Cyclophane Carbene Complexes as Catalysts: An Integrated Synthetic, Structural, and Mechanistic Approach. Metal-carbene complexes are emerging as efficient catalysts for chemical processes of immense importance to the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries. This project will build on the recent discovery of a family of complexes that exhibits the highest activity yet reported for metal-carbene catalysts in carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions. Insights into the ways the new catalysts work ....Cyclophane Carbene Complexes as Catalysts: An Integrated Synthetic, Structural, and Mechanistic Approach. Metal-carbene complexes are emerging as efficient catalysts for chemical processes of immense importance to the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries. This project will build on the recent discovery of a family of complexes that exhibits the highest activity yet reported for metal-carbene catalysts in carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions. Insights into the ways the new catalysts work will be gained through a combination of synthetic, mechanistic, and structural studies. This detailed investigation of structure/reactivity relationships will provide an understanding of why these catalyst are so efficient and hence give synthetic leads for the development of superior new catalysts suitable for industrial application.Read moreRead less
Correlative Imaging of Brain Lipids. This project aims to develop imaging tools and protocols for the detection of lipids in brain tissue and cells. This project expects to generate advanced methodologies to display specific lipid classes and their corresponding structures within tissues and cells, with the ability to be detected and correlated with multiple techniques, which represent a currently unavailable capacity. The expected outcomes of this project are improved opportunities to study lip ....Correlative Imaging of Brain Lipids. This project aims to develop imaging tools and protocols for the detection of lipids in brain tissue and cells. This project expects to generate advanced methodologies to display specific lipid classes and their corresponding structures within tissues and cells, with the ability to be detected and correlated with multiple techniques, which represent a currently unavailable capacity. The expected outcomes of this project are improved opportunities to study lipid biology at the cellular and sub-cellular level across a wide range of in vitro and in vivo models. The outcomes of this project should provide significant knowledge to tackle modern societal challenges in healthy ageing, brain pathologies and neurodegenerative diseases.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
A radical approach to the design of components for molecular electronics. This project aims to develop highly conductive organometallic molecular wires for use in future molecular electronics technology. Metal complexes have immense potential as components in future electronic circuits, offering function on a size impossible to meet in conventional solid-state devices, and helping overcome limits in 'top-down' scaling. Whilst organic molecules that display electronic function are known, their pe ....A radical approach to the design of components for molecular electronics. This project aims to develop highly conductive organometallic molecular wires for use in future molecular electronics technology. Metal complexes have immense potential as components in future electronic circuits, offering function on a size impossible to meet in conventional solid-state devices, and helping overcome limits in 'top-down' scaling. Whilst organic molecules that display electronic function are known, their performance remains poor. Just as doping a semiconductor results in higher electrical conductance by placing additional electrons (holes) into the conduction (valence) band, this project will use transition metal organometallic complexes bearing radical ligands as innovative motifs in the design of novel molecular components.Read moreRead less
Design and synthesis of novel lanthanoid complexes for the fabrication of light emitting devices. There is a huge and still growing economy centred around the design and fabrication of low-cost Light Emitting Devices (LEDs), as demonstrated by the excess of US$1.3 billion invested in this field between 2000 and 2007. Nations focused on the production of new and more efficient materials will be at the forefront of these emerging technologies. The major thrust of this proposal, the design and prep ....Design and synthesis of novel lanthanoid complexes for the fabrication of light emitting devices. There is a huge and still growing economy centred around the design and fabrication of low-cost Light Emitting Devices (LEDs), as demonstrated by the excess of US$1.3 billion invested in this field between 2000 and 2007. Nations focused on the production of new and more efficient materials will be at the forefront of these emerging technologies. The major thrust of this proposal, the design and preparation of luminescent rare earths complexes, and their use for the fabrication of LEDS, represent a good opportunity for Australia to access this growing market. Read moreRead less
