Past Electromaterials and Corrosion Science News

New Article from Kalani

Read the new article from Kalani Periyapperuma and members of IFM on new and exciting findings for recovering Nd by electrodeposition using low cost and non-fluorine electrolyte. 

Welcome Dr Mega Kar

A warm welcome to Dr Mega Kar who joins our team exploring novel low-cost and safe materials for zinc-air batteries. Read more here.

Meet the Researcher – Dr Faezeh Makhloogiazad

Faezeh Makhloogiazad is an associate research fellow in the electromaterials group at Burwood. She is working on sodium battery research and is a member of the ElevenStore team that is developing a start-up to manufacture sodium batteries for mobility applications. Watch her interview here.

Meet the Researcher – Mingyu Han

Mingyu Han is a Higher Degree researcher in the electromaterials group at Burwood. He is working in Dr Wren Greene’s group on the properties and potential applications of the protein, lubricin. Watch his interview here.

Meet the Researcher – Dmitrii Rakov

Dmitrii originally from Yekaterinburg, Russia, is a PhD student based at our Melbourne Burwood Campus. His research interest is the electrochemistry of solid/liquid interface for energy storage and conversion processes. His hobbies include programming, skateboarding, art and the study of Chinese language. Watch his interview here.

storEnergy Symposium 1st Oct 2020

The symposium had 12 presenters and included invited speakers Mr Simon Savage (Ionic Industries), Mr Michael Portman (Sentek), and Dr Luke O’Dell (Deakin). 

Meet Cristina Pozo Gonzalo

Read about Cristina’s interests, recent achievements and her presentation “Environmental and Energetic Applications of Electrochemistry Technologies” organised by the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry.

 

Interview with ElevenStore

Watch the interview with ElevenStore members and Sam Findlay from ACES. 

ElevenStore researchers Karolina Biernacka, Dr Faezeh Makhlooghiazad, Dr Jenny Sun and Dr Vahide Ghanooni recently competed in the ClimateLaunchpad Global Grand Final, making it all the way to the Top-16. The team also received a Theme Award for Sustainable Mobility.

Jenny Pringle presenting at PRiME 2020

Prof Jenny Pringle is presenting at PRiME 2020 on “New Solid-State Electrolytes Based on Organic Ionic Plastic Crystals”

Maria recognised as a global leader in her field by the League of Scholars

Prof Maria Forsyth was names as Australia’s leading researcher in the field of electrochemistry in The Australian Research 2020 magazine. She had the highest number of citations from papers published in the last five years from the top 20 journals in the field of electrochemistry.

Interview with Jenny for Science week

Click here to hear the interview with Prof Jenny Pringle for #Scienceweek

Hear about her specific area of research, why she decided on a career in science, what she most enjoys about her job and some advice for future scientists.

New role for Cristina

Dr. Cristina Pozo-Gonzalo has recently become part of the editorial board of the international peer-reviewed journal Sustainable Chemistry.

Zoom Group Meetings

Whole group meetings are still possible with social distancing!

New Paper from Maria

Congratulations to Prof. Maria Forsyth for the publication of “Free-Radical Catalysis and Enhancement of the Redox Kinetics for Room-Temperature Sodium-Sulfur Batteries” in the journal ACS Energy Letters.

New Paper from Maria and Anthony

Congratulations to Prof. Maria Forsyth and Dr Anthony Somers for the publication of “Metal-free coumarate based ionic liquids and poly(ionic liquid)s as corrosion inhibitors” in the journal Material Advances

Summer Vacation Scholarships

Summer Vacation Scholarships descriptions listed below. 6 positions available. Applications now open, and close on the 15th of November. Contact details for applications listed below.

Understanding ion dynamics in battery materials at the molecular level using magnetic resonance

In order to build the next generation of safe, high capacity and long lasting batteries, we need to design new and improved electrolyte materials and to understand the ion transport mechanisms within them.  Magnetic resonance is a powerful tool that can provide detailed molecular-level information on both structure and dynamics in such materials.  In this project you will gain hands-on experience using state-of-the-art equipment to characterise new ionic materials and investigate their potential in lithium or sodium ion battery applications.  You will gain experience in experimentation, data analysis and interpretation as part of a world-leading research group.

