Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100071
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
Light-bending strategies of next generation scalable plasmonic devices. This project will focus on a goal of engineering novel plasmonic metamaterials for manipulating light at the nanoscale. In particular, it will employ curved anodized alumina templates as well as 3D hybrid structures to explore light bending and strong resonances at the visible spectral range. Plasmonic metamaterials offer a unique ability to control subwavelength light propagation, for achieving unprecedented sensing sensiti ....Light-bending strategies of next generation scalable plasmonic devices. This project will focus on a goal of engineering novel plasmonic metamaterials for manipulating light at the nanoscale. In particular, it will employ curved anodized alumina templates as well as 3D hybrid structures to explore light bending and strong resonances at the visible spectral range. Plasmonic metamaterials offer a unique ability to control subwavelength light propagation, for achieving unprecedented sensing sensitivities and emerging nanophotonics phenomena. However, fabrication challenges and high losses hamper their application in the visible spectral range. Engineering these plasmonic structures in a scalable manner should strengthen Australia’s economy, lead to new industrial companies in the emerging field of plasmonics, attract international investments and create job opportunities.Read moreRead less
Overcoming performance limiting chemistries in membrane distillation. This project aims to study performance limiting chemistries associated with fouling of solution-borne components on membrane surfaces that cause critical vapour pressure loss. Membrane distillation could be used for sustainable resource recovery, but no research has overcome the total loss of membrane water flux when removing water from saturated solutions where the critical resource recovery function occurs. This project will ....Overcoming performance limiting chemistries in membrane distillation. This project aims to study performance limiting chemistries associated with fouling of solution-borne components on membrane surfaces that cause critical vapour pressure loss. Membrane distillation could be used for sustainable resource recovery, but no research has overcome the total loss of membrane water flux when removing water from saturated solutions where the critical resource recovery function occurs. This project will characterise the physical and chemical properties of the flux limiting solid on the membrane surface, and the role of membrane chemistry and functional conditions in overcoming this limit. The outcomes of the work will provide innovative sustainable solutions to recover valuable products from current wastes.Read moreRead less
Superwettability effects on oil-mist coalescing fibrous filters. This project aims to provide new knowledge about how to use surface engineering techniques to produce highly efficient, energy-saving fibrous filters for separating oil mists from air streams. The focus is to address the challenge of the low efficiency of current generation coalescing filters for removal of oil mists smaller than one micrometre. The project will result in new methods to precisely control fibre surface wettability a ....Superwettability effects on oil-mist coalescing fibrous filters. This project aims to provide new knowledge about how to use surface engineering techniques to produce highly efficient, energy-saving fibrous filters for separating oil mists from air streams. The focus is to address the challenge of the low efficiency of current generation coalescing filters for removal of oil mists smaller than one micrometre. The project will result in new methods to precisely control fibre surface wettability and oil drainage within fibrous filters. The new knowledge and coalescing filters developed will benefit scientific and industrial fields including metal processing, automotive, engineering and manufacturing, electronics, food, hospital, mining, pharmaceuticals and energy generation.Read moreRead less
Development of nanoporous materials for capture and release of oxygen. This project aims to develop new materials to make lighter, more efficient oxygen concentrators. The project will combine materials that can capture oxygen with particles that can be magnetically heated, making it possible to release the oxygen rapidly and efficiently when needed. Expected outcomes from this project include new composite materials and better understanding of how gases are trapped and released within composite ....Development of nanoporous materials for capture and release of oxygen. This project aims to develop new materials to make lighter, more efficient oxygen concentrators. The project will combine materials that can capture oxygen with particles that can be magnetically heated, making it possible to release the oxygen rapidly and efficiently when needed. Expected outcomes from this project include new composite materials and better understanding of how gases are trapped and released within composite materials. Benefits from this project may include oxygen concentrators that are more portable and have longer battery life, both with industrial and medical applications.Read moreRead less
Pore Engineering of Chromatography Membranes for Bioseparation. Protein separation and purification is an essential unit operation in manufacturing processes of therapeutic proteins. The project aims to advance the practical applications of chromatography membrane, an emerging technology for protein separation and purification, by tailoring membrane pore geometry and surface functionality to achieve enhanced separation performance. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge and technique ....Pore Engineering of Chromatography Membranes for Bioseparation. Protein separation and purification is an essential unit operation in manufacturing processes of therapeutic proteins. The project aims to advance the practical applications of chromatography membrane, an emerging technology for protein separation and purification, by tailoring membrane pore geometry and surface functionality to achieve enhanced separation performance. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge and techniques in the fields of reactive polymer synthesis, functional membrane fabrication and application in bioseparation. The innovative membranes developed in the project are able to improve the production capacity of therapeutic protein manufacturing processes, providing significant economic benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for Organic Solvent Separation. Directly addressing the pressing challenge of organic solvent separation faced by numerous industries, the project aims to develop molecular sieve membranes with outstanding selectivity and solvent tolerance by constructing zeolite-carbon mixed matrix membrane via incorporating zeolite nanosheets into carbon materials. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge of nanosheet synthesis, membrane fabrication and selective mole ....Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes for Organic Solvent Separation. Directly addressing the pressing challenge of organic solvent separation faced by numerous industries, the project aims to develop molecular sieve membranes with outstanding selectivity and solvent tolerance by constructing zeolite-carbon mixed matrix membrane via incorporating zeolite nanosheets into carbon materials. The project expects to generate advanced knowledge of nanosheet synthesis, membrane fabrication and selective molecule transport. The membranes developed in the project have great potentials for improving the production capacity and sustainability of Australian industries, e.g., pharmaceutical manufacturing, bioethanol production and petroleum refining, providing significant economic and environmental benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL110100013
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,260,000.00
Summary
New materials for a sustainable energy future. This project will research and develop new selective transport materials to create new sustainable technologies for energy storage (e.g. batteries and capacitors) which will allow greater use of renewable energy sources, desalination and CO2 capture.
Crystal engineering of membranes for chiral separation . This project addresses the urgent challenge of chiral separation in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals by creating a new class of membranes produced by engineering functionalised porous framework crystals. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding how membrane chemistry and architecture can be used to achieve highly selective, fast chiral molecule transport. The expected outcomes of the project include ne ....Crystal engineering of membranes for chiral separation . This project addresses the urgent challenge of chiral separation in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals by creating a new class of membranes produced by engineering functionalised porous framework crystals. This project expects to generate new knowledge regarding how membrane chemistry and architecture can be used to achieve highly selective, fast chiral molecule transport. The expected outcomes of the project include new membrane compositions, design principles, fabrication techniques, and proof-of-concept production of scalable, high-performance composite membranes. This project should produce significant economic and environmental benefits in the development of advanced membranes, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals.Read moreRead less
Exploration of lead free ferroelectric crystals for transducer applications. This project aims to investigate lead free crystals, which are expected to possess high piezoelectric properties for medical imaging and underwater acoustics, as an alternative to toxic lead-based ferroelectrics which have been dominantly used in ultrasound transducers. The project will have significant impact on development of new lead-free ferroelectric crystals with desirable properties. This will benefit Australian ....Exploration of lead free ferroelectric crystals for transducer applications. This project aims to investigate lead free crystals, which are expected to possess high piezoelectric properties for medical imaging and underwater acoustics, as an alternative to toxic lead-based ferroelectrics which have been dominantly used in ultrasound transducers. The project will have significant impact on development of new lead-free ferroelectric crystals with desirable properties. This will benefit Australian industry by providing knowledge and technology of crystal growth, enabling advanced ultrasound transducers for medical imaging and underwater acoustic applications.Read moreRead less