Surface modification of semiconducting organic charge transfer complexes with metal nanoparticles to create a new class of multifunctional materials. This project aims to deliver a facile and cheap method to produce a class of nanostructured composite materials to be used in applications which will have environmental and social benefits such as photocatalyst development for water purification, biosensing and the creation of antibacterial fabrics to prevent the spread of infection.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR180200015
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$589,007.00
Summary
Combination of electrochemistry with sono to destroy and detoxify PFAS. Previously the major means of dealing with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is by adsorption, to collect and remove PFAS from contaminated sites. However, PFAS still exist, non-degraded and waiting for destruction. Targeting slurry waste from current remediation / adsorption plants, this project aims to efficiently degrade PFAS by combining electrochemical oxidation with sono-chemistry to enhance degradation capac ....Combination of electrochemistry with sono to destroy and detoxify PFAS. Previously the major means of dealing with per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is by adsorption, to collect and remove PFAS from contaminated sites. However, PFAS still exist, non-degraded and waiting for destruction. Targeting slurry waste from current remediation / adsorption plants, this project aims to efficiently degrade PFAS by combining electrochemical oxidation with sono-chemistry to enhance degradation capacity, to accelerate PFAS desorption / transportation from slurry waste, to avoid electrode fouling and to detoxify PFAS. The expected outcome of this project is to clean up contaminated sites, including PFAS / precursors and other persistent organic pollutants, leading to significant environmental benefits.Read moreRead less
Carbon-based electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage and water desalination. Clean energy and water resource are two critical issues for an environmentally sustainable Australia. The research project will lead to the discovery of innovative carbon-based electrode materials with well-designed physical and chemical properties for clean energy storage and alternative water desalination technology.
Band-Gap Engineered Visible Light Photocatalysts: Enabling Technologies for Sustainable Energy and the Environment. This program will contribute significantly to knowledge advancement in colloid chemistry, nanomaterials and electrochemistry, and is firmly embedded in the National Research Priorities of Frontier Science and an Environmentally Sustainable Australia. In particular, it addresses the goals of water and low emission energy supply. The outcomes of this research will advance a new class ....Band-Gap Engineered Visible Light Photocatalysts: Enabling Technologies for Sustainable Energy and the Environment. This program will contribute significantly to knowledge advancement in colloid chemistry, nanomaterials and electrochemistry, and is firmly embedded in the National Research Priorities of Frontier Science and an Environmentally Sustainable Australia. In particular, it addresses the goals of water and low emission energy supply. The outcomes of this research will advance a new class of visible-light active photocatalysts that underpin the development of hydrogen generation, low cost solar cells and water purification using sunlight. Such technologies will transform the Australian energy and environmental industries and speed up the transition from a fossil fuel economy to a renewable energy economy.Read moreRead less
Designing New Visible-light Active Photocatalysts for Efficient CO2 Reduction. The increasing concern over Climate Change has triggered great efforts in developing new CO2 capture technologies. The outcomes of this program will lead to a new class of photocatalysts that underpin the development of economical CO2 reduction for clean fuel production using sunlight. Such technologies will speed up the transition of Australian environmental and energy industries from fossil fuel economy to renewable ....Designing New Visible-light Active Photocatalysts for Efficient CO2 Reduction. The increasing concern over Climate Change has triggered great efforts in developing new CO2 capture technologies. The outcomes of this program will lead to a new class of photocatalysts that underpin the development of economical CO2 reduction for clean fuel production using sunlight. Such technologies will speed up the transition of Australian environmental and energy industries from fossil fuel economy to renewable energy economy. The research program will contribute significantly to knowledge advancement in nanomaterials, surface chemistry, and photochemistry, and falls in the National Research Priority Area of 'Environmentally Sustainable Australia' addressing the key goals of Climate Change and low emission energy supply.Read moreRead less