If you want to apply, please contact Dr Luke O’Dell at [email protected] 

 

Advanced battery prototyping at BatTRI-Hub

The Battery Technology Research and Innovation Hub (BatTRI-Hub) is a pouch cell prototyping facility that is home to one of Australia’s only advanced battery prototyping capability. Housing a prototype line specially designed for the production and testing of high energy density lithium metal and sodium metal-based pouch cells, the project will investigating several aspect of the cell manufacturing process, namely the electrolyte filling, cell compression, and cell formation, aiming to improve the electrochemical performance (capacity, lifetime, internal resistance) of the prototype cells. This project will primarily involve a hands-on component in the assembly of pouch cells and the analysis of electrochemical cell cycling data. The project will suit a student with a basic level knowledge in chemistry and/or electrochemistry and is familiar with safe chemical laboratory practices.

If you want to apply, please contact Dr Rob Kerr at [email protected]

Please note that this summer vacation scholarship will be located in Geelong. 

Facilitating metal ion transport in polymer single ion conductors with salt additives

The design of anionic polyelectrolytes can achieve the single Li+/Na+ ion conduction, however, typically this conduction is still low. To enhance the motion of alkali metal ions, the idea here, building on the understanding from my previous studies that a rapidly changing solvation environment in an interconnected ionic cluster results in higher diffusion, is to design solid electrolytes whereby an additional lithium salt is dissolved as ‘lubricant’, at relatively low concentrations, in an anionic polyelectrolyte to encourage the formation of extended clusters where the Li environment is able to rapidly exchange via ‘free’ anions and hence Li+ transport is enhanced. The feasibility of this idea was recently validated in an experimental study (Adv. Funct. Mater. 2020, 30, 2000455). However, the metal ion transport mechanism through the above hypothesis has yet to be proven. Furthermore, how to select a salt to achieve the maximum enhancement in metal ion diffusion also needs to be investigated at atomistic level. In this project, we will conduct a molecular dynamics investigation to elucidate the ion transport mechanism and impact factors from salt chemistry and concentration. The project will contribute novel electrolyte design idea and knowledge for developing future all-solid state batteries based on polyelectrolytes.

If you want to apply, please contact Dr Fangfang Chen at [email protected] 

ACES symposium success

The symposium, held at The Pier Geelong (February 11–13) featured a range of presentations under the themes of Bionics, Energy, and Materials.[…]

Boost for battery research

The aim of the three-year project is to create a new type of battery material that will reduce the cost and environmental impact of high performance batteries. […]

ARC Discovery awards

Congratulations to IFM researchers who were successful in the ARC Discovery program announcements yesterday. […]

Congratulations to Prof Maria Forsyth and team who have been successful in their bid for an ARC Industrial Training Centre. The new ARC Training Centre for Future Energy Storage Technologies has received a grant of $4.3 million from the ARC […]

Congratulations to IFM researchers Dr Shayan Seyedin and Faezeh Makhlooghiazad who have both been awarded Endeavour Research Fellowships for 2018. […]

A paper by Prof Maria Forsyth features in a new virtual issue of The Journal of Physical Chemistry A/B/C/Letters, to celebrate the 150th birthday of Marie Curie. This issue honors Curie herself and the countless other women who have been contributing to JPC for more than 115 years. […]

After 20 years of research into electromaterials and related fields, a collaboration between Deakin University and CSIRO has established BatTRI-Hub, the Battery Technology Research and Innovation Hub that will scale up the ‘beyond lithium ion’ technologies currently being developed in our labs […]

In at for Australia, researchers at IFM have joined with AusNet Services to create a powerful 1 MW/1MWh lithium battery energy storage capability that has been incorporated into the mains grid beginning a two year trial.[…]

Wearable technologies to generate energy by harvesting waste heat are a step closer to reality following the demonstration of a flexible thermoelectrochemical cell made from a cellulose-based electrolyte[…]

The 11th International Electromaterials Science Symposium was held from 10-12 FEB as part of the annual proceedings of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES). ACES is made up of six (6) Australian collaborating institutions as well as international partners. The symposium was bolstered by a mentoring/professional development workshop for postgraduate students and early career researchers[…]

Maria Forsyth is a speaker and panellist at the Victorian Cleantech Expo 21 April

Victorian Cleantech Cluster is partnering with Global Victoria to host the first Victorian Cleantech Expo, being streamed across three days from 20 to 22 April 2021. The event will facilitate engagement, connection and collaboration to generate innovation, uptake and commercialisation of export-ready cleantech. Hosting an exciting line-up of live sessions, the Expo will feature leading cleantech practitioners and a virtual trade show designed to showcase the industry’s diverse organisations. The Expo will be virtual.  

