Formation and stability of polymerically stabilized colloids. This project will bring economic, medical and environmental benefits, with improved product performance and manufacturing processes for everyday industrial items relevant to a large industrial sector with significant employment in Australia: inks and paints (for example, surface coatings that can be applied more rapidly without clogging the jets); better means of preventing the fouling of industrial membranes; and improved materials f ....Formation and stability of polymerically stabilized colloids. This project will bring economic, medical and environmental benefits, with improved product performance and manufacturing processes for everyday industrial items relevant to a large industrial sector with significant employment in Australia: inks and paints (for example, surface coatings that can be applied more rapidly without clogging the jets); better means of preventing the fouling of industrial membranes; and improved materials for biomedical applications, with more desirable interactions between living cells and body fluids. These advances will also speed the replacement of solvent-based lacquer paints - detrimental to both environment and user - with water-based products of high quality.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347346
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$210,000.00
Summary
Electrochemical Atomic Force Microscope and Nano-Manipulation Facility. This new Facility will add the nano-dimension to the excellent electrochemical mapping facility established at the University of Wollongong over the past 2 years. The instrument we propose to install will allow us to probe electrochemical events and, in particular, the influence of these events on the structure of customised materials at the nano level. This new capability will impact on our research into the development o ....Electrochemical Atomic Force Microscope and Nano-Manipulation Facility. This new Facility will add the nano-dimension to the excellent electrochemical mapping facility established at the University of Wollongong over the past 2 years. The instrument we propose to install will allow us to probe electrochemical events and, in particular, the influence of these events on the structure of customised materials at the nano level. This new capability will impact on our research into the development of efficient artificial muscles, biosensors, corrosion protection coatings, polymeric photovoltaics and new surfaces for mammalian cell culturing.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453637
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$256,804.00
Summary
Multi-dimensional polymer characterization facility. The microstructure of polymers dominates their physical properties. This integrated facility will create a world-leading means of characterizing in multiple dimensions the microstructure of complex polymers, eg copolymers and branched polymers. The facility will yield information on the distributions of chain end-groups, monomer microstructure, and branches, as functions of molecular weight. The facility will provide otherwise unobtainable dat ....Multi-dimensional polymer characterization facility. The microstructure of polymers dominates their physical properties. This integrated facility will create a world-leading means of characterizing in multiple dimensions the microstructure of complex polymers, eg copolymers and branched polymers. The facility will yield information on the distributions of chain end-groups, monomer microstructure, and branches, as functions of molecular weight. The facility will provide otherwise unobtainable data for a set of projects exploring questions ranging from how new synthetic materials with tailor-made properties can be created, through to how our understanding of natural polymers can be advanced to improve crop utilization.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0560981
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$160,940.00
Summary
Confronting the Challenges in Modern Spectroscopy of Polymers. Polymers and nanocomposites are increasingly being used in new, high value applications as diverse as medicine, structural engineering, optics and electronics. In order to control and understand polymer performance, a detailed knowledge of the chemical structure at all stages in their lifecycle is required - in the liquid, rubber and solid states and during degradation. This application seeks to establish a coordinated Polymer Spectr ....Confronting the Challenges in Modern Spectroscopy of Polymers. Polymers and nanocomposites are increasingly being used in new, high value applications as diverse as medicine, structural engineering, optics and electronics. In order to control and understand polymer performance, a detailed knowledge of the chemical structure at all stages in their lifecycle is required - in the liquid, rubber and solid states and during degradation. This application seeks to establish a coordinated Polymer Spectroscopy Network using new forms of infrared and NMR spectroscopy to probe samples (usually of an non-planar geometry) in a range of configurations. These will be used simultaneously with other techniques such as rheology or thermogravimetry, and will produce capabilities unique in Australia.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354805
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Research Network for Rehabilitation of Structures Using Advanced Materials and Frontier Technologies. There is an urgent need to rehabilitate existing structures that are considered inadequate in strength and serviceability. Frontier strengthening technologies (such as external post-tensioning and plate bonding) using conventional and advanced materials are being currently developed in Australia by different groups, but as yet not in a coordinated manner. The aim of this network is to bring tog ....Research Network for Rehabilitation of Structures Using Advanced Materials and Frontier Technologies. There is an urgent need to rehabilitate existing structures that are considered inadequate in strength and serviceability. Frontier strengthening technologies (such as external post-tensioning and plate bonding) using conventional and advanced materials are being currently developed in Australia by different groups, but as yet not in a coordinated manner. The aim of this network is to bring together a multi-disciplinary team with complementary strengths to provide an integrated solution for rehabilitation of structures. The core of the network focuses on design tools, linking the various technologies to provide appropriate rehabilitation and understanding of life cycle demands for major infrastructure.Read moreRead less
