Gas-enriched slippery surfaces. This project will exploit novel experimental and simulations approaches to investigate gas enrichment at liquid-liquid interfaces, and its effect on interfacial slip. The outcomes of the project will be a deeper understanding of oil-water interfaces capturing the presence of interfacial gas layers, slippery surfaces with superior drag reducing and fouling reducing properties, and control over nanobubble formation under flow. The new surfaces will have potential ap ....Gas-enriched slippery surfaces. This project will exploit novel experimental and simulations approaches to investigate gas enrichment at liquid-liquid interfaces, and its effect on interfacial slip. The outcomes of the project will be a deeper understanding of oil-water interfaces capturing the presence of interfacial gas layers, slippery surfaces with superior drag reducing and fouling reducing properties, and control over nanobubble formation under flow. The new surfaces will have potential application in improving the energy efficiency of microfluidic and multiphase flow. Benefits are expected in terms of reduced emissions, fuel cost and pollution related to transport of goods by sea, and extraction of oil from rocks.Read moreRead less
Biomimetic surface coatings for drag and fouling reduction. This project aims to provide new insights into liquid flow and adsorption at liquid/solid and liquid/liquid interfaces, by using a combination of theoretical predictions, nanoscale techniques and nanofabrication approaches. Expected outcomes are the development of liquid-repellent slippery surface coatings that reduce hydrodynamic drag and inhibit marine fouling. This will benefit the fields of advanced manufacturing and smart coatings, ....Biomimetic surface coatings for drag and fouling reduction. This project aims to provide new insights into liquid flow and adsorption at liquid/solid and liquid/liquid interfaces, by using a combination of theoretical predictions, nanoscale techniques and nanofabrication approaches. Expected outcomes are the development of liquid-repellent slippery surface coatings that reduce hydrodynamic drag and inhibit marine fouling. This will benefit the fields of advanced manufacturing and smart coatings, and will underpin a wide range of energy efficient processes and products. Slippery coatings will solve urgent environmental problems of social value by improving the energy and chemical efficiency in fluid flow, heat transfer, secondary oil recovery, microfluidics, and anti-fouling.Read moreRead less
Engineering two dimensional polymers for membrane-based chemical separation. This project aims to develop novel two-dimensional polymers with precisely controlled pore-sizes for preparing membrane materials which can efficiently separate these gaseous chemicals at ambient temperatures. Key industrial chemical mixtures with similar size and boiling points are difficult to separate by conventional distillation methods. Currently, purification of olefins alone accounts for 0.3% of global energy use ....Engineering two dimensional polymers for membrane-based chemical separation. This project aims to develop novel two-dimensional polymers with precisely controlled pore-sizes for preparing membrane materials which can efficiently separate these gaseous chemicals at ambient temperatures. Key industrial chemical mixtures with similar size and boiling points are difficult to separate by conventional distillation methods. Currently, purification of olefins alone accounts for 0.3% of global energy use. The expected outcomes of the project will have a huge impact on industrial purification processing by providing a disruptive membrane technology, and will significantly reduce energy consumption and open up new routes for resources.Read moreRead less
Tailoring metal-organic framework catalysts for carbon dioxide conversion. Reducing the greenhouse gas, CO2, into valuable fuels would be beneficial for relieving energy shortage and improving global sustainability. This project aims to synthesise high-performance heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 conversion by periodic ordering photo-redox metalloligand and thermal-catalytically active metal oxide clusters in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). This approach is expected to deliver a unique single-si ....Tailoring metal-organic framework catalysts for carbon dioxide conversion. Reducing the greenhouse gas, CO2, into valuable fuels would be beneficial for relieving energy shortage and improving global sustainability. This project aims to synthesise high-performance heterogeneous catalysts for CO2 conversion by periodic ordering photo-redox metalloligand and thermal-catalytically active metal oxide clusters in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). This approach is expected to deliver a unique single-site metal-organic framework catalyst with high reaction-activity and chemo-selectivity in converting CO2 into valuable chemicals. This advancement will provide significant benefits for Australia’s emerging chemical manufacturing industry, and ultimately leading to a carbon-neutral energy economy and environment.Read moreRead less