Carbon nanotube fluidic channels for desalination - interplay of nanoscale confinement and electrostatics. Tiny tubes of carbon, ten thousand times smaller than human hair, allow water to pass through at extraordinary speed. This project aims to understand and improve their salt rejection properties using comprehensive experimental and theoretical approaches. This will provide the impetus and knowledge for developing advanced membranes for desalination
Transistor-based sensor technology for fast, reliable and accurate in situ monitoring of recycled wastewater. Water recycling is becoming critical for water supplies worldwide, due to declining natural supplies of fresh water, combined with increasing demand. The greatest community and industry concerns over recycled water are quality assurance and relative cost. Ensuring quality requires monitoring of contaminants, yet no single real-time technology exists to measure the myriad of potential con ....Transistor-based sensor technology for fast, reliable and accurate in situ monitoring of recycled wastewater. Water recycling is becoming critical for water supplies worldwide, due to declining natural supplies of fresh water, combined with increasing demand. The greatest community and industry concerns over recycled water are quality assurance and relative cost. Ensuring quality requires monitoring of contaminants, yet no single real-time technology exists to measure the myriad of potential contaminants. This project will develop technology using AlGaN/GaN-based transistors, sensitised to different contaminants, enabling multi-analyte real-time sensor arrays. In situ monitoring systems based on such arrays will be fast, accurate, reliable, low-cost, and applicable to a broad variety of water recycling projects.Read moreRead less
Vapour phase detection of chemical warfare agents. This project aims to create luminescent plastic optoelectronic materials that can detect airborne chemical warfare agents, particularly nerve agents. Such agents are often odourless and invisible at lethal concentrations, so technology must detect and identify them before exposure. The intended outcomes are design rules for sensitive and selective materials that can be used in a handheld infield detector to sense chemical warfare agents based on ....Vapour phase detection of chemical warfare agents. This project aims to create luminescent plastic optoelectronic materials that can detect airborne chemical warfare agents, particularly nerve agents. Such agents are often odourless and invisible at lethal concentrations, so technology must detect and identify them before exposure. The intended outcomes are design rules for sensitive and selective materials that can be used in a handheld infield detector to sense chemical warfare agents based on the materials’ photophysical properties, and new analytical methods and sensing protocols. This research will be of interest to security agencies in Australia and internationally, and will better protect our military.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE170100235
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$388,000.00
Summary
Spectroscopy and imaging platform for photoactive materials. This project aims to establish a comprehensive analytic tool-box to characterise solution-processable materials for thin-film solar cells based on materials such as perovskites. These materials have light harvesting properties with absorption edges beyond 800 nm. This project will focus on time-resolved transient absorption and microwave conductivity phenomena and on lock-in thermographic imaging capabilities. This will accelerate mate ....Spectroscopy and imaging platform for photoactive materials. This project aims to establish a comprehensive analytic tool-box to characterise solution-processable materials for thin-film solar cells based on materials such as perovskites. These materials have light harvesting properties with absorption edges beyond 800 nm. This project will focus on time-resolved transient absorption and microwave conductivity phenomena and on lock-in thermographic imaging capabilities. This will accelerate materials and technological development in this research field. This project is expected to help the local and global energy sector transition to sustainable energy, provide a competitive edge for commercialisations of solar technologies in Australia, and benefit the economy, environment and national security.Read moreRead less
Engineered ion channels for selective and switchable ion conduction. This project aims to develop an innovative bioinspired approach for fabricating angstrom-sized ion-channel membranes with specific ion selectivity, high ion conductivity and efficient gating function comparable to biological ion channels. Engineering of artificial channels with ion-channel-like shapes, ion selectivity filters and functional gates is expected to bring high-efficiency technologies to applications such as membrane ....Engineered ion channels for selective and switchable ion conduction. This project aims to develop an innovative bioinspired approach for fabricating angstrom-sized ion-channel membranes with specific ion selectivity, high ion conductivity and efficient gating function comparable to biological ion channels. Engineering of artificial channels with ion-channel-like shapes, ion selectivity filters and functional gates is expected to bring high-efficiency technologies to applications such as membrane separation and energy conversion. This project has potential to result in new knowledge of biomimetic design of artificial ion-channel membranes and directly benefit manufacturing industry for Australia.Read moreRead less
Increasing solid electrolyte conductivity through defect design. This project aims to engineer electrolyte materials, based on organic ionic plastic crystals, and use isomeric doping to improve the ionic conductivity. The development of safer batteries relies on eliminating the volatile and flammable solvents commonly used as the electrolyte. Improving the safety and performance of batteries is important as electricity costs increase. Solid state ionic electrolytes can address leakage and volati ....Increasing solid electrolyte conductivity through defect design. This project aims to engineer electrolyte materials, based on organic ionic plastic crystals, and use isomeric doping to improve the ionic conductivity. The development of safer batteries relies on eliminating the volatile and flammable solvents commonly used as the electrolyte. Improving the safety and performance of batteries is important as electricity costs increase. Solid state ionic electrolytes can address leakage and volatility problems, but the conductivity must be improved if these materials are to support high battery power. The project’s electrolyte materials can be used in lithium metal batteries, which have higher theoretical energy densities than traditional lithium ion batteries. This project will develop new solid state electrolytes, with improved conductivity, and use these materials in emerging lithium battery technologies.Read moreRead less
Porosity in Si, Ge and the Si(x)Ge(1-x) alloys induced by ion irradiation. Ion beam methods will be used to form porous layers in Si, Ge and their alloys with a range of technological applications. The distributions of pore size and shape will be characterised with laboratory and synchrotron-based analytical techniques including a 3D reconstruction of the irradiation-induced porous structure.
A new in-situ structural measurement capability during nanoindentation. A new in-situ structural measurement capability during nanoindentation. This project aims to develop an in-situ Raman capability to obtain dynamic structural and mechanical behaviour of materials as a function of pressure during nanoindentation; and apply the new capability to directly monitor phase changes in silicon and germanium under pressure and correlate them with the simultaneous electrical responses. Anticipated outc ....A new in-situ structural measurement capability during nanoindentation. A new in-situ structural measurement capability during nanoindentation. This project aims to develop an in-situ Raman capability to obtain dynamic structural and mechanical behaviour of materials as a function of pressure during nanoindentation; and apply the new capability to directly monitor phase changes in silicon and germanium under pressure and correlate them with the simultaneous electrical responses. Anticipated outcomes are new instrumentation to directly probe the pressure-temperature phase diagram, and measure electrical properties of novel end phases in these semiconductors.Read moreRead less
Porous transparent conducting oxides for efficient solar fuel production. This project aims to develop highly porous, transparent and electrically conducting networks of oxide nanoparticles for artificial photosynthesis applications. The majority of hydrogen is currently produced via natural gas reforming, a process that generates a significant carbon footprint due to the use of fossil fuels. This project will develop novel materials and fabrication methods to improve the efficiency of hydrogen ....Porous transparent conducting oxides for efficient solar fuel production. This project aims to develop highly porous, transparent and electrically conducting networks of oxide nanoparticles for artificial photosynthesis applications. The majority of hydrogen is currently produced via natural gas reforming, a process that generates a significant carbon footprint due to the use of fossil fuels. This project will develop novel materials and fabrication methods to improve the efficiency of hydrogen production using clean and renewable solar energy. This project will contribute to development of technologies for the chemical storage of renewable energy, and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. This will have applications in the areas of optoelectronic devices, medical biosensors, and photocatalysis, offering downstream benefits for the society, the economy and the environment.Read moreRead less