric oxide treatment. Applications of this technology may include removing biofilms from environments such as water filtration devices and consumable medical surfaces.Read moreRead less
Strong and Durable Flame-Retarding Composites by Multi-scale Encapsulation and Reinforcement. Fires cause approximately $100 million damage to Australian buildings each year. The effects of fire can be significantly reduced through microencapsulation of fire-retarding chemicals in composites used in the building industry. This project aims to encapsulate such chemicals in natural microtubules and develop cost-effective polymer/microtubule/graphene oxide composites that combine superior fire resi ....Strong and Durable Flame-Retarding Composites by Multi-scale Encapsulation and Reinforcement. Fires cause approximately $100 million damage to Australian buildings each year. The effects of fire can be significantly reduced through microencapsulation of fire-retarding chemicals in composites used in the building industry. This project aims to encapsulate such chemicals in natural microtubules and develop cost-effective polymer/microtubule/graphene oxide composites that combine superior fire resistance with high durability in a wide range of applications.Read moreRead less
Developing high performance nanocomposite coatings for domestic appliances. Insufficient robustness and durability of the polymeric coatings on precoated metal sheets has resulted in unacceptably high product defects and reject rates. This project aims to develop novel and high performance nanocomposite multilayer coatings through the systematic optimisation of epoxy and polyester/ graphene and nanoclay systems. These complex coatings are expected to have considerably improved toughness, hardnes ....Developing high performance nanocomposite coatings for domestic appliances. Insufficient robustness and durability of the polymeric coatings on precoated metal sheets has resulted in unacceptably high product defects and reject rates. This project aims to develop novel and high performance nanocomposite multilayer coatings through the systematic optimisation of epoxy and polyester/ graphene and nanoclay systems. These complex coatings are expected to have considerably improved toughness, hardness and interfacial adhesion, thus enhancing formability and wear resistance of precoated metal sheets. Successful outcomes from this study will not only solve a long-standing problem in the manufacturing of precoated metals, but generate breakthrough technologies for next-generation nanocomposite coatings. Read moreRead less
Scalable Graphene Enabled Smart Composites. The need for lightweight composite materials is increasing exponentially in the context of renewable energy, e-mobility and related emission reductions. This project aims to develop novel approaches to integrate graphene nanomaterials into structural composites, enabling damage sensing and structural health monitoring functionalities. The outcome of this project will be a new class of smart composites that will address the critical need for improving s ....Scalable Graphene Enabled Smart Composites. The need for lightweight composite materials is increasing exponentially in the context of renewable energy, e-mobility and related emission reductions. This project aims to develop novel approaches to integrate graphene nanomaterials into structural composites, enabling damage sensing and structural health monitoring functionalities. The outcome of this project will be a new class of smart composites that will address the critical need for improving structural integrity, safety and reliability, while significantly reducing lifecycle costs. This should provide significant benefits in creating confidence to increase investment in Australia for manufacturing graphene enabled smart materials and technologies with enormous export potential.Read moreRead less