Development of an efficient oxygen-thiosulfate process for the recovery of gold from ores. Gold is currently recovered from the ore by a cyanide leaching process. This high risk procedure is used because there is currently no safe alternative. The research we propose to undertake will investigate a novel thiosulfate-oxygen process to dissolve gold. Successful completion of the project will identify the mechanism of the process and could lead to the replacement of the highly toxic cyanide with th ....Development of an efficient oxygen-thiosulfate process for the recovery of gold from ores. Gold is currently recovered from the ore by a cyanide leaching process. This high risk procedure is used because there is currently no safe alternative. The research we propose to undertake will investigate a novel thiosulfate-oxygen process to dissolve gold. Successful completion of the project will identify the mechanism of the process and could lead to the replacement of the highly toxic cyanide with the non toxic thiosulfate. Thus the proposed project has the potential to substantially alter the gold recovery process, particularly in an era where environmental and public concerns exist over the use of cyanide.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0667984
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$210,000.00
Summary
Near Excitation Raman Micro Spectrometer. The unique properties of nanomaterials have recently been fully realized, and their use has resulted in new technologies, transforming industrial processes. Our research teams at Griffith, Monash and Queensland University of Technology develop optimal, nanostructured materials for technological applications. To maintain a competitive edge in this research, we require a near excitation Raman spectrometer. Used in-situ, it rapidly yields structural infor ....Near Excitation Raman Micro Spectrometer. The unique properties of nanomaterials have recently been fully realized, and their use has resulted in new technologies, transforming industrial processes. Our research teams at Griffith, Monash and Queensland University of Technology develop optimal, nanostructured materials for technological applications. To maintain a competitive edge in this research, we require a near excitation Raman spectrometer. Used in-situ, it rapidly yields structural information on the materials, enabling their formation and function to be better understood. This information will allow enhanced design and synthesis of nanomaterials, producing advanced products and processes for the energy, biotechnology, environmental and mining fields.Read moreRead less
New biosensing strategies based on bipolar electrochemiluminescence. Chemical analysis is a vital activity in our society, which is to a large extent confined to scientific laboratories and carried out with complex instrumentation. The breakthrough technology envisioned in this proposal will pave the way for simple, low-cost tests which can be used by non-scientists. The development of small, portable sensors for applications ranging from pollution monitoring to health testing, will enable ordi ....New biosensing strategies based on bipolar electrochemiluminescence. Chemical analysis is a vital activity in our society, which is to a large extent confined to scientific laboratories and carried out with complex instrumentation. The breakthrough technology envisioned in this proposal will pave the way for simple, low-cost tests which can be used by non-scientists. The development of small, portable sensors for applications ranging from pollution monitoring to health testing, will enable ordinary people to gain knowledge about the concentrations of molecular compounds in their environments and in themselves. This will stimulate economic and social benefits related to environmental testing and early disease diagnosis and generate new commercial opportunities for the Australian biotechnology industry.Read moreRead less
New Synthetic Routes to the Immobilisation of Mixed Valence Transition Metal Complexes on Conducting Metal Oxides. Highly coloured, electrochemically active transition metal dyes may find application electrochromic devices, where they may switch between contrasting coloured forms through a simple redox reaction. A prerequisite is that the dye be immobilised onto a solid conducting support whilst preserving the electrochemical and optical properties of the dye found in solution. This project tack ....New Synthetic Routes to the Immobilisation of Mixed Valence Transition Metal Complexes on Conducting Metal Oxides. Highly coloured, electrochemically active transition metal dyes may find application electrochromic devices, where they may switch between contrasting coloured forms through a simple redox reaction. A prerequisite is that the dye be immobilised onto a solid conducting support whilst preserving the electrochemical and optical properties of the dye found in solution. This project tackles this problem through a combination of organic and inorganic synthesis to develop new electrochromic dyes that may be attached to mesoporous titania.Read moreRead less
Two-dimensional nanoporous structured high performance gas evolution electrocatalysts. This project aims to develop nano-catalysts with high catalytic activity and rapid gas detachment properties for efficient fuel gas production. Heterogeneous electrocatalytic gas evolution reactions are important for clean energy generation and storage technologies, but high overpotentials caused by slow gaseous products’ detachment from catalyst surface severely hinder their efficiencies. Expected outcomes in ....Two-dimensional nanoporous structured high performance gas evolution electrocatalysts. This project aims to develop nano-catalysts with high catalytic activity and rapid gas detachment properties for efficient fuel gas production. Heterogeneous electrocatalytic gas evolution reactions are important for clean energy generation and storage technologies, but high overpotentials caused by slow gaseous products’ detachment from catalyst surface severely hinder their efficiencies. Expected outcomes include insights into gas bubble formation and evolution during electrocatalysis, effective catalyst structures to mitigate negative effects of gas bubble formation, and improved catalytic efficiency of gas evolution reactions and develop high performance electrocatalysts for fuel gas production.Read moreRead less
