Nanostructured Carbon Electrodes. The development of higher capacity energy storage devices is critical to the efficient use of energy. The fundamental knowledge gained in this project will enable the production of the next generation advanced electrode materials for this purpose and hence provide many new commercial opportunities for Australian industry. The project brings together world leaders in their own fields to address a highly multidisciplinary area of research and will provide an excel ....Nanostructured Carbon Electrodes. The development of higher capacity energy storage devices is critical to the efficient use of energy. The fundamental knowledge gained in this project will enable the production of the next generation advanced electrode materials for this purpose and hence provide many new commercial opportunities for Australian industry. The project brings together world leaders in their own fields to address a highly multidisciplinary area of research and will provide an excellent training for PhD students and post doctoral Research Fellows, enabling them to work in and contribute to the development of new nanotechnology industries in Australia.Read moreRead less
Novel 3D Carbon Architectures for Fuel Cell Applications. The implementation of clean energy technologies has clear economic, environmental and social benefits for Australia, its industries and population. This project has the potential to make a significant impact on fuel cell research as an alternative means of energy production. We aim to remove some of the technical and economic barriers through product and process innovation at the nanoscale. Building on a strong track record in advanced ma ....Novel 3D Carbon Architectures for Fuel Cell Applications. The implementation of clean energy technologies has clear economic, environmental and social benefits for Australia, its industries and population. This project has the potential to make a significant impact on fuel cell research as an alternative means of energy production. We aim to remove some of the technical and economic barriers through product and process innovation at the nanoscale. Building on a strong track record in advanced materials research, this project investigates the integration of novel carbon nanostructures with extraordinary properties to produce high performance electrodes, that should lead to significant improvement in fuel cell performance.Read moreRead less
Greatly improved rectification by molecular diodes. Society has already seen dramatic benefits from microtechnology, which has made possible most of the devices that we take for granted. The limits of miniaturisation using current technology are rapidly being reached, and the next stage is in the realm of nanotechnology. The goal of the field known as molecular electronics is to reach the point where electronic components are composed of single molecules or single molecular layers. In this fi ....Greatly improved rectification by molecular diodes. Society has already seen dramatic benefits from microtechnology, which has made possible most of the devices that we take for granted. The limits of miniaturisation using current technology are rapidly being reached, and the next stage is in the realm of nanotechnology. The goal of the field known as molecular electronics is to reach the point where electronic components are composed of single molecules or single molecular layers. In this field the smallest active component is the molecular diode, and this project is focussed on achieving practical performance from molecular diodes, as a crucial first step in achieving miniaturisation far beyond anything now possible.Read moreRead less
Spectroscopy of Complex Fluids in Flow. Complex fluids are composed of polymers and nano-particles in solution. Under flow these fluids may undergo dramatic molecular and nano-particle orientational and spatial ordering that give rise to a fascinating range of rheological behaviour. This project will use state of the art fluorescence spectroscopy which is able to resolve the orientation of single molecules combined with novel rheo-optic methods to characterise flow induced ordering in these flui ....Spectroscopy of Complex Fluids in Flow. Complex fluids are composed of polymers and nano-particles in solution. Under flow these fluids may undergo dramatic molecular and nano-particle orientational and spatial ordering that give rise to a fascinating range of rheological behaviour. This project will use state of the art fluorescence spectroscopy which is able to resolve the orientation of single molecules combined with novel rheo-optic methods to characterise flow induced ordering in these fluids. The flow induced orientation, spatial distribution and nano-particle/macromolecule interactions will be quantified. Theoretical deficiencies in describing complex fluid flow will be reconciled. The experimental insight gained will be exploited to produce novel molecularly ordered materials.
