Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668257
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,200,000.00
Summary
Combinatorial Deposition and Characterisation Facility for New Alloy Thin Film Materials. Australia's competitive edge in materials research is key to maintaining our economic prosperity. Infrastructure that enables our researchers to synthesize novel materials with precise control over composition and structure is crucial to maintaining our strengths in this field. The proposed infrastructure will accelerate progress on the preparation and characterisation of new alloy and nanostructured materi ....Combinatorial Deposition and Characterisation Facility for New Alloy Thin Film Materials. Australia's competitive edge in materials research is key to maintaining our economic prosperity. Infrastructure that enables our researchers to synthesize novel materials with precise control over composition and structure is crucial to maintaining our strengths in this field. The proposed infrastructure will accelerate progress on the preparation and characterisation of new alloy and nanostructured materials and will pay dividends by providing early access to the best materials. This will give our energy technology, biomedical engineering, tooling, electronics and mining industries a competitive edge. Access to this new generation equipment will enhance our pool of highly skilled materials technologists.Read moreRead less
Microscopy characterisation for the designing of Li-based batteries. This project aims to optimise the design of all-solid-state batteries by employing state-of-the-art microscopy and atomic tomography techniques. Demand for safer rechargeable batteries with higher energy densities has been rapidly increasing. The safety issues associated with current lithium batteries become more serious with the size change (small for portable electronics and large for vehicles) because of the difficulty in ha ....Microscopy characterisation for the designing of Li-based batteries. This project aims to optimise the design of all-solid-state batteries by employing state-of-the-art microscopy and atomic tomography techniques. Demand for safer rechargeable batteries with higher energy densities has been rapidly increasing. The safety issues associated with current lithium batteries become more serious with the size change (small for portable electronics and large for vehicles) because of the difficulty in handling of flammable organic liquid electrolytes. The scientific knowledge and engineering understanding acquired through this project will enable the battery industry to produce higher performance solid state batteries.Read moreRead less
Hot carrier cooling mechanisms in nano structures. This project aims to systematically investigate possible mechanisms of hot carrier cooling in nano structures and to identify the most dominant mechanisms. These are important for efficient hot carrier solar cells and thermoelectrics. This project will develop new physics to understand hot carrier dynamics in nano structures. This project is expected to result in photovoltaic systems with a lower balance of system and levelised cost of electrici ....Hot carrier cooling mechanisms in nano structures. This project aims to systematically investigate possible mechanisms of hot carrier cooling in nano structures and to identify the most dominant mechanisms. These are important for efficient hot carrier solar cells and thermoelectrics. This project will develop new physics to understand hot carrier dynamics in nano structures. This project is expected to result in photovoltaic systems with a lower balance of system and levelised cost of electricity compared to conventional technologies. This should boost solar industry, create green jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Read moreRead less
Electronically Conducting Nanofibres and Assemblies. With the use of new techniques that have just emerged in the last two years and are receiving rapidly growing interest throughout the world, this project will bring to Australia a new nanofabrication platform for making a variety of complex nanostructures. Fundamental researches on these complex nanostructures will greatly advance nanoscience. New nanotechnologies will be developed to address some world-wide challenging problems, e.g. energy ....Electronically Conducting Nanofibres and Assemblies. With the use of new techniques that have just emerged in the last two years and are receiving rapidly growing interest throughout the world, this project will bring to Australia a new nanofabrication platform for making a variety of complex nanostructures. Fundamental researches on these complex nanostructures will greatly advance nanoscience. New nanotechnologies will be developed to address some world-wide challenging problems, e.g. energy conversion and storage, chemical/biological sensing and other micro- and nanoelectronic devices. This project will bring both breakthrough science and frontier technologies for building and transforming Australian industries and help place Australia at the forefront of nanotechnology. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101565
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$423,193.00
Summary
An Emerging Ionic Chalcogenide Perovskites for Solar Energy Conversion. This project aims to develop a library of earth-abundant chalcogenide perovskite nanocrystals (CPNCs) for efficient solar energy conversion applications. The key concept is to design non-toxic and stable CPNCs using a facile solution process for solar-to-electricity and fuel generation. The intended outcomes include a fundamental understanding of the relationships between the synthesis, structure, photophysics, and electroch ....An Emerging Ionic Chalcogenide Perovskites for Solar Energy Conversion. This project aims to develop a library of earth-abundant chalcogenide perovskite nanocrystals (CPNCs) for efficient solar energy conversion applications. The key concept is to design non-toxic and stable CPNCs using a facile solution process for solar-to-electricity and fuel generation. The intended outcomes include a fundamental understanding of the relationships between the synthesis, structure, photophysics, and electrochemistry by advanced modeling and multiscale characterizations and ultimately the solar-to-electricity and fuel generation performances of new material systems. This project will build a national research capacity in an emerging field and put Australia at the forefront of practical solar energy conversion technologies.Read moreRead less