Multilayer Graphene Based Anti-Corrosion Polymer Coated Structures. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer graphene/polymer coating for structures exposed to corrosive environment with graphene concentration varying layer-wise to eliminate galvanic corrosion yet maintain all unique advantages owing to graphene inclusion, thus offering a cost-effective design solution with significantly improved anti-corrosion performance and remarkably enhanced safety and durability for structures. Expe ....Multilayer Graphene Based Anti-Corrosion Polymer Coated Structures. This project aims to develop a novel multilayer graphene/polymer coating for structures exposed to corrosive environment with graphene concentration varying layer-wise to eliminate galvanic corrosion yet maintain all unique advantages owing to graphene inclusion, thus offering a cost-effective design solution with significantly improved anti-corrosion performance and remarkably enhanced safety and durability for structures. Expected outcomes of this project include an innovative design, experimental data on corrosion prevention, development of reliable simulation techniques and design procedures for the proposed coating. This should provide huge benefits to Australian civil, offshore and marine engineering industry and national economy.Read moreRead less
Mechanistic investigation of fluorinated coatings for stone preservation. We will investigate mechanisms governing the synthesis of a latex used for stone preservation. This latex is made from novel and unusual starting materials, and will be the most complex system for which mechanisms have been investigated. We will redesign the synthesis procedure to control particle size and composition of the functional species at the particle surface. This will enable both particle size and surface composi ....Mechanistic investigation of fluorinated coatings for stone preservation. We will investigate mechanisms governing the synthesis of a latex used for stone preservation. This latex is made from novel and unusual starting materials, and will be the most complex system for which mechanisms have been investigated. We will redesign the synthesis procedure to control particle size and composition of the functional species at the particle surface. This will enable both particle size and surface composition to be tailored as desired. The results will be used to investigate the influence of these quantities on interactions between particles and sandstone surfaces. The outcomes will be used by the industrial partner to devise improved protective coatings for stone surfaces in Australian conditions.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0211003
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$125,000.00
Summary
A Facility for Probing Nanostructure in Polymers. The properties of a polymer are only partly determined by its molecular structure. It is now clear that the organization of molecular structure and phase morphology on a nano-scale has an equally important role in determining material behaviour. Increasingly this can be manipulated by judicious choice of formulation and processing variables. The polymer Nano-Structure Facility will bring together Australia's principal polymer experts in this a ....A Facility for Probing Nanostructure in Polymers. The properties of a polymer are only partly determined by its molecular structure. It is now clear that the organization of molecular structure and phase morphology on a nano-scale has an equally important role in determining material behaviour. Increasingly this can be manipulated by judicious choice of formulation and processing variables. The polymer Nano-Structure Facility will bring together Australia's principal polymer experts in this area of structure-property relations and provide them with shared access to the appropriate, modern analytical tools required to probe the nano-structure of such new materials with enhanced properties.Read moreRead less
Synthesis of nanocomposite polymers with targeted properties. This project aims to synthesise novel nanocomposite polymers by living radical polymerisation in water and to understand the way polymer microstructure and nanomorphology control material properties. This will provide the enabling science so that nanomaterials with targeted properties can be tailor-made for biomedical and speciality-coatings applications, and thus dispense with the current trial-and-error methodology. The innovations ....Synthesis of nanocomposite polymers with targeted properties. This project aims to synthesise novel nanocomposite polymers by living radical polymerisation in water and to understand the way polymer microstructure and nanomorphology control material properties. This will provide the enabling science so that nanomaterials with targeted properties can be tailor-made for biomedical and speciality-coatings applications, and thus dispense with the current trial-and-error methodology. The innovations in this project are the novel synthesis of complex polymer architectures in water, and the first quantitative and qualitative structure-property correlations for such materials. This will also result in a deepened understanding of the mechanisms governing the formation of these nanocomposites.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0453426
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$235,000.00
Summary
Access for Australian Researchers to Advanced Neutron Beam Techniques. Neutron scattering is one of the most powerful and important investigative tools in the study of materials. Australia has only a low-flux neutron source, HIFAR, which provides no cold or hot neutrons. This excludes large, important areas of science, such as functional films, polymers, self-assembly systems, biological materials, colloids and emulsions, and real-time in-situ studies.
This application aims to continue Australi ....Access for Australian Researchers to Advanced Neutron Beam Techniques. Neutron scattering is one of the most powerful and important investigative tools in the study of materials. Australia has only a low-flux neutron source, HIFAR, which provides no cold or hot neutrons. This excludes large, important areas of science, such as functional films, polymers, self-assembly systems, biological materials, colloids and emulsions, and real-time in-situ studies.
This application aims to continue Australia's partnership with the world's most intense neutron source, ISIS in the UK, in order to sustain the considerable Australian scientific momentum which now relies on ISIS.
The outcomes will be new science that cannot be generated solely within Australia.
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