Maria will talk about or highlight some of the research and partnerships and plans that Deakin University/IFM has for this Clean Technology sector.  She is also one of the panel members at the role of research and education in Cleantech session.  

Meet the Researcher – Dr Kaye Kang

In the latest instalment of “Meet the Researcher” hear from new staff member Dr Kaye Kang, who is working with the team to improve battery electrical conductivity. Listen to her interview here.

Breakthrough in energy storage set to drive a cleaner future

Deakin’s Institute for Frontier Materials researchers, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Western Australia and Monash University, have discovered that super concentrated ionic liquids are key to achieving better batteries for future use, with the findings published in Nature Materials.

Meet the Researcher – Nanditha Sirigiri

Nanditha is a PhD student based at our Melbourne Burwood Campus. She is working on accelerating novel solid- electrolyte materials development in new lithium batteries at the intersection of combined computational-experimental science and informational sciences. Watch her interview here.     

An update from the ElevenStore team – attending the Women of the Future Awards

Read an update about the ElevenStore team, including their attendance at the 2020 Women of the Future awards in Sydney

Meet the Researcher – Colin Kang

In this edition of Meet the Researcher, meet Dr Colin Kang. Colin is a postdoc interested in ionic liquids as electrolytes, particularly for energy applications. 

2020 storEnergy Symposium

Read how the 2020 storEnergy symposium successfully blended an online and in person day which effectively incorporated the needs for social distancing and collaboration 

Aussie cleantech start-up wins place at prestigious EIT Climate-KIC Accelerator

Elevenstore, an all-female entry from Melbourne, won the ClimateLaunchpad Southeast Asia and Oceania final on Friday night, moving into the semi final and gaining an automatic spot at the prestigious accelerator.

ElevenStore on ABC Radio

ElevenStore appeared on Melbourne Breakfast on ABC Radio in an interview about the ClimateLaunchpad competition

Phuong wins Deakin 3MT

Congratulations to Phuong – Deakin 3MT Winner and People’s choice award. Click here to watch the video

ElevenStore at Climate Kic National Finals

Members of ElevenStore (Karolina, Faezeh, Jenny and Vahide) are one of the 3 winners of the ClimateLaunchpad East Coast Final. Good luck at the National pitch finals on the 26th of August!

The Future of Energy with Professor Michel Armand

Read this article about pioneering battery research with Professor Michel Armand.

Fangfang and Shawn’s paper in Joule

Congratulations to Dr Fangfang Chen and Dr Xiowen Wang for the publication of “Poly(Ionic Liquid)s-in-Salt Electrolytes with Co-coordination-Assited Lithium-Ion Transport for Safe Batteries” in the journal Joule

Shammi on Einstein A Go-Go

Congratulations to Shammi Ferdousi for her interview on science show Einstein A Go-Go as a part of the #20phds20mins series

Online Symposium

The Energy Research and the Circular Economy Online Symposium was held on the 4th May 2020. This open/public symposium showcased 6 groups of researchers working on issues related to the circular economy and battery energy storage.

New Paper from Ana, Maria and Anthony

Congratulations to Ana Suarez Vega, Prof. Maria Forsyth and Dr Anthony Somers for the publication of “Effect lanthanum 4-hydroxy cinnamate on the polymerisation, condensation and thermal stability of hybrid sol-gel formations” in the Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology.

Anthony’s new publication

Congratulations to Dr Anthony Somers for the publication of “Advances in the development of rare earth metal and carboxylate compounds as corrosion inhibitors for steel” in The International Journal of Corrosion Processes and Corrosion Control

 

Coin cell performance screening for the development of new electrode materials

Calix is an industry partner for the joint $5mil CRC-P Project on Advanced Hybrid Batteries, where they are developing new LMO electrode materials based off their proprietary calcination method carried out at their reactor in Bacchus Marsh. As part of this project, they are able to supply a large number of materials which need to be screened for electrochemical performance before being assembled into prototype cells for application. This project will involve supporting the existing researchers on this project by preparing electrode films of Calix materials by a casting method, assembling lithium metal half-cells, and conducting cell screening tests. The project will suit a student with a basic level knowledge in chemistry and/or electrochemistry and is familiar with safe chemical laboratory practices.

