Unlocking the potential of multiphoton photoredox catalysis. Photoredox catalysis promises sustainable alternatives to synthesise high-value chemicals using energy converted from visible light. The project aims to address the current lack of understanding about how these reactions operate at the molecular level, using innovative electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques. The expected outcomes include new catalytic systems containing multiple light-driven steps that provide reactivities beyond ....Unlocking the potential of multiphoton photoredox catalysis. Photoredox catalysis promises sustainable alternatives to synthesise high-value chemicals using energy converted from visible light. The project aims to address the current lack of understanding about how these reactions operate at the molecular level, using innovative electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques. The expected outcomes include new catalytic systems containing multiple light-driven steps that provide reactivities beyond those attainable in single-photon cycles. These will be applied to challenging modifications of large biomolecules under mild aqueous conditions. Anticipated benefits include adding value to Australia’s growing chemical industry through efficient green syntheses with reduced dependence on toxic solvents.Read moreRead less
Discovering New Chemistry and Potential Applications of Metal Tetrapyrroles. This project aims to make fundamental advances in inorganic chemistry, coordination chemistry and bioinorganic chemistry by preparing new metal-containing molecules based on specifically designed tetrapyrrole ligands. Innovative synthetic methods will be developed to enable systematic chemical modifications to explore the chemical and biological properties of the metal complexes. The potential of the new molecules to be ....Discovering New Chemistry and Potential Applications of Metal Tetrapyrroles. This project aims to make fundamental advances in inorganic chemistry, coordination chemistry and bioinorganic chemistry by preparing new metal-containing molecules based on specifically designed tetrapyrrole ligands. Innovative synthetic methods will be developed to enable systematic chemical modifications to explore the chemical and biological properties of the metal complexes. The potential of the new molecules to be of use as tracers for molecular imaging will be investigated. An expected outcome of this research will be an increased understanding of how chemical properties dictate the biological activity of metal complexes informing the potential long-term translation of this chemistry to to new molecular diagnostics and therapeutics.Read moreRead less
Counting the Electrons: Nickel Catalysed Electrochemical C-H Activation. Modern chemical synthetic methods using organometallic catalysts are highly prized in chemical industry and provide a multibillion dollar driver for world economies. However, traditional catalysis is expensive because of the reliance on rare earth metals often conjunction with toxic additives or reagents. The aim of this work is to develop new inexpensive transition metal catalysts based on earth abundant nickel and harness ....Counting the Electrons: Nickel Catalysed Electrochemical C-H Activation. Modern chemical synthetic methods using organometallic catalysts are highly prized in chemical industry and provide a multibillion dollar driver for world economies. However, traditional catalysis is expensive because of the reliance on rare earth metals often conjunction with toxic additives or reagents. The aim of this work is to develop new inexpensive transition metal catalysts based on earth abundant nickel and harness the power of electrons through electrochemistry to dramatically improve the reactivity of these catalysts. This project will seek to improve the way both complex and commonly used chemicals constructed through an atom economical process with potentially renewably produced electrons.Read moreRead less
Self-assembled supramolecular cages for guest binding and catalysis. This project aims to construct a family of supramolecular metal-containing cage-shaped molecules that possess specialised binding pockets with unique chemical properties that mimic enzymes. Many existing cage molecules contain well-defined three dimensional cavities reminiscent of enzymes' active sites. However, unlike natural systems they do not contain "active" metals with free coordination sites, and this limits their cataly ....Self-assembled supramolecular cages for guest binding and catalysis. This project aims to construct a family of supramolecular metal-containing cage-shaped molecules that possess specialised binding pockets with unique chemical properties that mimic enzymes. Many existing cage molecules contain well-defined three dimensional cavities reminiscent of enzymes' active sites. However, unlike natural systems they do not contain "active" metals with free coordination sites, and this limits their catalytic ability. This project aims to prepare a large family of robust organic cages quickly and easily, and subsequently incorporate metals containing free active sites that point into the cage cavity. It is expected that this will deliver strong and selective guest binding, and efficient and selective catalysis.Read moreRead less
Human-centred Teamwork Analytics. This project aims to develop methods to assist the assessment and improvement of collocated teamwork, by making multimodal activity traces visible and available for computational analysis. This project expects to bridge the gap between promising sensing technologies and the dearth of tools to automatically assess teamwork. Expected outcomes include co-design and modelling methodologies for human-centred analytics that map from low-level data to higher-order cons ....Human-centred Teamwork Analytics. This project aims to develop methods to assist the assessment and improvement of collocated teamwork, by making multimodal activity traces visible and available for computational analysis. This project expects to bridge the gap between promising sensing technologies and the dearth of tools to automatically assess teamwork. Expected outcomes include co-design and modelling methodologies for human-centred analytics that map from low-level data to higher-order constructs to enable non-data science savvy users to get actionable insights into multimodal team traces. This research aims to provide significant benefits to Australia, with communication and teamwork being two of the topmost critical skills required by Australian employers.Read moreRead less