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Development of the methods to tailor photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles. This project aims at the development of the methods to tailor the photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles. Methods to both enhance and reduce the photocatalytic activity for specific applications will be investigated, and the physical and chemical mechanism of photocatalysis-control will be studied. The method developed will be applied for a commercial scale production of ZnO nanoparticles. The effects of ....Development of the methods to tailor photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles. This project aims at the development of the methods to tailor the photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles. Methods to both enhance and reduce the photocatalytic activity for specific applications will be investigated, and the physical and chemical mechanism of photocatalysis-control will be studied. The method developed will be applied for a commercial scale production of ZnO nanoparticles. The effects of (a) impurity doping inside of the particles, (b) particle coating, (c) size and morphologies of the particles, and (d) ion-adsorption of the particle surface, to the photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanoparticles will be investigated. The methods developed will be applied for a commercial scale production of ZnO nanoparticles by ANT.Read moreRead less
Physics-based equivalent circuit models for nanoporous electrodes. This project aims to develop new physics-based equivalent circuit models for ion/electron coupled dynamics in electrified porous nanomaterials via fusing latest simulation advances with machine learning approach. This project expects to meet the challenge of high-efficient and accurate dynamic models for accelerated design, accurate diagnosis, and optimal operation of electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies. Th ....Physics-based equivalent circuit models for nanoporous electrodes. This project aims to develop new physics-based equivalent circuit models for ion/electron coupled dynamics in electrified porous nanomaterials via fusing latest simulation advances with machine learning approach. This project expects to meet the challenge of high-efficient and accurate dynamic models for accelerated design, accurate diagnosis, and optimal operation of electrochemical energy storage and conversion technologies. The outcome will be a paradigm shift of how equivalent circuit models are developed and used, informed by new scientific knowledge and data. The proliferation of the new models will allow design and operation of more efficient and durable technologies in energy industry, benefitting Australian economy and environment.Read moreRead less
Forces in high salt concentrations: from mineral processing to proteins. The outcomes of this program will have significant contributions to the fundamental understanding of colloidal science, the study of particle suspensions. This project will help answer longstanding questions in the food, pharmaceutical and mining industries, two of which are primary industries for Australia. In these industries, innovative solutions can substantially improve productivity, increasing export potential and re ....Forces in high salt concentrations: from mineral processing to proteins. The outcomes of this program will have significant contributions to the fundamental understanding of colloidal science, the study of particle suspensions. This project will help answer longstanding questions in the food, pharmaceutical and mining industries, two of which are primary industries for Australia. In these industries, innovative solutions can substantially improve productivity, increasing export potential and reducing the environmental impact. The outcomes of this work, in the form of high impact papers and conference presentations, will continue to build and enhance Australia's international research reputation and in time engage industries to transfer and commercialization of the present fundamental study.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of novel microporous metallosilicate adsorbents. Nano-engineered materials will play an enormous role in the 21st century. As our understanding of the molecular structure of materials improves and our manipulation techniques develop, it will become possible to create materials that direct desirable reactions and separations with unprecedented yields and specificity. The proposed work aims to develop novel synthetic microporous metallosilicates using a variety of experimental approach ....Synthesis of novel microporous metallosilicate adsorbents. Nano-engineered materials will play an enormous role in the 21st century. As our understanding of the molecular structure of materials improves and our manipulation techniques develop, it will become possible to create materials that direct desirable reactions and separations with unprecedented yields and specificity. The proposed work aims to develop novel synthetic microporous metallosilicates using a variety of experimental approaches to nano-engineer superior adsorbents for gas separations. We expect the project to contribute to fundamental knowledge of creating tailor-made microporous adsorbents and lead to important fundamental and applied intellectual property for Australian industry.Read moreRead less
Electrostatic catalysis from single-molecule events to macroscopic systems. Electrostatics has important applications in day-to-day technologies, from recycling plastics to photocopying, but the exploration of how static charges affect chemical bonds and bonding is still in its infancy. This project aims to demonstrate the experimental links between the magnitude and polarity of an external electric field and chemical rates, expanding our understanding of chemical reactivity and transforming our ....Electrostatic catalysis from single-molecule events to macroscopic systems. Electrostatics has important applications in day-to-day technologies, from recycling plastics to photocopying, but the exploration of how static charges affect chemical bonds and bonding is still in its infancy. This project aims to demonstrate the experimental links between the magnitude and polarity of an external electric field and chemical rates, expanding our understanding of chemical reactivity and transforming our view of catalysis. By investigating the role of static electricity over systems selected from different sub-disciplines of chemistry, the project will derive the ground and selection rules for reactivity and selectivity by electrostatics. The project is expected to show that for chemical reactions of practical and conceptual value a specific catalyst can be replaced by a generic electric field stimulus, an invisible catalyst, enabling cleaner and cheaper opportunities that current technologies cannot fulfil.Read moreRead less
Understand ion-specific effects under nanoconfinement by multiscale models. Different types of ions with the same charge can behave distinctively in many ionic applications. This so-called ion-specific effect is essential to ion separation, ion sensing, electrochemical energy storage, chemical and biomedical processes and many other industrial applications. Confining ions in nanopores and modulating them via surface electric potential can give rise to new ion-specific effects, enabling novel app ....Understand ion-specific effects under nanoconfinement by multiscale models. Different types of ions with the same charge can behave distinctively in many ionic applications. This so-called ion-specific effect is essential to ion separation, ion sensing, electrochemical energy storage, chemical and biomedical processes and many other industrial applications. Confining ions in nanopores and modulating them via surface electric potential can give rise to new ion-specific effects, enabling novel applications. Capitalising on our recent experimental discoveries, this project aims to integrate new multiscale models to understand ion-specific effects in electroconductive nanoporous materials. The new models will be used to quantitatively predict ion-specific effects in supercapacitor design.Read moreRead less