Organometallic Transformations of Organic Compounds. The program will develop new metal-based catalysts for two main purposes (i) transforming basic hydrocarbons eg. natural gas and low-molecular-weight petroleum products into more advanced compounds (such as alcohols, alkenes and carboxylic acids); and (ii) converting nitrogen gas into nitrogen-containing compounds eg. ammonia or ammonia derivatives. In both projects, the aim is to take readily available and abundant starting materials that ar ....Organometallic Transformations of Organic Compounds. The program will develop new metal-based catalysts for two main purposes (i) transforming basic hydrocarbons eg. natural gas and low-molecular-weight petroleum products into more advanced compounds (such as alcohols, alkenes and carboxylic acids); and (ii) converting nitrogen gas into nitrogen-containing compounds eg. ammonia or ammonia derivatives. In both projects, the aim is to take readily available and abundant starting materials that are currently difficult to utilise and to design and develop specific reagents to convert them to "value-added" products. The program will also explore the mode of action of metal-based reagents leading to better reagent and catalyst design.Read moreRead less
Utilising nature's complexity - understanding fundamental organometallic binding modes of furans and coordination of bioderived furans. The earth's decreasing reserves of fossil fuels has prompted an intense push to utilise the renewable bioresources to replace the many products and fuels derived from petroleum. One of the promising developments is the production of so-called Furanics, useful molecules produced easily from carbohydrates found in waste materials from the sugar, corn and forestry ....Utilising nature's complexity - understanding fundamental organometallic binding modes of furans and coordination of bioderived furans. The earth's decreasing reserves of fossil fuels has prompted an intense push to utilise the renewable bioresources to replace the many products and fuels derived from petroleum. One of the promising developments is the production of so-called Furanics, useful molecules produced easily from carbohydrates found in waste materials from the sugar, corn and forestry industries. Given Australia's wealth of agricultural resources, discovering the full power of these potentially useful furanic compounds should be a major priority. This research aims to link Australia's biomass potential with the plastics, pharmaceutical, fine and agrichemical industries.Read moreRead less
A new route to linear alpha olefins - catalytic isomerisation of internal olefins. Linear alpha olefins are an extremely important class of chemical building blocks used for everyday consumer products, such as plastics, detergents and lubricants. This research aims to develop a new platform technology for the production of these materials from low cost precursors.
Iron and Silica Co-precipitation from Industrial Zinc solutions. The aim of this research project is to gain a molecular level understanding of the physical processes that occur during the co-precipitation of iron and silica from electrolytic zinc liquors. The research program will be specifically focussed on systems in which similar concentrations of iron and silica are present in the liquor. Such systems are of interest to the industry partner as they represent the expected characteristics of ....Iron and Silica Co-precipitation from Industrial Zinc solutions. The aim of this research project is to gain a molecular level understanding of the physical processes that occur during the co-precipitation of iron and silica from electrolytic zinc liquors. The research program will be specifically focussed on systems in which similar concentrations of iron and silica are present in the liquor. Such systems are of interest to the industry partner as they represent the expected characteristics of future process requirements, but they are also of broader relevance to a range of mineral processing industries, as iron and silica occur as impurities in many mineral ores.Read moreRead less
Reactions of Coordinated Dinitrogen. The program will develop novel metal-based catalysts and reagents that will transform nitrogen gas into ammonia and other nitrogen-containing compounds (nitrogen fixation). This fundamental chemical transformation underpins major chemical industries and this new approach using organometallic catalysts will significantly improve the efficiency of ammonia production and reduce the energy and harsh reaction conditions currently required. This program will desi ....Reactions of Coordinated Dinitrogen. The program will develop novel metal-based catalysts and reagents that will transform nitrogen gas into ammonia and other nitrogen-containing compounds (nitrogen fixation). This fundamental chemical transformation underpins major chemical industries and this new approach using organometallic catalysts will significantly improve the efficiency of ammonia production and reduce the energy and harsh reaction conditions currently required. This program will design catalysts with multiple complementary metal centres tailored to bind and activate nitrogen gas to facilitate its reaction with hydrogen or other reagents.Read moreRead less
