Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100480
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$445,237.00
Summary
Electrolyte design for high-performance, sustainable sodium batteries. This project aims to develop sustainable high-performance sodium batteries by investigating new non-flammable and safe electrolyte chemistries. The project will generate knowledge in materials chemistry for battery electrolytes that will underpin improvements in battery technology and help to move society towards a zero-carbon economy. The outcomes will provide materials suitable for prototyping reliable, safe and sustainable ....Electrolyte design for high-performance, sustainable sodium batteries. This project aims to develop sustainable high-performance sodium batteries by investigating new non-flammable and safe electrolyte chemistries. The project will generate knowledge in materials chemistry for battery electrolytes that will underpin improvements in battery technology and help to move society towards a zero-carbon economy. The outcomes will provide materials suitable for prototyping reliable, safe and sustainable batteries in Australia and enhance research collaborations with local and international industry partners. These advances will contribute to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy storage systems, positioning Australia at the forefront of advanced battery research.Read moreRead less
Zwitterion-based electrolytes for advanced energy technologies. This research aims to develop a new class of electrolyte that is safer, non-flammable and designed to enable excellent performance of high energy batteries made with either sodium or lithium. Through the synthesis of new electrolyte structures that are designed to improve stability and electrochemical properties, and using a range of analysis techniques to understand the material properties, the project aims to solve some of the saf ....Zwitterion-based electrolytes for advanced energy technologies. This research aims to develop a new class of electrolyte that is safer, non-flammable and designed to enable excellent performance of high energy batteries made with either sodium or lithium. Through the synthesis of new electrolyte structures that are designed to improve stability and electrochemical properties, and using a range of analysis techniques to understand the material properties, the project aims to solve some of the safety and performance problems that plague existing electrolytes. Expected benefits include new functional energy materials for safer, more reliable energy storage technologies, plus research training, collaborations and materials development capabilities to help position Australia as a global leader in this field.Read moreRead less
Bioinspired Ceramifiable Fire-Retardant Composite Coatings. This project aims to design bioinspired, adhesive, ceramifiable fire-retardant coatings through understanding their composition-property relationship and fire-retardant mechanism. The fire-retardant coatings are then applied to typical polymer foams to create fire-safe building thermal insulation materials. This project will generate new knowledge in materials science that helps to expedite next-generation advanced fire-retardant coatin ....Bioinspired Ceramifiable Fire-Retardant Composite Coatings. This project aims to design bioinspired, adhesive, ceramifiable fire-retardant coatings through understanding their composition-property relationship and fire-retardant mechanism. The fire-retardant coatings are then applied to typical polymer foams to create fire-safe building thermal insulation materials. This project will generate new knowledge in materials science that helps to expedite next-generation advanced fire-retardant coatings for a variety of flammable substrates. Expected outcomes of this project are cost-effective fire-retardant coatings and fire-safe, inexpensive thermal insulation materials. This project will bring significant economic benefits to Australia and help to create fire-resilient and energy-efficient buildings.Read moreRead less
Fire-Retardant Composite Resins for Bushfire-Safe Wind Farm Infrastructures. This project aims to develop advanced fire-retardant composite resins for manufacturing bushfire-safe wind farm infrastructures. The innovation of the project is the development of a new class of low-cost, novel, highly effective fire retardants and their value-added fire-retardant composite resins with well-preserved physical properties. This will be achieved by understanding the composition-property relationship of fi ....Fire-Retardant Composite Resins for Bushfire-Safe Wind Farm Infrastructures. This project aims to develop advanced fire-retardant composite resins for manufacturing bushfire-safe wind farm infrastructures. The innovation of the project is the development of a new class of low-cost, novel, highly effective fire retardants and their value-added fire-retardant composite resins with well-preserved physical properties. This will be achieved by understanding the composition-property relationship of fire retardants and optimising their synthetic parameters. The project will help position Australia’s advanced composite manufacturing at the forefront of technology. It will also accelerate Australia’s energy transition to renewables by enabling bushfire-safe wind farm infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Electrolyte and interface engineering of solid-state sodium batteries. This project aims to develop large-scale solid-state sodium-ion batteries exhibiting better safety compared to classic liquid electrolyte batteries without compromising on performance, thus addressing the significant issue of safety in batteries. This will be achieved by novel engineering of solid-state electrolytes and electrolyte-electrode interfacing by a fundamental understanding of sodium-ion transport using statistical ....Electrolyte and interface engineering of solid-state sodium batteries. This project aims to develop large-scale solid-state sodium-ion batteries exhibiting better safety compared to classic liquid electrolyte batteries without compromising on performance, thus addressing the significant issue of safety in batteries. This will be achieved by novel engineering of solid-state electrolytes and electrolyte-electrode interfacing by a fundamental understanding of sodium-ion transport using statistical and machine-learning techniques. Expected outcomes include an understanding of ion-transport mechanisms in batteries, delivery of advanced solid-state electrolytes with high ionic conductivity, and batteries with excellent performance and safety characteristics, which benefits Australia's environment and sustainability.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100616
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$421,574.00