Electrochemically Driven Molybdoenzyme Catalysis. Enzymes that catalyse oxidation and reduction reactions need to exchange electrons with their substrate and this supply of electrons needs to be sustained. Artificially reconstituted systems can be developed where the enzyme is coupled with an electrode and the current (electrons) exchanged during the reaction are measured directly. In this project we will reveal whether some unusual and unexplained electrochemical phenomena seen before are relat ....Electrochemically Driven Molybdoenzyme Catalysis. Enzymes that catalyse oxidation and reduction reactions need to exchange electrons with their substrate and this supply of electrons needs to be sustained. Artificially reconstituted systems can be developed where the enzyme is coupled with an electrode and the current (electrons) exchanged during the reaction are measured directly. In this project we will reveal whether some unusual and unexplained electrochemical phenomena seen before are related to the properties of the enzymes themselves or the ways in which their experiments have been conducted.Read moreRead less
Molybdenum enzyme electrochemical communication. This project aims to understand the activity of three novel, but related, molybdenum enzymes, human mARC and its bacterial homologs YcbX and YiiM. The role of mARC in humans remains unknown twelve years after its discovery. All three enzymes catalyse the reduction of potentially harmful N-hydroxylated compounds and there is interest in this area from the perspective of drug design. This project will apply an electrochemical methodology to rapidly ....Molybdenum enzyme electrochemical communication. This project aims to understand the activity of three novel, but related, molybdenum enzymes, human mARC and its bacterial homologs YcbX and YiiM. The role of mARC in humans remains unknown twelve years after its discovery. All three enzymes catalyse the reduction of potentially harmful N-hydroxylated compounds and there is interest in this area from the perspective of drug design. This project will apply an electrochemical methodology to rapidly identify enzyme substrates and inhibitors. Molybdenum enzymes pervade all life forms and the outcomes of this research include a unified understanding of an emerging enzyme class involved in drug metabolism.Read moreRead less
Bioelectrochemical interconversion of the building blocks of life. This project aims to harness the efficiency of enzymes (Nature’s catalysts) by coupling them with an electrode for the electrochemical interconversion of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and formate; the organic building blocks of life. The significance of this research is that the efficient capture and reduction of carbon dioxide is an important quest in the environment and energy sectors. The expected outcomes of this project wi ....Bioelectrochemical interconversion of the building blocks of life. This project aims to harness the efficiency of enzymes (Nature’s catalysts) by coupling them with an electrode for the electrochemical interconversion of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and formate; the organic building blocks of life. The significance of this research is that the efficient capture and reduction of carbon dioxide is an important quest in the environment and energy sectors. The expected outcomes of this project will be an understanding of the reactivity of these enzymes and the conditions under which they may be utilised as part of a renewable electrochemical system. Benefits of this research should emerge in energy efficient technologies for generating fuels (formic acid) from waste products (carbon dioxide).Read moreRead less
Photoelectrocatalysis-based Techniques for Bactericidal Applications. Effective control of the quality of water supply is paramount for public health. This project aims to develop a novel photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) based bactericidal technology capable of instant inactivation and rapid decomposition of waterborne pathogens in recycled water. The PEC processes at the illuminated semiconductor photoanodes with ultraviolet (UV) and visible light activities will be innovatively utilised with the ai ....Photoelectrocatalysis-based Techniques for Bactericidal Applications. Effective control of the quality of water supply is paramount for public health. This project aims to develop a novel photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) based bactericidal technology capable of instant inactivation and rapid decomposition of waterborne pathogens in recycled water. The PEC processes at the illuminated semiconductor photoanodes with ultraviolet (UV) and visible light activities will be innovatively utilised with the aim of in-situ generation of stable di-halide radical anions, reactive oxygen species and photoholes as effectual bactericides to achieve instant inactivation and rapid decomposition of waterborne pathogens. The success of the project is expected to provide Australian water industry with enabling technology to safeguard recycled water usage.Read moreRead less
The fate of copper in atom transfer radical reactions. Copper (Cu) complexes of poly-amine ligands have emerged as extremely active homogeneous catalysts in atom transfer radical reactions, forming organic radicals from alkyl halide precursors, and they are now employed extensively in polymer and organic chemistry. The catalyst cycles between its Cu(I) and Cu(II) oxidation states reversibly yet both forms are susceptible to side reactions, particularly with solvents which can lead to loss of cat ....The fate of copper in atom transfer radical reactions. Copper (Cu) complexes of poly-amine ligands have emerged as extremely active homogeneous catalysts in atom transfer radical reactions, forming organic radicals from alkyl halide precursors, and they are now employed extensively in polymer and organic chemistry. The catalyst cycles between its Cu(I) and Cu(II) oxidation states reversibly yet both forms are susceptible to side reactions, particularly with solvents which can lead to loss of catalytic activity. This project aims to apply a multifaceted approach to interrogate the catalysts in both their Cu(I) and Cu(II) oxidation states and identify for the first time the pathways that lead to undesirable side reactions and provide new ways of optimising catalyst performance.Read moreRead less