Programmable Organometallics for Spatiotemporal Light Control. This Project aims to develop new materials that control and modify light. The new organometallics from this Project are anticipated to display world record light intensity-dependent absorption and other phenomena. These new programmable molecules are expected to respond to environmental stimuli with precise spatial control. Anticipated outcomes of this Project include environmental sensors and a technology platform for targeted medic ....Programmable Organometallics for Spatiotemporal Light Control. This Project aims to develop new materials that control and modify light. The new organometallics from this Project are anticipated to display world record light intensity-dependent absorption and other phenomena. These new programmable molecules are expected to respond to environmental stimuli with precise spatial control. Anticipated outcomes of this Project include environmental sensors and a technology platform for targeted medical imaging and light-responsive therapies. This Project should provide significant benefits including possible commercialisation of the new materials, enhanced research capacity, training students and a postdoctoral fellow with unique skills, and the strengthening of research linkages with strategic partners.Read moreRead less
Studies of metal compounds containing carbon chains - approaches to novel materials. There is an increasing need to design functional devices on the molecular scale ("nanotechnology"). We are developing the chemistry of compounds which contain chains of up to 12 carbon atoms to allow electronic communication between metal centres attached to each end. This projects seeks to extend this work, to discover new and more effective compounds, and to develop the associated chemistry to provide synthese ....Studies of metal compounds containing carbon chains - approaches to novel materials. There is an increasing need to design functional devices on the molecular scale ("nanotechnology"). We are developing the chemistry of compounds which contain chains of up to 12 carbon atoms to allow electronic communication between metal centres attached to each end. This projects seeks to extend this work, to discover new and more effective compounds, and to develop the associated chemistry to provide syntheses of novel compounds of potential use in the fine chemicals industry. Extensive collaboration with French colleagues exists and will continue.Read moreRead less
Illuminating Molecular Electronic Rectification. This project aims to develop molecular rectifiers incorporating organometallic complexes for future electronics applications. The organometallic molecules will be an integral part of the electronic device to ameliorate the technological problems arising from miniaturisation of semiconductors. Expected outcomes are a new approach to molecular designs that provide a rectifying response in single molecules and large area molecular junctions. This sho ....Illuminating Molecular Electronic Rectification. This project aims to develop molecular rectifiers incorporating organometallic complexes for future electronics applications. The organometallic molecules will be an integral part of the electronic device to ameliorate the technological problems arising from miniaturisation of semiconductors. Expected outcomes are a new approach to molecular designs that provide a rectifying response in single molecules and large area molecular junctions. This should build manufacturing capacity in Australia and enhance international collaboration and reputation by addressing significant challenges in molecular electronics. Benefits arising include skilled researchers, internationalisation of Australian research and contributions to fundamental science.Read moreRead less
Ultrafast optical non-linearities in robust organometallic materials. This project aims to create organometallic complexes with ultrafast nonlinear optical responses. These robust molecules are intended to be used to prepare surface-supported nanostructures. The project will create materials with reversibly switchable nonlinear optical properties that can control or process incident light beams in photonics technologies. These new materials will have possible applications in future photonics tec ....Ultrafast optical non-linearities in robust organometallic materials. This project aims to create organometallic complexes with ultrafast nonlinear optical responses. These robust molecules are intended to be used to prepare surface-supported nanostructures. The project will create materials with reversibly switchable nonlinear optical properties that can control or process incident light beams in photonics technologies. These new materials will have possible applications in future photonics technologies, potentially creating highly-skilled jobs in Australia and growing Australia’s reputation as a leader in molecular materials science.Read moreRead less
Metal-rich materials for optical limiting. This project aims to create metal- and carbon-rich materials that function as optical limiters over a broad temporal range. The project will create robust molecules that are meant to be used to prepare functional materials. These materials could be used for optical devices and to protect personnel from accidental exposure to intense light sources such as high-power lasers.