Biomimetic ligands for catalytic iron-mediated degradation of contaminants. This project aims to develop and apply ligands attached to solid supports that bind iron and which, on activation, form high valence state iron species capable of catalytically oxidising contaminants present in waters and wastewaters. Of particular interest in this work are ligands that are simple analogues of biological molecules and which are stable in the presence of the high valent iron species formed following activ ....Biomimetic ligands for catalytic iron-mediated degradation of contaminants. This project aims to develop and apply ligands attached to solid supports that bind iron and which, on activation, form high valence state iron species capable of catalytically oxidising contaminants present in waters and wastewaters. Of particular interest in this work are ligands that are simple analogues of biological molecules and which are stable in the presence of the high valent iron species formed following activation. The end result of this project is a water treatment process suited to the effective removal of trace contaminants such as hormones, pharmaceuticals and pesticides from wastewaters such that the treated waters are suitable for discharge to pristine environments or to reuse for potable purposes.Read moreRead less
Reverse engineering nature: metal extraction through mineral replacement. This project aims to find new methods of copper recovery from low grade copper ores, which are currently uneconomic to mine. In nature, at the top of ore deposits and just below the water-table, is a region known as the supergene zone. Here mild oxidizing reactions take place causing primary ore minerals such as chalcopyrite to be replaced by more copper-rich, less refractory minerals. These processes are driven by disso ....Reverse engineering nature: metal extraction through mineral replacement. This project aims to find new methods of copper recovery from low grade copper ores, which are currently uneconomic to mine. In nature, at the top of ore deposits and just below the water-table, is a region known as the supergene zone. Here mild oxidizing reactions take place causing primary ore minerals such as chalcopyrite to be replaced by more copper-rich, less refractory minerals. These processes are driven by dissolution re-precipitation reactions (CDR reactions) and in many CDR reactions, the reaction mechanism, rather than intensive properties such as pressure and temperature, control the nature of the products and the overall reaction process. This project will explore the mechanism and controls on these reactions to see if they can be utilized in the mining industry to economically extract copper from low grade ores.
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Electrode-Supported Ionogels for Reversible Energy Storage. The project aims to generate an understanding of electrode-supported ionic liquid gel films to form the basis for the rational design and development of new energy storage technology. For the world to truly move into a new age of low carbon power, it needs transformational battery technology. The creation of novel ionic liquid systems to capture redox-active species would allow for revolutionary designs with the potential to eliminate m ....Electrode-Supported Ionogels for Reversible Energy Storage. The project aims to generate an understanding of electrode-supported ionic liquid gel films to form the basis for the rational design and development of new energy storage technology. For the world to truly move into a new age of low carbon power, it needs transformational battery technology. The creation of novel ionic liquid systems to capture redox-active species would allow for revolutionary designs with the potential to eliminate membranes, with major advantages for charging/discharging speed and deep cyclability. This would directly translate to storage systems that combine high power with high energy density.Read moreRead less
Renewable solar hydrogen generated from waste streams. Sunlight is the largest available carbon-neutral energy source, with enough energy striking the planet in one hour to satisfy our current requirements for about a year. With the novel catalysts designed in this project, we will use this energy to simultaneously generate hydrogen and destroy organic pollutants by oxidation.
Adding hydride punch to transition metal complexes for CO2 electroreduction. This project plans to apply an innovative methodology to the selective conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) waste into useful C1 chemicals. The new inorganic chemistry approach is based on the invention of transition metal–organic hydride coordination complexes, which are designed to punch hydride ion (= a proton and two electrons) into metal-activated CO2-derived intermediates. The approach should naturally overcome the ....Adding hydride punch to transition metal complexes for CO2 electroreduction. This project plans to apply an innovative methodology to the selective conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) waste into useful C1 chemicals. The new inorganic chemistry approach is based on the invention of transition metal–organic hydride coordination complexes, which are designed to punch hydride ion (= a proton and two electrons) into metal-activated CO2-derived intermediates. The approach should naturally overcome the two-electron barrier found for today's best transition metal electrocatalysts of CO2 reduction and, hence, enable the selective production of formaldehyde, a four-electron reduction product and bulk industrial feedstock chemical, or methanol, a six-electron reduction product and future transport fuel.Read moreRead less