Conducting coatings for control and eradication of unwanted marine biofilms. Biofilms grow on all surfaces and environments posing environmental threats and economic issues globally, costing billions each year to those attempting to eradicate them. To date, biofilm's detailed response to variations in electrochemically generated redox stress and shear is unknown in marine environments. The project aims at (i) developing novel electrically conducting carbon based paints that are stable in marine ....Conducting coatings for control and eradication of unwanted marine biofilms. Biofilms grow on all surfaces and environments posing environmental threats and economic issues globally, costing billions each year to those attempting to eradicate them. To date, biofilm's detailed response to variations in electrochemically generated redox stress and shear is unknown in marine environments. The project aims at (i) developing novel electrically conducting carbon based paints that are stable in marine environments and (ii) investigating how marine biofilms respond to these coatings. The expected outcome of this project is the development of a green alternative antifouling technology that can be used on demand in marine applications. This provides a new solution for controlling the biofouling of surfaces immersed in oceans.Read moreRead less
Interfacial design for high performance carbon fibre polymer composites. This project aims to develop customisable surfaces on carbon fibres to complement any intended resin for composite materials. Poor fibre-to-matrix adhesion is currently a known weakness of carbon fibre composites, hindering the large scale translation of these materials into mass transport solutions The outcomes of this project will be the development of superior composites and the fundamental knowledge of what interfacial ....Interfacial design for high performance carbon fibre polymer composites. This project aims to develop customisable surfaces on carbon fibres to complement any intended resin for composite materials. Poor fibre-to-matrix adhesion is currently a known weakness of carbon fibre composites, hindering the large scale translation of these materials into mass transport solutions The outcomes of this project will be the development of superior composites and the fundamental knowledge of what interfacial molecular interactions are required to obtain composites able to tolerate high shear forces.Read moreRead less
A design-led approach for multifunctional composites . This project aims to remove some of the limitations of carbon fibre composites by introducing novel functionality into the underlying carbon fibre. The project expects to modify carbon fibres, predict their functionality and develop new high-performance resins. The expected outcomes include enabling carbon composite materials to have high strength-to-weight ratio, durability, toughness, minimal maintenance, without compromising processabilit ....A design-led approach for multifunctional composites . This project aims to remove some of the limitations of carbon fibre composites by introducing novel functionality into the underlying carbon fibre. The project expects to modify carbon fibres, predict their functionality and develop new high-performance resins. The expected outcomes include enabling carbon composite materials to have high strength-to-weight ratio, durability, toughness, minimal maintenance, without compromising processability and the ability to manufacture at high volumes. The benefits should include a significant boost to Australia’s ability to lead economically important manufacturing innovations across a range of sectors including defence, energy and construction. Read moreRead less
Develop Catalyst Materials for Future Fuels by Operando Computation. This project aims to design catalyst materials for the production of future fuels (green ammonia, hydrocarbon and alcohol). Using carbon and nitrogen as energy carriers, these fuels are generated from renewable sources such as wind or solar; they are safe, reliable, and possess high energy density. The outcomes include advance in computational electrochemistry to the Opeando level, electrocatalysts design principles with clearl ....Develop Catalyst Materials for Future Fuels by Operando Computation. This project aims to design catalyst materials for the production of future fuels (green ammonia, hydrocarbon and alcohol). Using carbon and nitrogen as energy carriers, these fuels are generated from renewable sources such as wind or solar; they are safe, reliable, and possess high energy density. The outcomes include advance in computational electrochemistry to the Opeando level, electrocatalysts design principles with clearly articulated reaction mechanisms, and candidate materials for experimental validation. Facilitated by advanced computation techniques and reliable catalyst materials design procedure, this project will address the biggest challenge in future fuel generation, which is the lack of efficient catalyst materials. Read moreRead less
Liquid Metal for quench detection sensors and low resistance joints. This project aims to develop next-generation liquid metal-based superconducting joints and quench detection sensors to enable superconducting magnets to operate in “persistent mode”. This would make a significant contribution to improving the safety and performance of superconducting coil systems at a reduced cost. Furthermore, intelligent features will be formulated to prevent hazardous and inefficient operating conditions. Th ....Liquid Metal for quench detection sensors and low resistance joints. This project aims to develop next-generation liquid metal-based superconducting joints and quench detection sensors to enable superconducting magnets to operate in “persistent mode”. This would make a significant contribution to improving the safety and performance of superconducting coil systems at a reduced cost. Furthermore, intelligent features will be formulated to prevent hazardous and inefficient operating conditions. The expected outcome is that an advanced superconducting coil system with improved stability and safety is delivered with newly developed liquid metal-based materials and relevant fabrication techniques.Read moreRead less
