Novel Inorganic Nanostructures Fabricated using Polymeric Supports and Templates for Environmental and Catalytic Applications. The flexibility and versatility of nanotemplating processes will be exploited to fabricate novel porous inorganic structures with controllable properties. These include tailorable surface area, pore size and structure, particle size and composition. The influence of such properties will be studied in various applications, including the photocatalytic decomposition of pol ....Novel Inorganic Nanostructures Fabricated using Polymeric Supports and Templates for Environmental and Catalytic Applications. The flexibility and versatility of nanotemplating processes will be exploited to fabricate novel porous inorganic structures with controllable properties. These include tailorable surface area, pore size and structure, particle size and composition. The influence of such properties will be studied in various applications, including the photocatalytic decomposition of pollutants, where the ability to control the morphological structure of the inorganic materials introduced by the templating technique will lead to enhanced efficiencies. These nanostructures will also be considered for use in solar cells, an alternative energy source that is currently receiving copious attention worldwide.Read moreRead less
Flexible dye-sensitised solar cells on polymer substrates. The expected outcomes of the project are the preparation and development of flexible solar cells. The resulting portable and compact solar cells could be incorporated in fabrics opening the solar cell market to the clothing industry. The products and mechanisms developed are envisaged to be amenable to large scale-up in industry. Hence, at a future date, there is the potential to fabricate the cells in Australia and then export the mater ....Flexible dye-sensitised solar cells on polymer substrates. The expected outcomes of the project are the preparation and development of flexible solar cells. The resulting portable and compact solar cells could be incorporated in fabrics opening the solar cell market to the clothing industry. The products and mechanisms developed are envisaged to be amenable to large scale-up in industry. Hence, at a future date, there is the potential to fabricate the cells in Australia and then export the materials and technology. This will benefit the Australian economy through employment of Australians and income generated through exports.Read moreRead less
Chemical and morphological engineering of semiconductor electrodes for high efficiency solar cells. The expected outcomes of the project are the preparation and development of sophisticated electrodes for solar cells, the main advantage of which resides in their designed chemical and morphological properties. The resulting electrodes have the potential to improve the efficiency of the solar cells over current industrially used materials. The products and mechanisms developed are envisaged to be ....Chemical and morphological engineering of semiconductor electrodes for high efficiency solar cells. The expected outcomes of the project are the preparation and development of sophisticated electrodes for solar cells, the main advantage of which resides in their designed chemical and morphological properties. The resulting electrodes have the potential to improve the efficiency of the solar cells over current industrially used materials. The products and mechanisms developed are envisaged to be amenable to large scale-up in industry. Hence, at a future date, there is the potential to fabricate the electrodes in Australia and then export the materials or technology internationally. This will benefit the Australian economy through employment of Australians and income generated through exports.Read moreRead less
New Methods to Harvest Light: Towards Better Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) technology has emerged as a complementary energy source to silicon photovoltaic technology. The efficiency of the DSC relies heavily on sensitizing molecules to absorb solar photons and then transfer electrons to a semi-conducting particle. This project will investigate new sensitizing methods using a combination of different dyes which work cooperatively to absorb a large part of the solar ....New Methods to Harvest Light: Towards Better Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) technology has emerged as a complementary energy source to silicon photovoltaic technology. The efficiency of the DSC relies heavily on sensitizing molecules to absorb solar photons and then transfer electrons to a semi-conducting particle. This project will investigate new sensitizing methods using a combination of different dyes which work cooperatively to absorb a large part of the solar spectrum and efficiently inject electrons into a semi-conducting particles. The development and understanding of these new methods to sensitize the dye-sensitized solar cell should lead to new and better solar cells.Read moreRead less
Self-Assembled Porphyrin-Fullerene Photovoltaic Electrodes: Towards Nanostructured Organic Solar Cells. Energy is arguably the single most important problem facing humanity today. The development of cheap, efficient photovoltaic technology could dramatically change this, providing humanity with renewable, environmentally acceptable energy resources. The need to replace present electrical energy generation, largely based on fossil fuel, is without argument given the detrimental effects of global ....Self-Assembled Porphyrin-Fullerene Photovoltaic Electrodes: Towards Nanostructured Organic Solar Cells. Energy is arguably the single most important problem facing humanity today. The development of cheap, efficient photovoltaic technology could dramatically change this, providing humanity with renewable, environmentally acceptable energy resources. The need to replace present electrical energy generation, largely based on fossil fuel, is without argument given the detrimental effects of global warming from increasing carbon dioxide production. The development and implementation of cheap, efficient photovoltaic technologies in Australia will not only ensure its sustainable economic growth but also contribute in a major way to the improved use of land, water, mineral and other energy resources in Australia. Read moreRead less