Summary
Development of high-performance flame-retardant one-component epoxy resins. This project will create a new class of phosphorus/imidazole oligomers for single-component epoxy resins with superior storage stability, fire retardancy and mechanical properties. By establishing a fundamental understanding of the structure-composition-property relationships of one-component epoxy resins, it will address two major challenges - high reactivity and short shelf life, and poor flame retardancy and mechanica ....Development of high-performance flame-retardant one-component epoxy resins. This project will create a new class of phosphorus/imidazole oligomers for single-component epoxy resins with superior storage stability, fire retardancy and mechanical properties. By establishing a fundamental understanding of the structure-composition-property relationships of one-component epoxy resins, it will address two major challenges - high reactivity and short shelf life, and poor flame retardancy and mechanical properties, which limit practical applications. This project will develop environmentally benign, flame-retardant oligomers, reducing fire hazards, protecting lives, property and the environment, by replacing current flammable epoxy resins used in electrical, construction and transportation.Read moreRead less
Synthesising novel phases of carbon by shear-induced phase transformations. Carbon forms the hardest known solids and offers the opportunity for new materials with outstanding properties. The aim of this project is to establish a new technology for synthesising dense, diamond-like carbon materials without the need for high temperatures. The approach uses shear stress caused by non-hydrostatic compressions to drive phase changes in solids. Guided by modelling and using novel experimental techniqu ....Synthesising novel phases of carbon by shear-induced phase transformations. Carbon forms the hardest known solids and offers the opportunity for new materials with outstanding properties. The aim of this project is to establish a new technology for synthesising dense, diamond-like carbon materials without the need for high temperatures. The approach uses shear stress caused by non-hydrostatic compressions to drive phase changes in solids. Guided by modelling and using novel experimental techniques, this project seeks to understand and then exploit this remarkable phase change phenomenon. Expected outcomes include hard and tough coatings for high performance tools, impermeable encapsulations to enhance the longevity of bionic implants and a possible explanation for the mystery of deep earthquakes.Read moreRead less
Upcycling of mixed plastics from bioprocessed municipal solid waste. This project aims to develop a scalable catalytic process that can sustainably upcycle mixed plastics from bioprocessed municipal solid waste into hydrogen and valuable carbon nanotube products. The process will integrate pyrolysis, reforming, and carbon growth technology into a single reactor, enabled by the rational design of multifunctional catalysts. Through computational process simulation and optimization, life cycle anal ....Upcycling of mixed plastics from bioprocessed municipal solid waste. This project aims to develop a scalable catalytic process that can sustainably upcycle mixed plastics from bioprocessed municipal solid waste into hydrogen and valuable carbon nanotube products. The process will integrate pyrolysis, reforming, and carbon growth technology into a single reactor, enabled by the rational design of multifunctional catalysts. Through computational process simulation and optimization, life cycle analysis, and techno-economic assessment, investment and operational costs at larger scale are anticipated to be greatly reduced. By mitigating mixed waste plastics from going to landfills, the project will also provide significant benefits to clean energy production and advanced material manufacturing in Australia. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100327
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$404,226.00
Summary
Porous Tandem Catalyst for CO2 Conversion into Sustainable Chemicals. This project aims to develop new strategies to design and tune the performance of multifunctional catalysts for the conversion of carbon dioxide as a sustainable feedstock for the production of valuable commodity chemicals used in the manufacture of consumer products. New insights into reaction mechanisms, and relationships between catalyst structure and performance, are expected through innovative analytical tools. Anticipate ....Porous Tandem Catalyst for CO2 Conversion into Sustainable Chemicals. This project aims to develop new strategies to design and tune the performance of multifunctional catalysts for the conversion of carbon dioxide as a sustainable feedstock for the production of valuable commodity chemicals used in the manufacture of consumer products. New insights into reaction mechanisms, and relationships between catalyst structure and performance, are expected through innovative analytical tools. Anticipated outcomes include a toolkit of catalyst design principles, underpinning the development of next-generation catalysts with superior energy efficiency, waste minimisation, and associated socioeconomic benefits, which should contribute significantly to Australian science, industry and the environment. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101617
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$434,395.00
Summary
Re-engineering metallic-based nanostructures for carbon dioxide conversion. This project aims to fine-tune the interface of low-temperature liquid metals to produce functional hybrid nanomaterials for CO2 reduction. The expected outcomes of the projects are to develop fundamental knowledge on the integration of functional molecules on the bulk, core, and skin of liquid metals and their alloys. It intends to control the atomic arrangement of the elemental constituents, nucleation, as well as inte ....Re-engineering metallic-based nanostructures for carbon dioxide conversion. This project aims to fine-tune the interface of low-temperature liquid metals to produce functional hybrid nanomaterials for CO2 reduction. The expected outcomes of the projects are to develop fundamental knowledge on the integration of functional molecules on the bulk, core, and skin of liquid metals and their alloys. It intends to control the atomic arrangement of the elemental constituents, nucleation, as well as interaction and dissolution of organic/inorganic molecules in the interface and bulk of liquid metals. The anticipated outcomes of this project are to define a knowledge roadmap to exploit the untapped potentials of liquid metals in CO2 reduction, which would enable the production of the next generation of catalytic devices.Read moreRead less