Tuning the electrolytes for high efficiency solar splitting of water. This project will develop a new technology that uses ionic liquids and sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen to be used as a clean fuel. Australia has abundant sunlight, is very close to the growing energy markets of the Asia-Pacific region, and is ideally placed to benefit from this new technology.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100748
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,000.00
Summary
Mechanofluorescent Surfaces for Understanding Complex Cell Traction Forces. This project aims to develop pressure-sensing surfaces that directly quantify surface forces, focused towards measuring complex cell traction forces. Understanding cell traction forces is a crucial challenge towards developing new materials for regenerative medicine. The surfaces, consisting of fluorescent polymer brushes, are expected to provide direct information on singular and clustered cell forces, which can reveal ....Mechanofluorescent Surfaces for Understanding Complex Cell Traction Forces. This project aims to develop pressure-sensing surfaces that directly quantify surface forces, focused towards measuring complex cell traction forces. Understanding cell traction forces is a crucial challenge towards developing new materials for regenerative medicine. The surfaces, consisting of fluorescent polymer brushes, are expected to provide direct information on singular and clustered cell forces, which can reveal new insight into how cells interact together. This may provide currently missing information on how cell-surface interaction forces modulate cell growth, differentiation and tissue formation. This insight is crucial to providing the underpinning science that can position Australia at the forefront of regenerative medicine.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100193
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,000.00
Summary
Super High Resolution Correlative Microscopy: New Research Capability for Bioengineering, Clean Energy, Mineral Processing and Environmental Sciences. Super high resolution correlative microscopy: new research capability for bioengineering, clean energy, mineral processing and environmental sciences: This project will establish the first facility for super high resolution correlative microscopy in Australia. This facility will underpin breakthrough science by providing the capability to combine ....Super High Resolution Correlative Microscopy: New Research Capability for Bioengineering, Clean Energy, Mineral Processing and Environmental Sciences. Super high resolution correlative microscopy: new research capability for bioengineering, clean energy, mineral processing and environmental sciences: This project will establish the first facility for super high resolution correlative microscopy in Australia. This facility will underpin breakthrough science by providing the capability to combine and overlay conventional and super high resolution light microscopy information with electron microscopy information on identical sample locations. This new capability will foster advances in the fundamental understanding of multiscale hybrid organic and inorganic structures and spur the development of advanced (nano)materials and devices with broad applications in bioengineering and biofouling, advanced materials for life sciences, clean energy, water and the environment and mineral processing.Read moreRead less
Artificial photosynthesis for solar fuel production. We aim to realise an artificial system that converts solar energy to hydrogen (artificial photosynthesis). The resulting device will be able to 'split' water into oxygen and hydrogen, whereas hydrogen can be further converted into electricity or heat (combustion).
Sodium ion interactions with biomass-derived hard carbon electrodes. This project aims to investigate sodium ion behavior when electrochemically interacting with hard carbon electrode materials by using both in-situ and ex-situ techniques in combination with advanced computational methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge and establish structure-property-performance correlations, thus providing guidelines and strategies for synthesising cost-effective electrode materials from bioma ....Sodium ion interactions with biomass-derived hard carbon electrodes. This project aims to investigate sodium ion behavior when electrochemically interacting with hard carbon electrode materials by using both in-situ and ex-situ techniques in combination with advanced computational methods. This project expects to generate new knowledge and establish structure-property-performance correlations, thus providing guidelines and strategies for synthesising cost-effective electrode materials from biomass for developing sustainable sodium-ion batteries. The intended outcome of this project includes knowledge advancement, enhanced capability to build international collaborations, training of early career researchers and students, and positioning Australia on the world map as a world-leading nation in energy storage.Read moreRead less
Functional molecular nanomaterials. The design and construction of advanced nanomaterials is a key step in the push towards more efficient energy systems and smarter technologies. Through the strategic assembly of new classes of molecular nanomaterials, this project will lead to important fundamental advances in nanoscience and will underpin a range of new high-level technologies.