Biodegradable Porous HEMA-Based Polymers: Innovative Strategies for the Design and Tuneable Single-Step Production of a Novel Class of Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering. This project will lead to the development of new biocompatible, biodegradable, porous materials ideally suited to many applications in tissue engineering. These new biomaterials will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, via simple processes using non-toxic reagents. The key properties of the biomaterials will be controllable ....Biodegradable Porous HEMA-Based Polymers: Innovative Strategies for the Design and Tuneable Single-Step Production of a Novel Class of Scaffolds for Tissue Engineering. This project will lead to the development of new biocompatible, biodegradable, porous materials ideally suited to many applications in tissue engineering. These new biomaterials will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture, via simple processes using non-toxic reagents. The key properties of the biomaterials will be controllable by appropriate choice of starting materials. The availability of these new biomaterials will facilitate future developments in tissue engineering, which will ultimately lead to improved medical outcomes in areas as diverse as joint and bone repair and organ regeneration. Local manufacture of these biomaterials would also contribute to the development of the Australian biotechnology industry.Read moreRead less
Wavelet approaches for solving nonlinear dynamic systems in process engineering. The success of the proposed project will enable us to obtain more accurate numerical solutions for the nonlinear dynamical systems arising from process engineering. This ensures the potential for understanding and optimising industrial and engineering processes. Hence, a wide range of processing industries in Australia, such as agricultural chemicals, mineral processing, food, detergents, pharmaceuticals, ceramics ....Wavelet approaches for solving nonlinear dynamic systems in process engineering. The success of the proposed project will enable us to obtain more accurate numerical solutions for the nonlinear dynamical systems arising from process engineering. This ensures the potential for understanding and optimising industrial and engineering processes. Hence, a wide range of processing industries in Australia, such as agricultural chemicals, mineral processing, food, detergents, pharmaceuticals, ceramics and specialty chemicals will benefit from the results of this project. This will ensure globally competitive production and, therefore, greater contributions to the Australian economy.Read moreRead less
Turbulent vertical mixing in stratified flows. The project will provide the first definitive data set to document, at the process level, the contribution of turbulance, to mixing in stratified flows and improve our understanding of how well current closure schemes mimic the buoyancy flux and the Reynolds stresses in a stratified shear flow.
Energetics and dynamics of solvated biologically relevant molecules using liquid microjet and ion imaging technologies. The shape of many biomolecules in solution plays a critical role in determining their biological activity and function. It is known that the bonds that form between the biomolecules and the water solvent control this shape. However, very little is known about the strength and structure of these bonds at different sites around the biomolecule. Many experiments have informed u ....Energetics and dynamics of solvated biologically relevant molecules using liquid microjet and ion imaging technologies. The shape of many biomolecules in solution plays a critical role in determining their biological activity and function. It is known that the bonds that form between the biomolecules and the water solvent control this shape. However, very little is known about the strength and structure of these bonds at different sites around the biomolecule. Many experiments have informed us about the strength of the bonds, others have told us where the bonds occur. This project will provide both pieces of information for the first time, allowing us to better understand, and therefore control, biological function. This work will assist in the development of new biotechnology processes, especially in the emerging area of proteomics.Read moreRead less
Ferrihydrite : Fundamentals of a Natural Nanomaterial. The overarching goal of this project is to obtain the depth of knowledge necessary to achieve specific size, composition and morphology control in the crystallization of nanometer-sized iron oxides. The project focusses on the structural characteristics of the oxy-hydroxide phase ferrihydrite, which is a key intermediate in the formation of other iron oxides. The project will employ characterization techniques such as small-angle scattering ....Ferrihydrite : Fundamentals of a Natural Nanomaterial. The overarching goal of this project is to obtain the depth of knowledge necessary to achieve specific size, composition and morphology control in the crystallization of nanometer-sized iron oxides. The project focusses on the structural characteristics of the oxy-hydroxide phase ferrihydrite, which is a key intermediate in the formation of other iron oxides. The project will employ characterization techniques such as small-angle scattering, high resolution TEM, electron nanodiffraction and magnetic energy barrier distribution measurements to study crystallization processes of the iron oxy-hydroxide ferrihydrite, both in vivo and in vitro. The knowledge gained from the biological realm will allow us to devise new laboratory techniques for the preparation of nanoparticles, and provide important information about iron biomineralization to advance the treatment of iron overload diseases.Read moreRead less