Cost-efficient 2D heterostructures for solar overall water splitting. This project aims to develop novel processes to enable water splitting to generate hydrogen and oxygen under sunlight using cost-efficient 2D van der Waals heterostructures. Enhanced optical absorption and reduced charge transfer distance across the interface are expected to improve the photocatalytic activity. Experimental design and theoretical simulations will be combined to modulate the materials and achieve optimum photoc ....Cost-efficient 2D heterostructures for solar overall water splitting. This project aims to develop novel processes to enable water splitting to generate hydrogen and oxygen under sunlight using cost-efficient 2D van der Waals heterostructures. Enhanced optical absorption and reduced charge transfer distance across the interface are expected to improve the photocatalytic activity. Experimental design and theoretical simulations will be combined to modulate the materials and achieve optimum photocatalytic performances. Expected outcomes of this project include expanded chemistry knowledge and techniques in materials design and synthesis, photophysics and photocatalysis mechanism and solar energy conversion. This will provide significant benefits to clean energy and environmental protections.Read moreRead less
Grown not extracted: high performance plant-based polymer packaging. This project aims to develop high performance, thermoformed paper-like materials to replace petroleum-derived plastic packaging. The materials are made using mechanically broken down waste cellulose fibres, which are then formed into shapes with added barrier layers. The grant aims to control the mechanical treatment for optimum performance, engineer the shape forming process and design laminate structures to produce packaging ....Grown not extracted: high performance plant-based polymer packaging. This project aims to develop high performance, thermoformed paper-like materials to replace petroleum-derived plastic packaging. The materials are made using mechanically broken down waste cellulose fibres, which are then formed into shapes with added barrier layers. The grant aims to control the mechanical treatment for optimum performance, engineer the shape forming process and design laminate structures to produce packaging materials, which have all the advantages of plastic packaging with none of the environmental drawbacks. The grant also aims to develop new methods to characterise these composites. The intended outcome is a new industry manufacturing renewable, biodegradable packaging in Australia.
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Tailoring smart film for energy efficient protected cropping. Cooling cost represents a major running cost for greenhouse, preventing the wide adoption of highly beneficial protected cropping technology. This project aims at solving this critical issue by developing a world-first tailored smart film that can simultaneously reject solar heat, cool down the greenhouse and maximise the yields of crops. This is made possible by advanced spectral engineering and light management with frontier nanostr ....Tailoring smart film for energy efficient protected cropping. Cooling cost represents a major running cost for greenhouse, preventing the wide adoption of highly beneficial protected cropping technology. This project aims at solving this critical issue by developing a world-first tailored smart film that can simultaneously reject solar heat, cool down the greenhouse and maximise the yields of crops. This is made possible by advanced spectral engineering and light management with frontier nanostructures combined with a scalable and low cost manufacturing process. Deliverables of the project include game-changing energy efficient solutions for protected cropping and marketable smart films readily integratable with existing greenhouse for dramatic energy saving and immediate economic and social benefits.Read moreRead less
A systems materials engineering strategy for hybrid ion capacitors. This project aims to develop a data science-driven approach to allow the use of materials systems engineering strategy to quantify the cell-level design of electrochemical energy storage devices such as hybrid ion capacitors. The intended outcomes of this project include new dynamic equivalent circuit models and a new quantitative approach to make the electrodes pairing predictable and realise their optimal design against the ne ....A systems materials engineering strategy for hybrid ion capacitors. This project aims to develop a data science-driven approach to allow the use of materials systems engineering strategy to quantify the cell-level design of electrochemical energy storage devices such as hybrid ion capacitors. The intended outcomes of this project include new dynamic equivalent circuit models and a new quantitative approach to make the electrodes pairing predictable and realise their optimal design against the needs of the specific applications. It will also demonstrate a combined strategy of data science and discipline-specific experiments and theories to advance the emerging field of materials systems engineering. Read moreRead less