New biosensing strategies based on bipolar electrochemiluminescence. Chemical analysis is a vital activity in our society, which is to a large extent confined to scientific laboratories and carried out with complex instrumentation. The breakthrough technology envisioned in this proposal will pave the way for simple, low-cost tests which can be used by non-scientists. The development of small, portable sensors for applications ranging from pollution monitoring to health testing, will enable ordi ....New biosensing strategies based on bipolar electrochemiluminescence. Chemical analysis is a vital activity in our society, which is to a large extent confined to scientific laboratories and carried out with complex instrumentation. The breakthrough technology envisioned in this proposal will pave the way for simple, low-cost tests which can be used by non-scientists. The development of small, portable sensors for applications ranging from pollution monitoring to health testing, will enable ordinary people to gain knowledge about the concentrations of molecular compounds in their environments and in themselves. This will stimulate economic and social benefits related to environmental testing and early disease diagnosis and generate new commercial opportunities for the Australian biotechnology industry.Read moreRead less
Development of Nanostructured TiO2 Electrodes for Photoelectrocatalytic Degradation of Organic and Microbial Pollutants in Wastewater. Australia is one of the driest continents and re-use of water/wastewater has been an urgent issue. Photoelectrocatalytic oxidation processes based on nanostructured TiO2 electrode are able to mineralize common aquatic organic and microbial pollutants. The proposed technology has the advantages of strong oxidation power and cheap production cost, and it is chemi ....Development of Nanostructured TiO2 Electrodes for Photoelectrocatalytic Degradation of Organic and Microbial Pollutants in Wastewater. Australia is one of the driest continents and re-use of water/wastewater has been an urgent issue. Photoelectrocatalytic oxidation processes based on nanostructured TiO2 electrode are able to mineralize common aquatic organic and microbial pollutants. The proposed technology has the advantages of strong oxidation power and cheap production cost, and it is chemically stable, robust under UV illumination, and most importantly, environmentally friendly. The success of the project can place Australia in a leading position of developing cutting-edge TiO2 nano-material-based photoelectrochemical technologies for environmental wastewater treatment and drinking water disinfection. Read moreRead less
New Synthetic Routes to the Immobilisation of Mixed Valence Transition Metal Complexes on Conducting Metal Oxides. Highly coloured, electrochemically active transition metal dyes may find application electrochromic devices, where they may switch between contrasting coloured forms through a simple redox reaction. A prerequisite is that the dye be immobilised onto a solid conducting support whilst preserving the electrochemical and optical properties of the dye found in solution. This project tack ....New Synthetic Routes to the Immobilisation of Mixed Valence Transition Metal Complexes on Conducting Metal Oxides. Highly coloured, electrochemically active transition metal dyes may find application electrochromic devices, where they may switch between contrasting coloured forms through a simple redox reaction. A prerequisite is that the dye be immobilised onto a solid conducting support whilst preserving the electrochemical and optical properties of the dye found in solution. This project tackles this problem through a combination of organic and inorganic synthesis to develop new electrochromic dyes that may be attached to mesoporous titania.Read moreRead less
Two-dimensional nanoporous structured high performance gas evolution electrocatalysts. This project aims to develop nano-catalysts with high catalytic activity and rapid gas detachment properties for efficient fuel gas production. Heterogeneous electrocatalytic gas evolution reactions are important for clean energy generation and storage technologies, but high overpotentials caused by slow gaseous products’ detachment from catalyst surface severely hinder their efficiencies. Expected outcomes in ....Two-dimensional nanoporous structured high performance gas evolution electrocatalysts. This project aims to develop nano-catalysts with high catalytic activity and rapid gas detachment properties for efficient fuel gas production. Heterogeneous electrocatalytic gas evolution reactions are important for clean energy generation and storage technologies, but high overpotentials caused by slow gaseous products’ detachment from catalyst surface severely hinder their efficiencies. Expected outcomes include insights into gas bubble formation and evolution during electrocatalysis, effective catalyst structures to mitigate negative effects of gas bubble formation, and improved catalytic efficiency of gas evolution reactions and develop high performance electrocatalysts for fuel gas production.Read moreRead less
Electrochemically Driven Molybdoenzyme Catalysis. Enzymes that catalyse oxidation and reduction reactions need to exchange electrons with their substrate and this supply of electrons needs to be sustained. Artificially reconstituted systems can be developed where the enzyme is coupled with an electrode and the current (electrons) exchanged during the reaction are measured directly. In this project we will reveal whether some unusual and unexplained electrochemical phenomena seen before are relat ....Electrochemically Driven Molybdoenzyme Catalysis. Enzymes that catalyse oxidation and reduction reactions need to exchange electrons with their substrate and this supply of electrons needs to be sustained. Artificially reconstituted systems can be developed where the enzyme is coupled with an electrode and the current (electrons) exchanged during the reaction are measured directly. In this project we will reveal whether some unusual and unexplained electrochemical phenomena seen before are related to the properties of the enzymes themselves or the ways in which their experiments have been conducted.Read moreRead less