Designing New Visible-light Active Photocatalysts for Efficient CO2 Reduction. The increasing concern over Climate Change has triggered great efforts in developing new CO2 capture technologies. The outcomes of this program will lead to a new class of photocatalysts that underpin the development of economical CO2 reduction for clean fuel production using sunlight. Such technologies will speed up the transition of Australian environmental and energy industries from fossil fuel economy to renewable ....Designing New Visible-light Active Photocatalysts for Efficient CO2 Reduction. The increasing concern over Climate Change has triggered great efforts in developing new CO2 capture technologies. The outcomes of this program will lead to a new class of photocatalysts that underpin the development of economical CO2 reduction for clean fuel production using sunlight. Such technologies will speed up the transition of Australian environmental and energy industries from fossil fuel economy to renewable energy economy. The research program will contribute significantly to knowledge advancement in nanomaterials, surface chemistry, and photochemistry, and falls in the National Research Priority Area of 'Environmentally Sustainable Australia' addressing the key goals of Climate Change and low emission energy supply.Read moreRead less
Solution Processable, High Dimensional Dendrimers for Plastic Electronics. Microelectronics are present in our everyday life, from numerous chips in our vehicles to our mobile telephones; and the list is almost infinite. The electronics used today are limited to rigid surfaces, and are incompatible for the next generation of technology such as rollable displays and radio frequency identification cards. This proposal describes the development of a new class of high performance flexible electronic ....Solution Processable, High Dimensional Dendrimers for Plastic Electronics. Microelectronics are present in our everyday life, from numerous chips in our vehicles to our mobile telephones; and the list is almost infinite. The electronics used today are limited to rigid surfaces, and are incompatible for the next generation of technology such as rollable displays and radio frequency identification cards. This proposal describes the development of a new class of high performance flexible electronic inks that could be used in the next generation of microelectronics. There is a huge commercial interest in these electronic ink materials and this market is projected to be $7.7 billion by 2012. The proposed electronic inks address issues with current materials such as processability, performance and reproducibility.Read moreRead less
Photoactive Semiconducting Biopolymers. The basic aims of this project are to elucidate, manipulate, and utilise the unique chemical and physical properties of a class of biopolymers called the melanins. These materials are the only known solid state semiconducting biopolymers, and are non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable. Their use as active components in biomimetic soft electonic, optoelectronic or photovoltaic devices, has not hitherto been demonstrated. It is anticipated that the k ....Photoactive Semiconducting Biopolymers. The basic aims of this project are to elucidate, manipulate, and utilise the unique chemical and physical properties of a class of biopolymers called the melanins. These materials are the only known solid state semiconducting biopolymers, and are non-toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable. Their use as active components in biomimetic soft electonic, optoelectronic or photovoltaic devices, has not hitherto been demonstrated. It is anticipated that the key outcomes from the project will be a demonstration of biopolymer-based photoelectrochemical and solid-state p-i-n solar cells, and an improved understanding of the physics and chemistry of these important biological macromolecules.Read moreRead less
Fabrication of High Performance Nanocomposite Photoanodes with Built-in Electron Transport Superhighway for Photoelectrocatalysis Applications. Worldwide, huge fresh water shortage problems force us to recycle/reuse water. For Australia, this is an urgent issue due to our limited fresh water resources. In recent years, rapidly diminishing fossil fuel supplies and dramatically accelerated global warming gives society no alternative but adopt renewable, clean energies. Globally, there is a united ....Fabrication of High Performance Nanocomposite Photoanodes with Built-in Electron Transport Superhighway for Photoelectrocatalysis Applications. Worldwide, huge fresh water shortage problems force us to recycle/reuse water. For Australia, this is an urgent issue due to our limited fresh water resources. In recent years, rapidly diminishing fossil fuel supplies and dramatically accelerated global warming gives society no alternative but adopt renewable, clean energies. Globally, there is a united front calling for action to address these problems. However, a practical solution to the issues can only be found when economically viable alternative technologies are developed. This project aims to tackle the biggest obstacle - the low sunlight conversion efficiency. The success of the project will result in economically viable water treatment and solar energy conversion technologies. Read moreRead less
Macromolecular Materials for Organic Solar Cells. The world is in the midst of a climate crisis driven by mankind's insatiable demand for fossil-fuel energy. Renewable technologies such as solar and wind will undoubtedly form part of our future energy mix. Solar cells in particular have great potential- especially in sunny countries like Australia. The uptake of solar cell technology is hampered by their current high cost and long payback time. This project concerns the development of new solar ....Macromolecular Materials for Organic Solar Cells. The world is in the midst of a climate crisis driven by mankind's insatiable demand for fossil-fuel energy. Renewable technologies such as solar and wind will undoubtedly form part of our future energy mix. Solar cells in particular have great potential- especially in sunny countries like Australia. The uptake of solar cell technology is hampered by their current high cost and long payback time. This project concerns the development of new solar cells based upon novel organic materials called dendrimers. These materials can be solution processed and will dramatically reduce cost and payback time in next generation devices.Read moreRead less
