Intervalence Transfer in Dinuclear and Oligonuclear Polymetallic Assemblies. Mixed-valence compounds (such as the pigment Prussian Blue) have been known for over two centuries, and possess important conductivity, magnetic and spectral properties. Electron transfer between the elements of different valency (intervalence charge transfer, IVCT) gives rise to absorbances in the red or near-infrared region of the spectrum which provide fundamental information on the electron migration. By design of ....Intervalence Transfer in Dinuclear and Oligonuclear Polymetallic Assemblies. Mixed-valence compounds (such as the pigment Prussian Blue) have been known for over two centuries, and possess important conductivity, magnetic and spectral properties. Electron transfer between the elements of different valency (intervalence charge transfer, IVCT) gives rise to absorbances in the red or near-infrared region of the spectrum which provide fundamental information on the electron migration. By design of target di- and higher nuclearity polymetallic species, the project will study IVCT phenomena to understand electron movement, allowing rational development of applicable materials such as catalysts, light-activated devices and non-linear optical materials.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101403
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$360,000.00
Summary
Alloy catalyst design for synthesis of graphene and boron nitride sheets. This project aims to use computational methods to determine the optimal catalyst for growth of high quality, continuous films, a crucial scientific problem in the synthesis of two dimensional materials. It will use first-principles calculations to explore the growth of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride on several designed alloy catalysts and develop a physical model to understand the mechanism of the chemical vapour dep ....Alloy catalyst design for synthesis of graphene and boron nitride sheets. This project aims to use computational methods to determine the optimal catalyst for growth of high quality, continuous films, a crucial scientific problem in the synthesis of two dimensional materials. It will use first-principles calculations to explore the growth of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride on several designed alloy catalysts and develop a physical model to understand the mechanism of the chemical vapour deposition growth of the materials. The alloy catalyst design is expected to lead to experimental routes to synthesise high-quality and large-area graphene and hexagonal boron nitride films and accelerate the industrial application of two-dimensional nanomaterials. This will promote their application in catalysis, sensors, electronics, energy storage and increase Australia’s competitive advantage in synthesis of high-performance materials.Read moreRead less
Plasmonic nanoparticle catalysis for nitrogen-based synthesis. Light can generate an optical force to capture small objects. This requires intense light – a laser, which limits optical trapping in catalysis applications. This project aims to apply plasmonic nanoparticles with normal-intensity light to take advantage of plasmonic-generated optical forces for catalytic chemical synthesis. The optical trapping/releasing of small molecules is highly selective and responsive to molecule structure and ....Plasmonic nanoparticle catalysis for nitrogen-based synthesis. Light can generate an optical force to capture small objects. This requires intense light – a laser, which limits optical trapping in catalysis applications. This project aims to apply plasmonic nanoparticles with normal-intensity light to take advantage of plasmonic-generated optical forces for catalytic chemical synthesis. The optical trapping/releasing of small molecules is highly selective and responsive to molecule structure and so presents a great opportunity to radically alter chemical synthesis pathways, which will be illustrated with reactions on liquid-solid and gas-solid interfaces. This highly innovative strategy will be used to discover new nitrogen-based syntheses which are both fundamentally and industrially important.Read moreRead less
Computer-Aided Design of High-Performance Photocatalysts for Solar Hydrogen Production Based on Red Titanium Dioxide. Large-scale generation of energy by solar conversion is critical for future sustainability. This project aims to develop high performance materials to efficiently convert solar energy to hydrogen - a clean fuel. Starting from the newly developed material red titanium dioxide, novel strategies for improved photocatalytic materials will be proposed and evaluated by advanced computa ....Computer-Aided Design of High-Performance Photocatalysts for Solar Hydrogen Production Based on Red Titanium Dioxide. Large-scale generation of energy by solar conversion is critical for future sustainability. This project aims to develop high performance materials to efficiently convert solar energy to hydrogen - a clean fuel. Starting from the newly developed material red titanium dioxide, novel strategies for improved photocatalytic materials will be proposed and evaluated by advanced computational approaches. Key issues for solar-to-hydrogen conversion will be clarified. The materials, knowledge and strategies achieved by this project will dramatically enhance current solar technology and in particular will advance the development of low-cost hydrogen production from water. Read moreRead less