Highly Efficient Solar Window Technology Enabled by Quantum Dots. The transition to zero-greenhouse gas emitting buildings is hindered by the lack of efficient energy generating building components with good aesthetics. This project will develop integrated solar windows that can effectively convert the facades of urban buildings into energy generation sites, enabled by our nanomaterials having outstanding light emission efficiencies of over 90%, accompanied by our advanced light guiding strategi ....Highly Efficient Solar Window Technology Enabled by Quantum Dots. The transition to zero-greenhouse gas emitting buildings is hindered by the lack of efficient energy generating building components with good aesthetics. This project will develop integrated solar windows that can effectively convert the facades of urban buildings into energy generation sites, enabled by our nanomaterials having outstanding light emission efficiencies of over 90%, accompanied by our advanced light guiding strategies and innovative PV cell integration. This next generation technology can reduce the electricity cost and increase renewable energy adoption, placing Australia in a competitive position in the billion-dollar building integrated photovoltaic market whilst also contributing to decarbonising electricity generation.Read moreRead less
Nitride materials: In the “bond ionicity Goldilocks zone” for solar energy. Progress towards commercial devices for solar-driven hydrogen generation as well as in-situ electricity generation for vehicles is currently hampered by a lack of earth-abundant, stable, non-toxic semiconductor materials that can be fabricated by scalable methods. This project aims to develop the first scalable solution synthesis methods for a new class of earth-abundant Zn-based nitride semiconductor nanocrystals that h ....Nitride materials: In the “bond ionicity Goldilocks zone” for solar energy. Progress towards commercial devices for solar-driven hydrogen generation as well as in-situ electricity generation for vehicles is currently hampered by a lack of earth-abundant, stable, non-toxic semiconductor materials that can be fabricated by scalable methods. This project aims to develop the first scalable solution synthesis methods for a new class of earth-abundant Zn-based nitride semiconductor nanocrystals that have favourable bond ionicity and establish their optoelectronic properties for renewable energy devices for the first time. Flexible solution processing methods will be exploited to tune surface composition, remove defects and create devices to achieve optimised performance in these challenging new nitride material systems.Read moreRead less
Nanostructured Silicon-Based Tandem Solar Cells. The expected outcome from the project is a new generation of low-cost silicon solar cell that will significantly reduce the costs of generating electricity from sunlight. Solar cells are presently the world's most rapidly growing energy source, with Australians and Australian companies already major players in the associated rapidly expanding industry. Solar cells represent the most benign technology yet suggested for supplying the world's future ....Nanostructured Silicon-Based Tandem Solar Cells. The expected outcome from the project is a new generation of low-cost silicon solar cell that will significantly reduce the costs of generating electricity from sunlight. Solar cells are presently the world's most rapidly growing energy source, with Australians and Australian companies already major players in the associated rapidly expanding industry. Solar cells represent the most benign technology yet suggested for supplying the world's future energy needs. A cleaner environment in the future than would otherwise be likely is another expected outcome as is the creation of major new opportunities for Australian industry.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101100
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$310,000.00
Summary
Nanostructured Cu2ZnSnS4 for solar-driven electricity and hydrogen. This project aims to develop cost-effective Cu2ZnSnS4 nanocrystals for two solar devices for electricity and hydrogen production. The copper-zinc-tin-sulphide (Cu2ZnSnS4) nanoparticle for solar cells has been less than two per cent efficient for years and photoelectrochemical devices have been recently recognised but less explored. The combined innovative modification of its nanocrystals, and grain growth approach for enhancing ....Nanostructured Cu2ZnSnS4 for solar-driven electricity and hydrogen. This project aims to develop cost-effective Cu2ZnSnS4 nanocrystals for two solar devices for electricity and hydrogen production. The copper-zinc-tin-sulphide (Cu2ZnSnS4) nanoparticle for solar cells has been less than two per cent efficient for years and photoelectrochemical devices have been recently recognised but less explored. The combined innovative modification of its nanocrystals, and grain growth approach for enhancing light absorption and photogenerated carrier collection efficiency should elucidate underlying mechanism of and provide solutions to the problem which has baffled researchers in above areas for several years. The intended resulting simple, cost-effective solar-driven electricity and hydrogen devices should make significant contributions to goals of commercially viable storage of solar energy and solutions to global energy and environment issues.Read moreRead less
Engineering Ultra-low Disorder Semiconductor Quantum Nanostructures. The multi-trillion dollar semiconductor industry drives the explosive growth in information technology that we have witnessed over the past 25 years. This proposal will provide a significant breakthrough by develop a new class of ultra low disorder 'quantum dot transistors' that will be of benefit to Australia's ongoing efforts in semiconductor nanotechnology and quantum information science, allowing us to play a role in the fu ....Engineering Ultra-low Disorder Semiconductor Quantum Nanostructures. The multi-trillion dollar semiconductor industry drives the explosive growth in information technology that we have witnessed over the past 25 years. This proposal will provide a significant breakthrough by develop a new class of ultra low disorder 'quantum dot transistors' that will be of benefit to Australia's ongoing efforts in semiconductor nanotechnology and quantum information science, allowing us to play a role in the future development of nanoscale and quantum electronics. This research program will bring together Australian researchers and students to work with leading international universities in the USA and New Zealand, and a leading Japanese industrial research facility - Nippon Telegraph and Telecommunications.Read moreRead less