Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668257
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,200,000.00
Summary
Combinatorial Deposition and Characterisation Facility for New Alloy Thin Film Materials. Australia's competitive edge in materials research is key to maintaining our economic prosperity. Infrastructure that enables our researchers to synthesize novel materials with precise control over composition and structure is crucial to maintaining our strengths in this field. The proposed infrastructure will accelerate progress on the preparation and characterisation of new alloy and nanostructured materi ....Combinatorial Deposition and Characterisation Facility for New Alloy Thin Film Materials. Australia's competitive edge in materials research is key to maintaining our economic prosperity. Infrastructure that enables our researchers to synthesize novel materials with precise control over composition and structure is crucial to maintaining our strengths in this field. The proposed infrastructure will accelerate progress on the preparation and characterisation of new alloy and nanostructured materials and will pay dividends by providing early access to the best materials. This will give our energy technology, biomedical engineering, tooling, electronics and mining industries a competitive edge. Access to this new generation equipment will enhance our pool of highly skilled materials technologists.Read moreRead less
First-Principles Engineering of Advanced Multicomponent Materials for Clean, Energy Efficient Thermoelectric and Catalytic Technologies. The quantum mechanical, first-principles calculations for studying advanced multicomponent materials and surfaces of high current technological interest will produce significant results as well as fundamental knowledge of key mechanisms that will aid in the design and tailoring of new catalytic and thermoelectric materials. The project is directly relevant to ....First-Principles Engineering of Advanced Multicomponent Materials for Clean, Energy Efficient Thermoelectric and Catalytic Technologies. The quantum mechanical, first-principles calculations for studying advanced multicomponent materials and surfaces of high current technological interest will produce significant results as well as fundamental knowledge of key mechanisms that will aid in the design and tailoring of new catalytic and thermoelectric materials. The project is directly relevant to the designated priority area - Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries. It will involve collaboration with leading international experts, thus enhancing Australia's knowledge base and research capacity. This clearly has immediate benefits through the transfer and propagation of cutting-edge knowledge and skills to students and post-docs.Read moreRead less
Kesterite solar cell coated architectural stainless steel. This project aims to develop cost-effective, high-performance kesterite architectural stainless steel coated with solar cells for application in roofing, skin and facades of smart buildings. The project will integrate expertise in producing kesterite solar cells with expertise in manufacturing new steel to eliminate toxic, scarce materials and high-cost processes employed in conventional solar-driven steel. The initial target of the proj ....Kesterite solar cell coated architectural stainless steel. This project aims to develop cost-effective, high-performance kesterite architectural stainless steel coated with solar cells for application in roofing, skin and facades of smart buildings. The project will integrate expertise in producing kesterite solar cells with expertise in manufacturing new steel to eliminate toxic, scarce materials and high-cost processes employed in conventional solar-driven steel. The initial target of the project would be to increase kesterite cell efficiency to beyond 10 per cent, and ultimately beyond 17 per cent, but still at a low cost.Read moreRead less
Efficient, durable and green chalcopyrite solar powered building steel. This project aims to develop a long-life, stable, high-performance, and green chalcopyrite solar powered building steel, which is expected to offer a shapable truly green building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) product for building deployment. This will be realized by synergising multidiscipline expertise, integrating established technologies of steel surface treatment, steel and solar cell integration and shaping, high-effi ....Efficient, durable and green chalcopyrite solar powered building steel. This project aims to develop a long-life, stable, high-performance, and green chalcopyrite solar powered building steel, which is expected to offer a shapable truly green building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) product for building deployment. This will be realized by synergising multidiscipline expertise, integrating established technologies of steel surface treatment, steel and solar cell integration and shaping, high-efficiency chalcopyrite, identified strategies for tackling its durability and toxicity, and advanced macro-to-micro characterizations. The project completion will accelerate the transition to the zero-emission building, establish Australia's excellence in green steel for BIPV, and access a share in the soaring BIPV market.Read moreRead less
Defect control for high-performance green kesterites energy materials. This project will tackle the fundamental challenge of defect control of the quaternary compound kesterite, revolutionizing the way we can understand the hidden defect-evolution process and design accordingly effective defect-control approaches. This will be realized by a systematic approach integrating multiscale materials characterization, process and materials modeling, and linking microscopic local chemical potential and m ....Defect control for high-performance green kesterites energy materials. This project will tackle the fundamental challenge of defect control of the quaternary compound kesterite, revolutionizing the way we can understand the hidden defect-evolution process and design accordingly effective defect-control approaches. This will be realized by a systematic approach integrating multiscale materials characterization, process and materials modeling, and linking microscopic local chemical potential and macroscopic processing conditions, and associated compound properties and device performance to control defects evolution. Successfully achieved, this project will realize full potential of kesterite in photovoltaic and photoelectrochemical applications, and leading to new discoveries in other compound energy materials.Read moreRead less