Efficient One-Dimensional Photocatalysts from Titanate Nanofibres and Nanotubes. This project will deliver important fundamental knowledge for the development of high-value products of titania, and thus will contribute directly to the priority goal of transforming the existing titania industry through value adding and export on the international market. This research will lead to new industries and will create employment opportunities for Australians. It will also serve to train young scientists ....Efficient One-Dimensional Photocatalysts from Titanate Nanofibres and Nanotubes. This project will deliver important fundamental knowledge for the development of high-value products of titania, and thus will contribute directly to the priority goal of transforming the existing titania industry through value adding and export on the international market. This research will lead to new industries and will create employment opportunities for Australians. It will also serve to train young scientists with a real appreciation of materials research and engineering, contributing to the overall competitiveness and productivity of Australian R&D. This project would lead to advances in important fields of clean energy, environment remediation and advanced materials processing in Australia.Read moreRead less
Supramolecular assembly in photovoltaic electrode design: Studies of ordered porphyrin/acceptor complexes on polythiophene electrodes. This research outlines an improved way to develop dye-sensitised photovoltaic solar cells for the conversion of sunlight into electricity, by increasing the molecular order of the cell components using host, guest interrelationships. As such, it addresses a problem of international concern 'How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop global warming?' since s ....Supramolecular assembly in photovoltaic electrode design: Studies of ordered porphyrin/acceptor complexes on polythiophene electrodes. This research outlines an improved way to develop dye-sensitised photovoltaic solar cells for the conversion of sunlight into electricity, by increasing the molecular order of the cell components using host, guest interrelationships. As such, it addresses a problem of international concern 'How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop global warming?' since solar cells do not produce carbon dioxide. To achieve our goals we draw on the skills of a team of experts from Australia (synthetic organic chemists), New Zealand (polymer and surface chemists) and Italy (photochemist and photophysicist). Such research is very appropriate for regional Australia, especially Central Queensland.Read moreRead less
Naturally Photoactive Biopolymers. The basic aim of this project is to assess the viability of using semiconducting biopolymers from the melanin family of macromolecules in photoactive device based applications. In order to do this, key optical, structural, electronic, and photochemical properties will be assessed on thin films in the solid state. The melanins are the only known semiconducting biopolymers, and are non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable. Their use as ?active? materials in ....Naturally Photoactive Biopolymers. The basic aim of this project is to assess the viability of using semiconducting biopolymers from the melanin family of macromolecules in photoactive device based applications. In order to do this, key optical, structural, electronic, and photochemical properties will be assessed on thin films in the solid state. The melanins are the only known semiconducting biopolymers, and are non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable. Their use as ?active? materials in solid state or photo-electrochemical devices has never before been suggested. Specifically, these materials could be used as the light harvesting components in dye sensitised Gratzel cells, or, as the donor material in soft solid photovoltaic junctions. The melanins are also a key class of biomolecules (their involvement in skin cancers is well documented), and hence, any advancement in our understanding of their functions and properties could have biological importance.Read moreRead less
Reactions of Nanoparticles of Metal Oxides and Hydrous Oxides and their Applications in Photocatalysts and Electrode Materials. Australia is a world-leading producer of raw materials of many metallic elements, most of which are exported at low-values. This project will yield important knowledge in new synthetic techniques for making nanostructures of metal oxides. These tiny particles already have a large worldwide market, but the discovery of particles with superior properties or new applicatio ....Reactions of Nanoparticles of Metal Oxides and Hydrous Oxides and their Applications in Photocatalysts and Electrode Materials. Australia is a world-leading producer of raw materials of many metallic elements, most of which are exported at low-values. This project will yield important knowledge in new synthetic techniques for making nanostructures of metal oxides. These tiny particles already have a large worldwide market, but the discovery of particles with superior properties or new applications could lead to new industries and high-value exports. This project aims to devise novel photocatalysts for solar energy conversion and environmental protection, and electrode materials for lithium batteries. It will contribute to the overall competitiveness and productivity of Australian R&D by advancing scientific knowledge and training young researchers.Read moreRead less
Biomolecular optoelectronic materials and devices. The melanins are the molecules in our skin, eyes and hair that provide colour and protection from the sun. In addition to being important bio-molecules, they have properties which make them useful for high tech applications especially in electronics and optoelectronics. Unfortunately, our current understanding of these fascinating materials is poor. In our project we aim to solve this limiting problem. We will develop new science to explain thei ....Biomolecular optoelectronic materials and devices. The melanins are the molecules in our skin, eyes and hair that provide colour and protection from the sun. In addition to being important bio-molecules, they have properties which make them useful for high tech applications especially in electronics and optoelectronics. Unfortunately, our current understanding of these fascinating materials is poor. In our project we aim to solve this limiting problem. We will develop new science to explain their behaviour, and use this knowledge to create bio-compatible hi-tech materials and devices. We anticipate significant benefits from the perspectives of basic science and utilisation of biomaterials for new green technologies.Read moreRead less