Supramolecular assembly in photovoltaic electrode design: Studies of ordered porphyrin/acceptor complexes on polythiophene electrodes. This research outlines an improved way to develop dye-sensitised photovoltaic solar cells for the conversion of sunlight into electricity, by increasing the molecular order of the cell components using host, guest interrelationships. As such, it addresses a problem of international concern 'How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop global warming?' since s ....Supramolecular assembly in photovoltaic electrode design: Studies of ordered porphyrin/acceptor complexes on polythiophene electrodes. This research outlines an improved way to develop dye-sensitised photovoltaic solar cells for the conversion of sunlight into electricity, by increasing the molecular order of the cell components using host, guest interrelationships. As such, it addresses a problem of international concern 'How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop global warming?' since solar cells do not produce carbon dioxide. To achieve our goals we draw on the skills of a team of experts from Australia (synthetic organic chemists), New Zealand (polymer and surface chemists) and Italy (photochemist and photophysicist). Such research is very appropriate for regional Australia, especially Central Queensland.Read moreRead less
Development of a test bed for molecular memory and molecular photovoltaic devices. The development of nanostructured materials and the devices that utilize them is at the forefront of modern science and technology. Electrical devices whose functional units are structurally ordered single molecules dominate biochemical processes, especially pertinent ones being photosynthesis and cellular energy production; artificial devices promise new technologies in multi-$B markets such as long-term data st ....Development of a test bed for molecular memory and molecular photovoltaic devices. The development of nanostructured materials and the devices that utilize them is at the forefront of modern science and technology. Electrical devices whose functional units are structurally ordered single molecules dominate biochemical processes, especially pertinent ones being photosynthesis and cellular energy production; artificial devices promise new technologies in multi-$B markets such as long-term data storage and renewable solar-energy production. Interfacing molecules with macroscopic interconnects poses a great technological challenge, however, and in this project the underlying basic science will be determined through the formation of molecules into device-accessible functional materials.Read moreRead less
Bio-inspired Catalysts for Water Oxidation. Successful completion of the project will result in the development of devices that utilise redox active manganese clusters to catalyse the oxidation of water. This achievement would place us at the forefront of international efforts to develop devices that can split water into hydrogen and oxygen, an endeavour which has the potential to solve pressing energy demands. As an added benefit, these devices can be adapted for the purposes of carrying out th ....Bio-inspired Catalysts for Water Oxidation. Successful completion of the project will result in the development of devices that utilise redox active manganese clusters to catalyse the oxidation of water. This achievement would place us at the forefront of international efforts to develop devices that can split water into hydrogen and oxygen, an endeavour which has the potential to solve pressing energy demands. As an added benefit, these devices can be adapted for the purposes of carrying out the catalytic oxidation of organic substrates, for which a variety of industrial and environmental applications can be envisaged.
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Development of an Adjustable Porphyrin-based Molecular Platform for Nanotechnology Applications. Nanotechnology, the art of molecular control, is often heralded as the next industrial revolution. For this to be realised, the construction of useful devices will require precise control at the molecular level. Our control is realised through a process called self-assembly which means that the once the components of the device are correctly designed, the device will simply be able to put itself tog ....Development of an Adjustable Porphyrin-based Molecular Platform for Nanotechnology Applications. Nanotechnology, the art of molecular control, is often heralded as the next industrial revolution. For this to be realised, the construction of useful devices will require precise control at the molecular level. Our control is realised through a process called self-assembly which means that the once the components of the device are correctly designed, the device will simply be able to put itself together. This research will use nature's light harvesting elements, namely porphyrins, and our ability to precisely control their position with respect to each other to build new, more efficient solar cells.Read moreRead less
Novel Photo-Catalysts for Water Oxidation: Linking Nature to New Technologies. Photosynthesis is the catalytic process used by biology to convert the sun's light into energy. This project aims to mimic photosynthesis with cheap and robust molecules. The approach has great potential for development of renewable energy production and benign industrial chemical processes. The project will bring Australia to the international forefront of this field. It will provide excellent research training in a ....Novel Photo-Catalysts for Water Oxidation: Linking Nature to New Technologies. Photosynthesis is the catalytic process used by biology to convert the sun's light into energy. This project aims to mimic photosynthesis with cheap and robust molecules. The approach has great potential for development of renewable energy production and benign industrial chemical processes. The project will bring Australia to the international forefront of this field. It will provide excellent research training in a range of scientific skills for Australian research students. Read moreRead less