Ultrathin III-V Solar Cells via Crack-Assisted Layer Exfoliation. III-V semiconductors are excellent photovoltaic materials with highest demonstrated solar-to-electricity conversion efficiencies, but find limited usage in terrestrial applications due to high material and fabrication costs. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of III-V solar cells by developing ultrathin III-V semiconductors via crack-assisted layer transfer approach and epitaxy-free fabrication via heterojunction ....Ultrathin III-V Solar Cells via Crack-Assisted Layer Exfoliation. III-V semiconductors are excellent photovoltaic materials with highest demonstrated solar-to-electricity conversion efficiencies, but find limited usage in terrestrial applications due to high material and fabrication costs. This project aims to improve the cost-effectiveness of III-V solar cells by developing ultrathin III-V semiconductors via crack-assisted layer transfer approach and epitaxy-free fabrication via heterojunction architectures, paving the way for cost-effective, high-efficiency, flexible solar cells. The expected outcomes include a disruptive technology for integrated photovoltaics, novel contact and passivation materials, as well as new knowledge generated in materials science and optoelectronics disciplines.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100188
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,000,000.00
Summary
Epitaxial growth facility for advanced materials. An advanced materials fabrication facility accessible to all Australian researchers will be established. This will allow crystal growth at the atomic level for novel materials with applications including fundamental physics, nanocomposites, energy storage and conversion systems, and solar cells.
Structure-Activity Relationships in Silicon-based Photovoltaics Through Atomic Scale Microscopy. This project aims to develop new design principles for silicon-based photovoltaics (PVs) through a comprehensive study of atomic-scale structures and phenomena in PV materials. The development of more efficient photovoltaic materials is of major global importance, given the pressing need for clean and renewable sources of energy. Australia has international leadership in developing solar cell technol ....Structure-Activity Relationships in Silicon-based Photovoltaics Through Atomic Scale Microscopy. This project aims to develop new design principles for silicon-based photovoltaics (PVs) through a comprehensive study of atomic-scale structures and phenomena in PV materials. The development of more efficient photovoltaic materials is of major global importance, given the pressing need for clean and renewable sources of energy. Australia has international leadership in developing solar cell technologies, and the ideal natural environment to exploit these technologies. The fundamental insights derived in this project, such as detailed 3D maps of dopant distributions at the atomic scale, will bolster Australia's international reputation in the field and provide better control in the design of PV devices. Read moreRead less
Design of high performance heat sink composites. Heat sink composites are advanced materials that have the very substantial but widely untapped potential to reduce Society's energy consumption by means of utilizing waste energy or through energy-efficient temperature control. This Project uses computational analysis and parallel experimentation to design optimum heat-sink composites for highly energy-efficient temperature control of chemical batteries or electronic components as well as the mean ....Design of high performance heat sink composites. Heat sink composites are advanced materials that have the very substantial but widely untapped potential to reduce Society's energy consumption by means of utilizing waste energy or through energy-efficient temperature control. This Project uses computational analysis and parallel experimentation to design optimum heat-sink composites for highly energy-efficient temperature control of chemical batteries or electronic components as well as the means for the efficient heating/cooling of buildings. The outcomes of the project will lay the scientific foundation for the industrial scale development of advanced heat sinks that will lower energy costs and decrease climate changing emissions. This represents a new market for Australian industry.Read moreRead less
Increase in Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 through Intervalence Charge Transfer. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has many proposed and realised applications in energy and the environment. The main problem that has hindered development and commercialisation of devices using TiO2 is its low photocatalytic activity, which results from its poor absorption of visible and infrared light. Most researchers modify the properties of TiO2 by conventional electrochemical methods to improve its performance but the ....Increase in Photocatalytic Activity of TiO2 through Intervalence Charge Transfer. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) has many proposed and realised applications in energy and the environment. The main problem that has hindered development and commercialisation of devices using TiO2 is its low photocatalytic activity, which results from its poor absorption of visible and infrared light. Most researchers modify the properties of TiO2 by conventional electrochemical methods to improve its performance but these attempts have been of limited success. The present research involves a completely new approach to the problem, which is based on the method used in the heat treatment of sapphire to improve its colour. This approach uses a phenomenon involving the modification of the optical properties to improve its absorption of light.Read moreRead less