Cold catalysis for water splitting. This project aims to develop photocatalysts via AC magnetic field through nanoscale heating for efficient H2 generation. This project is to introduce cold catalysis concept, which heats catalysts only but not solution, thus called cold catalysis, in the area of production of renewable energy. Expected outcome is the creation of clean and low cost catalysts to effectively harvest the chemical energy from the sun via splitting of water into H2 and O2 without cau ....Cold catalysis for water splitting. This project aims to develop photocatalysts via AC magnetic field through nanoscale heating for efficient H2 generation. This project is to introduce cold catalysis concept, which heats catalysts only but not solution, thus called cold catalysis, in the area of production of renewable energy. Expected outcome is the creation of clean and low cost catalysts to effectively harvest the chemical energy from the sun via splitting of water into H2 and O2 without causing any environmental damage. This unique technology will also help to address clean energy generation, which is in line with H2 economy plan by Australia government, and provide opportunities for new industries that will benefit Australian economy.Read moreRead less
Nanoscale heating towards high efficient nitrogen reduction reduction. This project aims to develop nanoscale heating technique using AC magnetic field for efficient synthesis of ammonia, widely used for fertiliser and having potential for hydrogen storage. This project is to introduce nanoscale heating concept by heating catalyst only but not solution in electrochemical catalysis to achieve high catalytic activity. Expected outcome is the creation of low cost catalysts having high selectivity a ....Nanoscale heating towards high efficient nitrogen reduction reduction. This project aims to develop nanoscale heating technique using AC magnetic field for efficient synthesis of ammonia, widely used for fertiliser and having potential for hydrogen storage. This project is to introduce nanoscale heating concept by heating catalyst only but not solution in electrochemical catalysis to achieve high catalytic activity. Expected outcome is the creation of low cost catalysts having high selectivity and formation rate for ammonia production. This unique technology has the potential to replace current ammonia production based on Haber-Bosch process, which consumes 2% of world energy and contributes 3% of overall CO2 emission. The project provides opportunities for new industries that will benefit Australian economy.Read moreRead less
Integrated composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. This project aims to develop multifunctional composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from water, nitrogen gas and renewable energy under ambient conditions. Hydrophobic subnanometre water channels will be integrated with an electrocatalyst to control supply of water as vapour, thereby effectively minimising hydrogen evolution reaction and enabling high-efficiency ammonia synthesis. Expected outcomes i ....Integrated composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. This project aims to develop multifunctional composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from water, nitrogen gas and renewable energy under ambient conditions. Hydrophobic subnanometre water channels will be integrated with an electrocatalyst to control supply of water as vapour, thereby effectively minimising hydrogen evolution reaction and enabling high-efficiency ammonia synthesis. Expected outcomes include enhanced capacity in developing electrochemical reaction systems, and new fundamental knowledge of electrocatalyst design and reaction engineering. This should provide significant economic and environmental benefits by developing a sustainable manufacturing technology to transform the century-old ammonia industry.Read moreRead less
Capturing full-spectrum of solar energy using TiO2 ordered suprastructures. The project aims to develop a titanium dioxide (TiO2) semiconductor that can use full-spectrum solar energy. Solar-driven photocatalytic processes have important applications in water decontamination and energy production. Their effectiveness is dictated by the semiconductor’s absorbance and conversion of photoenergy to chemical energy. Being inexpensive, chemically and mechanically robust, TiO2 is the most promising mat ....Capturing full-spectrum of solar energy using TiO2 ordered suprastructures. The project aims to develop a titanium dioxide (TiO2) semiconductor that can use full-spectrum solar energy. Solar-driven photocatalytic processes have important applications in water decontamination and energy production. Their effectiveness is dictated by the semiconductor’s absorbance and conversion of photoenergy to chemical energy. Being inexpensive, chemically and mechanically robust, TiO2 is the most promising material for the semiconductor. However, unmodified TiO2 only absorbs ultraviolet light (5 per cent of solar energy). With current progress made in visible absorbance, this project aims to significantly improve TiO2’s absorbance in near infrared by doping with upconversion lanthanides and rendering colloidal crystal suprastructures that can trap light.Read moreRead less