If you want to apply, please contact Dr Rob Kerr at [email protected]

Synthesis and property investigation of new salts for energy applications

The development of next generation, safer batteries requires new electrolyte materials. Ionic liquids, and their solid state analogues called plastic crystals, are of great interest as electrolytes. The aim of this project is to characterise new salt mixtures by combining lithium or sodium salts with known plastic crystals to understand the thermal properties and conductivity and, therefore, their suitability as electrolytes for lithium or sodium batteries. This project would suit someone with a chemistry or materials engineering background who wants to develop their synthetic and analytical skills.

If you want to apply, please contact Prof Jenny Pringle at [email protected]

Environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors

Our research group makes new multifunctional inhibitors to mitigate both abiotic and microbiologically influenced corrosion. With the drive to more eco-friendly methods of inhibition and the ever-increasing cost of corrosion there is a need to discover new compounds to meet these challenges. The research within our group has concentrated on the synthesis, evaluation and characterisation of new inhibitors in order to discover the structural requirements for improved performance. The project offered would investigate the performance of a new family of corrosion inhibitors. Such an investigation would involve electrochemical, chemical and surface analysis techniques in order to evaluate the performance and determine mechanisms of protection. In conjunction with comparisons to previous work, the findings of this study will elucidate structural aspects of inhibitors that result in the protection of metal surfaces from corrosion.

If you want to apply, please contact Dr Anthony Somers at [email protected] 

 

Faezeh’s Travel Award

Congratulations to IFM Associate Research Fellow, Dr Faezeh Makhlooghiazad who has received a travel award from the International Society of […]

IFM researchers keynote in Cancun

IFM researchers Prof Maria Forsyth, Prof Patrick Howlett and Dr Nolene Byrne all gave keynote addresses at the Americas International Meeting on Electrochemistry and Solid State Science in Cancun, Mexico recently. […]

Welcome to the 13th Annual International Electromaterials Science Symposium

The symposium presents an opportunity to review the most recent advances in materials science, new electrochemical applications and fundamental understanding in this important field of Electromaterials […]

ASIL conference success

The 8th Australasian Symposium on Ionic Liquids (ASIL 8) was held from 21-23 May 2018 at Deakin Downtown. The conference was chaired by IFM’s Dr. Cristina Pozo-Gonzalo, Dr. Anthony Somers and Dr. Nolene Byrne, together with Dr. Mega Kar […]

A Deakin and Monash University scientific analysis of fossilised tree resin has caused a rethink of Australia’s prehistoric ecosystem, and could potentially pave the way to recovering preserved palaeobiological artefacts from the time of dinosaurs or prehistoric mammals. […]

Congratulations to A/Prof Patrick Howlett, Dr Shawn Wang and Dr Wren Greene who were successful in their application to the Army Research Office. They have received a grant of US$344k over three years for a project on Design of high ion conductivity in polymer/OIPC composite. […]

You may have read headlines over the years shouting about batteries that can make your mobile phone last for weeks and charge in seconds. Battery breakthroughs — they’re coming, we’re told.[…]

Dr Haijin Zhu arrived in San Sebastian recently to take up his Endeavour Fellowship working with Prof. David Mecerreyes at The University of Basque Country. Prof Mecerreyes is known for his pioneering work in designing and synthesizing innovative polymer materials for energy and environmental applications.[…]

The Electromaterials & Corrosion Science Group has helped to unveil the latest innovations coming out of Deakin University at the Australian International Airshow 2017. Innovations from the Faculty of Science, Institute for Frontier Materials, Engineering and Built Environment and BatTRI-Hub (to name a few) were on show to demonstrate the University’s expertise in aerospace and related fields[…]

The Battery Technology Research and Innovation Hub (BatTRI-Hub) has had its website go live. This Hub is the culmination of years of collaborative research between the Institute for Frontier Materials at Deakin University and CSIRO and is based in Deakin’s Waurn Ponds Campus[…]