Chlorine Evolution Catalysts for Efferent Seawater Electrolysis. Seawater is the most abundant aqueous resource on earth that is readily accessible at very low costs, but yet to be directly utilised for production of hydrogen fuel and commodity chemicals. This project aims to develop cheap and plentiful carbon-based high performance chlorine evolution electrocatalysts for seawater electrolysis powered by renewable electricity to realise the production of hydrogen, chlorine and sodium hydroxide d ....Chlorine Evolution Catalysts for Efferent Seawater Electrolysis. Seawater is the most abundant aqueous resource on earth that is readily accessible at very low costs, but yet to be directly utilised for production of hydrogen fuel and commodity chemicals. This project aims to develop cheap and plentiful carbon-based high performance chlorine evolution electrocatalysts for seawater electrolysis powered by renewable electricity to realise the production of hydrogen, chlorine and sodium hydroxide directly from seawater. The electrolyser can also be used to treat desalination brine while produce hydrogen and chemicals. The success of the project will set a firm technological foundation for seawater utilisation, which will add to Australian capability to meet future energy and environment challenges.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101450
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$392,556.00
Summary
Tuning non-plasmonic metals to high performance photocatalysts. This project aims to develop non-plasmonic, transition metal-based, photocatalysts with enhanced light absorption, to achieve irradiation controllable product selectivity in organic synthesis. The project demonstrates how hollow-particle morphology alloy nano-structures can enhance photocatalytic activity. Alloy structures such as iridium-nickel (IrNi), iridium-cobalt (IrCo) and iridium-tin (IrSn) nanoparticles with a hollow morphol ....Tuning non-plasmonic metals to high performance photocatalysts. This project aims to develop non-plasmonic, transition metal-based, photocatalysts with enhanced light absorption, to achieve irradiation controllable product selectivity in organic synthesis. The project demonstrates how hollow-particle morphology alloy nano-structures can enhance photocatalytic activity. Alloy structures such as iridium-nickel (IrNi), iridium-cobalt (IrCo) and iridium-tin (IrSn) nanoparticles with a hollow morphology, exhibit dramatically increased photocatalytic activity over their individual components, Ir, Ni, Co and Sn respectively. The project is expected to expand the application of photocatalysis and generate knowledge that can be used to design efficient photocatalysts from non-plasmonic metals. Intended benefits are the generation of new knowledge and capabilities in synthetic catalysis and applications in fields such as the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy.Read moreRead less
Promoting transition metal complex catalysis with plasmonic antennae. This project aims to apply visible light photocatalysis to a wide range of chemical reactions by utilizing the intriguing effects of intense light absorption by plasmonic metal nanoparticles, such as generating energetic electrons, changing reactant adsorption and the chemical binding of reactant with the catalyst. These effects will promote catalysis at surface-bound metal complex reaction sites under mild reaction conditions ....Promoting transition metal complex catalysis with plasmonic antennae. This project aims to apply visible light photocatalysis to a wide range of chemical reactions by utilizing the intriguing effects of intense light absorption by plasmonic metal nanoparticles, such as generating energetic electrons, changing reactant adsorption and the chemical binding of reactant with the catalyst. These effects will promote catalysis at surface-bound metal complex reaction sites under mild reaction conditions. This is a part of our long-term effort to transform chemical production by heating into green photocatalytic process. This project expects to generate knowledge crucial for developing theories for catalysis, the design of efficient catalysts, green chemical synthesis methods, and enhance international collaboration.Read moreRead less
Optimising catalyst performance by tuning adsorption with light. This project aims to utilize visible light to control reactant adsorption on catalyst surfaces for accelerating reactions and tuning product selectivity. Visible light irradiation of plasmonic metal nanoparticles can generate a force that attracts reactant to the nanoparticles in a catalyst, and causes desorption of other reactant-types from the particles. These compound-selective effects can alter the concentrations of reactants a ....Optimising catalyst performance by tuning adsorption with light. This project aims to utilize visible light to control reactant adsorption on catalyst surfaces for accelerating reactions and tuning product selectivity. Visible light irradiation of plasmonic metal nanoparticles can generate a force that attracts reactant to the nanoparticles in a catalyst, and causes desorption of other reactant-types from the particles. These compound-selective effects can alter the concentrations of reactants at the catalyst surface, a new paradigm for optimising catalytic performance. This project expects to open new capabilities within fields of catalysis and light-matter interaction. The anticipated outcomes include significant advancement of knowledge in catalysis and new approaches for important chemical synthesis.Read moreRead less