Pioneering stable copper carbanions for new C-C bond forming paradigms. The stabilisation of highly reactive carbanions underpins advances in chemical synthesis of new compounds including polymers, agrichemicals and pharmaceuticals. This project aims to deliver an innovative chemical reactivity platform, underpinned by copper carbanion complexes accessed via synthetic electrochemistry. Carbanions are essential components of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions but their high reactivity can be pr ....Pioneering stable copper carbanions for new C-C bond forming paradigms. The stabilisation of highly reactive carbanions underpins advances in chemical synthesis of new compounds including polymers, agrichemicals and pharmaceuticals. This project aims to deliver an innovative chemical reactivity platform, underpinned by copper carbanion complexes accessed via synthetic electrochemistry. Carbanions are essential components of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions but their high reactivity can be problematic. Expected outcomes of this project are an understanding of why these novel copper compounds are stable and how they can be utilised as synthetic reagents. This should provide significant benefits in unlocking the synthetic potential of a new class of chemical compound that has until now remained unexplored.Read moreRead less
Emergent organocopper complexes as robust catalysts for electrosynthesis. The capture and stabilisation of highly reactive chemical species is critical to making advances in the synthesis of novel materials, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. Metal-bound carbanions are essential components of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. This project aims to develop an unprecedented family of copper catalysts and deliver an innovative and versatile chemical reactivity platform. Expected outcomes of this ....Emergent organocopper complexes as robust catalysts for electrosynthesis. The capture and stabilisation of highly reactive chemical species is critical to making advances in the synthesis of novel materials, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. Metal-bound carbanions are essential components of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. This project aims to develop an unprecedented family of copper catalysts and deliver an innovative and versatile chemical reactivity platform. Expected outcomes of this project include methods of tempering and unleashing the high reactivity of these species by controlling the oxidation state of the copper ion. Benefits of these outcomes include fundamental understanding of the reactivity of a new class of copper complex that has potential commercial applications in catalysis.Read moreRead less
Developing interdisciplinary expertise in universities. This project aims to create a strong integrative research foundation to explain how university researchers and students develop the expertise needed to work in interdisciplinary teams and how this development can be enhanced. It combines three perspectives investigating: how research and innovation communities create interdisciplinary knowledge, how interdisciplinary teams learn to function effectively and the personal resourcefulness that ....Developing interdisciplinary expertise in universities. This project aims to create a strong integrative research foundation to explain how university researchers and students develop the expertise needed to work in interdisciplinary teams and how this development can be enhanced. It combines three perspectives investigating: how research and innovation communities create interdisciplinary knowledge, how interdisciplinary teams learn to function effectively and the personal resourcefulness that enables individuals to participate in interdisciplinary work. The outcomes will provide a much better understanding of the qualities that help individuals and groups to work productively across disciplinary boundaries. They will be used to create better strategies for supporting interdisciplinary learningRead moreRead less
Addressing the deficit in men's participation in paid care work. This project aims to address the chronic and ongoing underrepresentation of men in front line, low paid occupations in the Health Care and Social Assistance Sector by exploring how men already employed in the sector overcome the barriers to participating in such jobs. Utilising a qualitative methodology, this project expects to generate new theoretical and practical knowledge in the areas of critical studies of men and masculinity ....Addressing the deficit in men's participation in paid care work. This project aims to address the chronic and ongoing underrepresentation of men in front line, low paid occupations in the Health Care and Social Assistance Sector by exploring how men already employed in the sector overcome the barriers to participating in such jobs. Utilising a qualitative methodology, this project expects to generate new theoretical and practical knowledge in the areas of critical studies of men and masculinity and labour market transitions. Expected outcomes include producing a better understanding of men in the low paid care work labour market. This should provide significant benefits in relation to tackling the serious current and projected shortages of personal and aged/disability carers in the coming years.Read moreRead less
Metal complexes for sustainable light-driven synthesis. The aim of this project is to use cheap, abundant transition metal ions and visible light to enable challenging synthetic chemical reactions. The significant problems addressed are that most synthetic reactions using visible light currently require expensive precious metals, and fundamental reaction pathways used by Nature remain inaccessible. Both of these problems limit the scope of synthetic applications. The outcomes will be new knowled ....Metal complexes for sustainable light-driven synthesis. The aim of this project is to use cheap, abundant transition metal ions and visible light to enable challenging synthetic chemical reactions. The significant problems addressed are that most synthetic reactions using visible light currently require expensive precious metals, and fundamental reaction pathways used by Nature remain inaccessible. Both of these problems limit the scope of synthetic applications. The outcomes will be new knowledge and sustainable technologies that can better harness visible light for useful synthetic chemistry applications. The benefits will be more efficient and cost-effective routes to valuable molecules ubiquitous in everyday life.Read moreRead less