Cold catalysis for water splitting. This project aims to develop photocatalysts via AC magnetic field through nanoscale heating for efficient H2 generation. This project is to introduce cold catalysis concept, which heats catalysts only but not solution, thus called cold catalysis, in the area of production of renewable energy. Expected outcome is the creation of clean and low cost catalysts to effectively harvest the chemical energy from the sun via splitting of water into H2 and O2 without cau ....Cold catalysis for water splitting. This project aims to develop photocatalysts via AC magnetic field through nanoscale heating for efficient H2 generation. This project is to introduce cold catalysis concept, which heats catalysts only but not solution, thus called cold catalysis, in the area of production of renewable energy. Expected outcome is the creation of clean and low cost catalysts to effectively harvest the chemical energy from the sun via splitting of water into H2 and O2 without causing any environmental damage. This unique technology will also help to address clean energy generation, which is in line with H2 economy plan by Australia government, and provide opportunities for new industries that will benefit Australian economy.Read moreRead less
Integrated composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. This project aims to develop multifunctional composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from water, nitrogen gas and renewable energy under ambient conditions. Hydrophobic subnanometre water channels will be integrated with an electrocatalyst to control supply of water as vapour, thereby effectively minimising hydrogen evolution reaction and enabling high-efficiency ammonia synthesis. Expected outcomes i ....Integrated composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. This project aims to develop multifunctional composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from water, nitrogen gas and renewable energy under ambient conditions. Hydrophobic subnanometre water channels will be integrated with an electrocatalyst to control supply of water as vapour, thereby effectively minimising hydrogen evolution reaction and enabling high-efficiency ammonia synthesis. Expected outcomes include enhanced capacity in developing electrochemical reaction systems, and new fundamental knowledge of electrocatalyst design and reaction engineering. This should provide significant economic and environmental benefits by developing a sustainable manufacturing technology to transform the century-old ammonia industry.Read moreRead less
Nanoscale heating towards high efficient nitrogen reduction reduction. This project aims to develop nanoscale heating technique using AC magnetic field for efficient synthesis of ammonia, widely used for fertiliser and having potential for hydrogen storage. This project is to introduce nanoscale heating concept by heating catalyst only but not solution in electrochemical catalysis to achieve high catalytic activity. Expected outcome is the creation of low cost catalysts having high selectivity a ....Nanoscale heating towards high efficient nitrogen reduction reduction. This project aims to develop nanoscale heating technique using AC magnetic field for efficient synthesis of ammonia, widely used for fertiliser and having potential for hydrogen storage. This project is to introduce nanoscale heating concept by heating catalyst only but not solution in electrochemical catalysis to achieve high catalytic activity. Expected outcome is the creation of low cost catalysts having high selectivity and formation rate for ammonia production. This unique technology has the potential to replace current ammonia production based on Haber-Bosch process, which consumes 2% of world energy and contributes 3% of overall CO2 emission. The project provides opportunities for new industries that will benefit Australian economy.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL200100049
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,906,992.00
Summary
Nanofluidic Membranes for Sustainable Energy Future. This project aims to create a novel class of advanced membranes by making fundamental breakthroughs in nanofluidics, and harnessing this for developing new renewable energy and low-energy separation technologies. This project addresses the key challenges in understanding selective mass transport at the angstrom scale, thereby allowing the development of innovative materials design strategies to realise the ultrafast molecular and ionic permeat ....Nanofluidic Membranes for Sustainable Energy Future. This project aims to create a novel class of advanced membranes by making fundamental breakthroughs in nanofluidics, and harnessing this for developing new renewable energy and low-energy separation technologies. This project addresses the key challenges in understanding selective mass transport at the angstrom scale, thereby allowing the development of innovative materials design strategies to realise the ultrafast molecular and ionic permeation, and the ultrahigh selectivities observed in biological cell membranes. This new cross-disciplinary research will benefit Australia by the development of new materials for accelerating renewable hydrogen and biofuel futures, and enabling sustainable production of energy materials.Read moreRead less
Early Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IE230100048
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$466,097.00
Summary
Ammonium-selective membranes to shift water industry into circular economy. The project aims to develop ammonium-selective membranes which are urgently needed in Australian key industries for sustainable ammonia recovery. The project expects to construct the membranes to achieve desirable pore size and surface functionality for fast and selective ammonia transport. The developed membranes should make ammonia recovery from wastewater more effective and sustainable, leading to the healthy waterway ....Ammonium-selective membranes to shift water industry into circular economy. The project aims to develop ammonium-selective membranes which are urgently needed in Australian key industries for sustainable ammonia recovery. The project expects to construct the membranes to achieve desirable pore size and surface functionality for fast and selective ammonia transport. The developed membranes should make ammonia recovery from wastewater more effective and sustainable, leading to the healthy waterway and reduced energy for both ammonia production and removal. Recovered ammonia expects to produce valuable products, supporting agriculture industry and hydrogen economy. The developed membranes should enable water industry's shift into circular economy, providing significant economic and environmental benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Crystal engineering of membranes for chiral separation . This project addresses the urgent challenge of chiral separation in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals by creating a new class of membranes produced by engineering functionalised porous framework crystals. