Catalysis, renewable energy, Green Chemistry and functional nano-materials
Improving sustainability through molecular and nanoscopic technology
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Description
Catalysis Laboratory
The world is standing at the technological threshold of a revolution driven by the need for truly sustainable (industrial) processes, both in the production of chemicals as well as in the generation of power.
At current rates of resource usage, a world population operating with Australian standards of living would require between 4 to 6 planets to support itself. Clearly this is untenable.
From a chemical viewpoint, the inherent challenges can only be met by devising strategies for increased use of renewable resources, waste reduction, energy optimisation and process intensification, as outlined in the 12 principles of 'Green Chemistry'.
Our group aims to tackle these issues by generating and using new fundamental insights on the molecular and nanoscopic level to develop feasible leads for the design of new catalytic chemical routes and processes that will enhance sustainability.
Research and expertise capability
The Catalysis Laboratory's key expertise is in designing, preparing and characterising multi-functional assemblies, operating at various length-scales (from centimetres to picometers).
There is a strong focus on the use of renewable resources, such as the conversion of biomass to fuels (biodiesel and lignocellulosic ethanol) and the photocatalytic splitting of water to generate hydrogen.
Furthermore, ionic liquids and super-critical solvents such as carbon dioxide, alcohols and water – which can act both as solvent and catalyst – form the backbone of the lab's activities in process innovation.
Applications
The multi-functioning assemblies developed by the laboratory can be used in catalysis (including the integration of conversion and separation), drug-delivery systems, medical imaging, and forensic chemistry.
Services
Catalysis Laboratory Equipment Resource
- 1x SPR-16 (16 high pressure, high temperature robotic autoclave system, AMTECH)
- 1x Hamilton Synthesis Robot (Cambridge Reactor Design)
- 1x Adsorption/Desorption Surface Analyser (Micrometrics)
- 2x furnaces
- 1x Parallel Soxthlet Extraction Unit
- 1x solvent drying system
- 1 x HPLC (Shimadzu)
- 3 x GC (Shimadzu, Varian, Hewlett Packard)
- 1x HPLC/MS (Shimadzu)
- 1x GC/MS (Shimadzu)
- 4x Parr high pressure, high temperature autoclaves reactors
School Of Chemistry Co-supported Large Equipment:
- Mass Spectrometry Unit
- Electron Paramagnetic Resonance
- NMR Laboratory
- Optical Spectroscopy
- Separations Laboratory
- Crystal Structure Analysis Facility
- Vibrational Spectroscopy Facility
- Powder Xray Diffraction Facility
- Surface Analysis Facility
Current and past clients
- ARC DP0664915, Molecular Recognition in Chiral Ionic Liquids as Basis for the Design and Synthesis of New Enantioselective Catalysts and Membranes
- ARC DP0556862, From Nanostructured Catalysts to Process Innovation
- ARC FF0348382, From Nanostructured Functional Materials to Sustainable Processes
- ARC LP0669336, Supercritcal Biodiesel Production,
- ARC LE0560662, Flow Diagnostics Facility for Microstructured Systems
- ARC LE0560680, Vibrational Spectroscopy Microprobe/FESEM/AFM, Imaging of Cells, Tissues and Materials
- ARC LE0668439, Elemental and Structural Analysis Facility Comprising a FTICR Mass Spectrometer and a CHNS Analyser
- ARC LE0668469, Fast Sychrotron X-ray Detector
- ARC LE0775771, Physical Property Measurement System for Materials Characterisation
- USyd Green Energy, Photocatalytic Splitting of Water
- USyd Major Eq. Scheme, Micromeritics ASAP2020MP
- USyd R&D scheme, Sustainable Energy from Sunlight
- USyd Sesqui scheme, Optical Materials Chemistry Characterisation Facility
- CSIRO H2 Flagship scheme, Hydrogen Generation
- NCRIS National scheme, Hydrothermal Upgrading of Biomass
Aust. Biodiesel Pty. Ltd., Winterization of Biodiesel