Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100616
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$421,574.00
Summary
Development of high-performance flame-retardant one-component epoxy resins. This project will create a new class of phosphorus/imidazole oligomers for single-component epoxy resins with superior storage stability, fire retardancy and mechanical properties. By establishing a fundamental understanding of the structure-composition-property relationships of one-component epoxy resins, it will address two major challenges - high reactivity and short shelf life, and poor flame retardancy and mechanica ....Development of high-performance flame-retardant one-component epoxy resins. This project will create a new class of phosphorus/imidazole oligomers for single-component epoxy resins with superior storage stability, fire retardancy and mechanical properties. By establishing a fundamental understanding of the structure-composition-property relationships of one-component epoxy resins, it will address two major challenges - high reactivity and short shelf life, and poor flame retardancy and mechanical properties, which limit practical applications. This project will develop environmentally benign, flame-retardant oligomers, reducing fire hazards, protecting lives, property and the environment, by replacing current flammable epoxy resins used in electrical, construction and transportation.Read moreRead less
Fire-Retardant Composite Resins for Bushfire-Safe Wind Farm Infrastructures. This project aims to develop advanced fire-retardant composite resins for manufacturing bushfire-safe wind farm infrastructures. The innovation of the project is the development of a new class of low-cost, novel, highly effective fire retardants and their value-added fire-retardant composite resins with well-preserved physical properties. This will be achieved by understanding the composition-property relationship of fi ....Fire-Retardant Composite Resins for Bushfire-Safe Wind Farm Infrastructures. This project aims to develop advanced fire-retardant composite resins for manufacturing bushfire-safe wind farm infrastructures. The innovation of the project is the development of a new class of low-cost, novel, highly effective fire retardants and their value-added fire-retardant composite resins with well-preserved physical properties. This will be achieved by understanding the composition-property relationship of fire retardants and optimising their synthetic parameters. The project will help position Australia’s advanced composite manufacturing at the forefront of technology. It will also accelerate Australia’s energy transition to renewables by enabling bushfire-safe wind farm infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Bioinspired Ceramifiable Fire-Retardant Composite Coatings. This project aims to design bioinspired, adhesive, ceramifiable fire-retardant coatings through understanding their composition-property relationship and fire-retardant mechanism. The fire-retardant coatings are then applied to typical polymer foams to create fire-safe building thermal insulation materials. This project will generate new knowledge in materials science that helps to expedite next-generation advanced fire-retardant coatin ....Bioinspired Ceramifiable Fire-Retardant Composite Coatings. This project aims to design bioinspired, adhesive, ceramifiable fire-retardant coatings through understanding their composition-property relationship and fire-retardant mechanism. The fire-retardant coatings are then applied to typical polymer foams to create fire-safe building thermal insulation materials. This project will generate new knowledge in materials science that helps to expedite next-generation advanced fire-retardant coatings for a variety of flammable substrates. Expected outcomes of this project are cost-effective fire-retardant coatings and fire-safe, inexpensive thermal insulation materials. This project will bring significant economic benefits to Australia and help to create fire-resilient and energy-efficient buildings.Read moreRead less
Smart materials for atmospheric water management and water harvesting. Fresh water is a scarce resource in many parts of the globe but uncomfortably over-supplied in other regions. Dehumidifying machines, such as air conditioners, are extensively used in humid climates to enhance human comfort, but with great energy costs. Likewise, the production of potable water in remote dry regions is energy intensive. We propose novel hyper-absorbent desiccating polymers combined into sorption-powered engin ....Smart materials for atmospheric water management and water harvesting. Fresh water is a scarce resource in many parts of the globe but uncomfortably over-supplied in other regions. Dehumidifying machines, such as air conditioners, are extensively used in humid climates to enhance human comfort, but with great energy costs. Likewise, the production of potable water in remote dry regions is energy intensive. We propose novel hyper-absorbent desiccating polymers combined into sorption-powered engines inspired by nastic movements in plants to develop extremely efficient dehumidifiers and water harvesting machines. These polymer actuators can help address the auto-acceleration of climate change caused by the increasing use of air conditioners and provide cheap, clean water for remote communities.Read moreRead less
Nano-engineering of hierarchical catalysts for renewable chemicals. Producing high-value chemicals based on renewable alternatives -biomass resources is vital for the climate and a sustainable economy. This project will develop a unique nano-engineering approach to design hierarchical catalysts for the selective conversion of biomass into tailor-made products. Advanced in situ spectroscopic techniques will be employed to establish the structure-reactivity relationship of working catalysts and th ....Nano-engineering of hierarchical catalysts for renewable chemicals. Producing high-value chemicals based on renewable alternatives -biomass resources is vital for the climate and a sustainable economy. This project will develop a unique nano-engineering approach to design hierarchical catalysts for the selective conversion of biomass into tailor-made products. Advanced in situ spectroscopic techniques will be employed to establish the structure-reactivity relationship of working catalysts and thereby manipulate the key factors governing the activity/selectivity. Such cutting-edge knowledge gained is crucial for optimising process efficiency and resource utilisation, which is essential for the success of the biorefining industry and a more environmentally-friendly chemical economy in Australia.Read moreRead less
Upcycling of mixed plastics from bioprocessed municipal solid waste. This project aims to develop a scalable catalytic process that can sustainably upcycle mixed plastics from bioprocessed municipal solid waste into hydrogen and valuable carbon nanotube products. The process will integrate pyrolysis, reforming, and carbon growth technology into a single reactor, enabled by the rational design of multifunctional catalysts. Through computational process simulation and optimization, life cycle anal ....Upcycling of mixed plastics from bioprocessed municipal solid waste. This project aims to develop a scalable catalytic process that can sustainably upcycle mixed plastics from bioprocessed municipal solid waste into hydrogen and valuable carbon nanotube products. The process will integrate pyrolysis, reforming, and carbon growth technology into a single reactor, enabled by the rational design of multifunctional catalysts. Through computational process simulation and optimization, life cycle analysis, and techno-economic assessment, investment and operational costs at larger scale are anticipated to be greatly reduced. By mitigating mixed waste plastics from going to landfills, the project will also provide significant benefits to clean energy production and advanced material manufacturing in Australia. Read moreRead less