Electrodeposited Cathodes with Tunable Stoichiometry for Alkaline Batteries. The growing dependency on intermittently-available renewable energy sources has resulted in metal-ion batteries being adopted as the most common solution; yet its fabrication requires multi-stage high-temperature processing leading to high costs, quality issues, and reduced service life. Thus, the present project targets the room-temperature fabrication of binary and ternary oxide cathodes by a single-step, high-yield, ....Electrodeposited Cathodes with Tunable Stoichiometry for Alkaline Batteries. The growing dependency on intermittently-available renewable energy sources has resulted in metal-ion batteries being adopted as the most common solution; yet its fabrication requires multi-stage high-temperature processing leading to high costs, quality issues, and reduced service life. Thus, the present project targets the room-temperature fabrication of binary and ternary oxide cathodes by a single-step, high-yield, cost-effective technique and their integration into Na-ion batteries with minimal and no processing. The expected outcomes from this novel and efficient device fabrication can lead to significant commercial, social, and environmental benefits owing to the advancement of the battery industry and associated job creation.
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Portable biosensor for rapid detection of viral contamination in food . The objective of this project is to create a miniaturised and cost-effective electrochemical biosensor device that can detect multiple pathogens, simultaneously, even at very low level of concentrations. This device will be crucial for rapidly detect pathogen contamination in food and water to monitor their safety and quality, particularly beneficial in an outbreak or natural disaster for testing these resources. In additio ....Portable biosensor for rapid detection of viral contamination in food . The objective of this project is to create a miniaturised and cost-effective electrochemical biosensor device that can detect multiple pathogens, simultaneously, even at very low level of concentrations. This device will be crucial for rapidly detect pathogen contamination in food and water to monitor their safety and quality, particularly beneficial in an outbreak or natural disaster for testing these resources. In addition to food and water, the successful development of this versatile cost-effective sensor will benefit a wide range of companies such as pharmaceuticals, medical device manufacturing and farms for controlling product quality where detection of life threatening pathogens is pivotal to prevent risk for consumers.Read moreRead less
Silicon-based Anode Materials for Next Generation Lithium-ion Batteries. This project aims to develop low-cost high-performance silicon-based anode materials for next generation high-energy lithium-ion batteries. A cutting-edge in situ reduction and encapsulation technique will be developed to synthesise sub-nanometer silicon nanoparticles homogeneously embedded in graphite matrix. The newly developed silicon-based anode material is expected to deliver high specific capacity and long cycle life. ....Silicon-based Anode Materials for Next Generation Lithium-ion Batteries. This project aims to develop low-cost high-performance silicon-based anode materials for next generation high-energy lithium-ion batteries. A cutting-edge in situ reduction and encapsulation technique will be developed to synthesise sub-nanometer silicon nanoparticles homogeneously embedded in graphite matrix. The newly developed silicon-based anode material is expected to deliver high specific capacity and long cycle life. The novel silicon-based anode materials will boost the energy density of next generation lithium-ion batteries, which will be used to power electric vehicles and renewable energy storage. This project will benefit the industry partner to launch commercial production of silicon-based anode materials for global market. 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
Integrated solar to chemical production and membrane concentration system. The efficient conversion of low-cost raw materials to high-value chemicals using solar energy has been a long sought-after goal. This project aims to create an integrated photoreactor and membrane separation system for efficient photocatalytic water splitting. The integrated system will efficiently produce hydrogen and ultrapure hydrogen peroxide, a critical and costly reagent used in the semiconductor and solar panel man ....Integrated solar to chemical production and membrane concentration system. The efficient conversion of low-cost raw materials to high-value chemicals using solar energy has been a long sought-after goal. This project aims to create an integrated photoreactor and membrane separation system for efficient photocatalytic water splitting. The integrated system will efficiently produce hydrogen and ultrapure hydrogen peroxide, a critical and costly reagent used in the semiconductor and solar panel manufacturing industries. The integrated system addresses current challenges in the production of high-quality hydrogen peroxide and demonstrates a practical solar-to-chemical process with economic benefits. It also advances knowledge in the fields of nanomaterials engineering, photocatalytic devices, and membrane technology.Read moreRead less
Engineering vanadium oxide-based cathode for aqueous ammonium ion batteries. This project aims to develop the next-generation rechargeable aqueous ammonium ion batteries and the scaled-up prototypes. It will be innovatively powered by nonmetallic charge carriers to show superior safety, low cost, high rate and cycle performance, and large capacity, ensuring realistic implementation for industrial purposes. Expected outcomes include a series of chemically and morphologically tuned vanadium oxide- ....Engineering vanadium oxide-based cathode for aqueous ammonium ion batteries. This project aims to develop the next-generation rechargeable aqueous ammonium ion batteries and the scaled-up prototypes. It will be innovatively powered by nonmetallic charge carriers to show superior safety, low cost, high rate and cycle performance, and large capacity, ensuring realistic implementation for industrial purposes. Expected outcomes include a series of chemically and morphologically tuned vanadium oxide-based cathode materials, a novel and reliable working principle based on reversible ammonium ion storage, and battery pack prototypes targeting industry demanded energy density and lifespan. Via industrial pilot trials, commercial benefits will be fast tracked for clean energy storage, net zero future and industry upgrades.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
Advanced all-Iron flow batteries for stationary energy storage. Iron flow batteries are one of the most promising choices for clean, reliable and cost effective long-duration energy storage. The main obstacle for large scale commercial deployment is the low round-trip energy efficiency caused by the competitive side reaction that occurs at the negative electrode during battery charging. The project aims to address this issue by engineering the negative electrode-electrolyte interface with functi ....Advanced all-Iron flow batteries for stationary energy storage. Iron flow batteries are one of the most promising choices for clean, reliable and cost effective long-duration energy storage. The main obstacle for large scale commercial deployment is the low round-trip energy efficiency caused by the competitive side reaction that occurs at the negative electrode during battery charging. The project aims to address this issue by engineering the negative electrode-electrolyte interface with functional materials to improve battery performance and thus further reduce the cost of energy storage. Expected outcomes include new materials and methods for advanced battery technology and manufacturing. The success of the project will significantly support the national priority of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.Read moreRead less