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding how membrane chemistry and architecture can be used to achieve highly selective, fast chiral molecule transport. The expected outcomes of the project include ne ....Crystal engineering of membranes for chiral separation . This project addresses the urgent challenge of chiral separation in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals by creating a new class of membranes produced by engineering functionalised porous framework crystals. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding how membrane chemistry and architecture can be used to achieve highly selective, fast chiral molecule transport. The expected outcomes of the project include new membrane compositions, design principles, fabrication techniques, and proof-of-concept production of scalable, high-performance composite membranes. This project should produce significant economic and environmental benefits in the development of advanced membranes, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals.Read moreRead less
Extremely lightweight and superelastic cellular materials. This project aims to synthesise a new generation of extremely lightweight, superelastic yet mechanically robust graphene-based cellular materials, develop new strategies to strengthen and functionalise them with other functional polymers or nanoparticles, and explore new techniques to characterise their unique mechanical, electrical and thermal properties for a range of potential applications. The new knowledge obtained would significant ....Extremely lightweight and superelastic cellular materials. This project aims to synthesise a new generation of extremely lightweight, superelastic yet mechanically robust graphene-based cellular materials, develop new strategies to strengthen and functionalise them with other functional polymers or nanoparticles, and explore new techniques to characterise their unique mechanical, electrical and thermal properties for a range of potential applications. The new knowledge obtained would significantly advance our understanding of extremely lightweight and multifunctional cellular materials as well as graphene-based bulk materials. Project outcomes are expected to help generate high value-added technological applications from natural graphite.Read moreRead less
Engineering the Microstructure of Electrodes for Advanced Fuel Cells. A polymer solution-based integration technique is proposed to be developed to fabricate polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, allowing for effective engineering of the porous networks and interfaces within electrodes and cells. This novel systems materials engineering approach is expected to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional hot pressing method, enabling precise integration of nanostructured electrodes and membrane ....Engineering the Microstructure of Electrodes for Advanced Fuel Cells. A polymer solution-based integration technique is proposed to be developed to fabricate polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, allowing for effective engineering of the porous networks and interfaces within electrodes and cells. This novel systems materials engineering approach is expected to overcome the drawbacks of the conventional hot pressing method, enabling precise integration of nanostructured electrodes and membrane into high-performance, flexible fuel cells. The outcomes of this research aim to provide a unique opportunity for Australia to become a world leader in the rapidly-emerging clean energy technology, and critical manufacturing of new energy generation systems for domestic uses and exports, thereby producing important economic benefits.Read moreRead less
Unlocking the ion selectivity of lithium superionic conductor membranes. This project aims to address a longstanding challenge in designing advanced membranes to enable sustainable lithium refining by unlocking the ion selectivity of lithium superionic conductors. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of membrane science and emerging nanoionics by using interdisciplinary approaches. Expected outcomes of this project include a novel class of lithium separation membranes and ....Unlocking the ion selectivity of lithium superionic conductor membranes. This project aims to address a longstanding challenge in designing advanced membranes to enable sustainable lithium refining by unlocking the ion selectivity of lithium superionic conductors. This project expects to generate new knowledge in the areas of membrane science and emerging nanoionics by using interdisciplinary approaches. Expected outcomes of this project include a novel class of lithium separation membranes and their fabrication techniques. This should provide significant benefits in improving lithium extraction and recycling efficiency, reducing their environmental impact and building the research capacity in advanced membrane manufacturing and critical mineral refining in Australia. Read moreRead less
Developing novel two-dimensional hybrid nanostructures for renewable energy. This project aims to develop novel two-dimensional (2D) hybrid nanostructures with new physical and chemical properties. This innovation intends to address the critical challenges of control functionalisation of 2D hybrid nanostructures: essential to understanding the potential of nanomaterials in key applications of energy generation. Expected outcomes include scalable technology to produce functional 2D nanomaterials ....Developing novel two-dimensional hybrid nanostructures for renewable energy. This project aims to develop novel two-dimensional (2D) hybrid nanostructures with new physical and chemical properties. This innovation intends to address the critical challenges of control functionalisation of 2D hybrid nanostructures: essential to understanding the potential of nanomaterials in key applications of energy generation. Expected outcomes include scalable technology to produce functional 2D nanomaterials and hybrid nanostructures to accelerate research to advanced materials and frontier material manufacturing technologies. This project will provide significant social and economic benefits to Australia in the growth of sectors in advanced materials, energy generation, and advanced manufacturing.Read moreRead less