Next generation hybrid nanomaterials: bispecific antibody-targeted polymers. This project aims to develop and optimise a novel platform technology that will assist in the development of hybrid materials consisting of nanomaterials and biomolecules, which form the basis of many commercial diagnostic devices. A novel antibody, MIL38, will provide the test bed for the technology, which will aim to deliver a platform that is stable under physiological conditions and that enables facile conjugation o ....Next generation hybrid nanomaterials: bispecific antibody-targeted polymers. This project aims to develop and optimise a novel platform technology that will assist in the development of hybrid materials consisting of nanomaterials and biomolecules, which form the basis of many commercial diagnostic devices. A novel antibody, MIL38, will provide the test bed for the technology, which will aim to deliver a platform that is stable under physiological conditions and that enables facile conjugation of nanomaterials with antibodies. This project has the potential to rapidly improve the ligation process between synthetic nanomaterials and biologics, leading to more efficient synthesis of targeted diagnostics. This would provide a significant commercial advantage for any nanomaterials developed for the field, and specifically for this project, expedite translation of MIL38.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101163
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,000.00
Summary
Design of Nanostructured Electrocatalysts for Water Splitting. The project intends to develop electrocatalysts for water splitting (where a chemical reaction separates water into oxygen and hydrogen, providing clean renewable fuel). The efficient use of renewable energy to generate clean fuels will provide a direct solution to the energy issues in Australia. This project aims to develop new catalysts for the water splitting process by taking into account their electronic structures and verifying ....Design of Nanostructured Electrocatalysts for Water Splitting. The project intends to develop electrocatalysts for water splitting (where a chemical reaction separates water into oxygen and hydrogen, providing clean renewable fuel). The efficient use of renewable energy to generate clean fuels will provide a direct solution to the energy issues in Australia. This project aims to develop new catalysts for the water splitting process by taking into account their electronic structures and verifying their apparent activities in devices. The universal principles to be discovered in the project may be important for the discovery of new electrocatalysts for key energy conversion reactions to develop a feasible clean energy infrastructure and solve environmental issues.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100128
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
High performance analytical tools to strengthen clean energy research. High performance analytical tools are vital to the success of emerging research fields of national priority. By filling a gap in materials routine characterisation capabilities, the equipment requested will lead to major advances in fundamental and applied research aimed at carbon abatement and clean energy technologies. This includes technologies for clean energy generation by solar means and from decarbonised fossil fuels, ....High performance analytical tools to strengthen clean energy research. High performance analytical tools are vital to the success of emerging research fields of national priority. By filling a gap in materials routine characterisation capabilities, the equipment requested will lead to major advances in fundamental and applied research aimed at carbon abatement and clean energy technologies. This includes technologies for clean energy generation by solar means and from decarbonised fossil fuels, efficient energy storage systems, advanced fuel cells for electricity generation, and hydrogen as the universal energy vector. Advancement of these technologies will bring solutions to the grand challenges facing Australia and in turn benefit industry and society.
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Understanding graphitization: developing a model for activated carbons. For over 60 years it has remained a puzzle why some carbons graphitise under heating while others do not. The question is of practical importance as oxidation of non-graphitising carbons produces activated carbon, a product of high value with industrial, medical and environmental applications. Using computational and experimental techniques the project will study the graphitisation process and pinpoint the structural element ....Understanding graphitization: developing a model for activated carbons. For over 60 years it has remained a puzzle why some carbons graphitise under heating while others do not. The question is of practical importance as oxidation of non-graphitising carbons produces activated carbon, a product of high value with industrial, medical and environmental applications. Using computational and experimental techniques the project will study the graphitisation process and pinpoint the structural elements which inhibit it. Based on these findings the project aims to develop a nanoscale atomistic model for activated carbons. This is expected to be an important contribution to the field of chemical engineering in which current models of activated carbon neglect either curvature in the network or the presence of oxygen.Read moreRead less