Energy and resources

Challenge: Photovoltaic cells are the current technology of choice for producing solar energy, but their efficiency is limited, impacting their cost-effectiveness. Light-harvesting molecules are used to harness low-energy photons but they experience decay that reduces their effectiveness.

Solution: Perylene, a molecule utilised to increase the energy of low-energy photons, was deuterated by the National Deuteration Facility. This improved the stability of the molecule, slowing the decay and increasing efficiency by 45%.

Challenge: Producing sufficient hydrogen for use as an energy source is a current challenge, with production currently sourced from hydrocarbons and coal, which negates its benefits in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. One promising area of study is the production of hydrogen from the photoelectrocatalytic splitting of water but this method currently needs optimising, with the use of cocatalysts and alcohol sacrificial agents possibility.

Solution: Semi-conducting metal oxides have been extensively studied for their photocatalytic properties. Advanced microscopy methods, such as high resolution transmission electron microscopy at ANSTO, are useful in the study of photocatalysts and used to show that Cu has potential as a lower cost co-catalyst for hydrogen production.

Challenge: The performance of rechargeable batteries depends on the atomic scale structure and chemistry changes of the components during cycling. Understanding the cycling process and the interactions occurring during cycling is critical in order to prevent battery failure, improve performance and investigate potential alternate battery chemistries.

Solution: In operando measurements using neutron or X-ray powder diffraction can examine the atomic structure of materials buried within batteries while they are functioning. ANSTO pioneered this first of a kind experiments using our ultrafast neutron powder diffraction instruments with world leading time resolution. Neutrons are ideal for this purpose due to their high penetration and sensitivity to different elements, so have been utilised to assess the efficacy of lithium ion batteries with additional elements. The high intensity X-rays produced by the Australian Synchrotron are also well suited for X-ray powder diffraction studies of new battery materials at the atomic scale, during charge/discharge cycles and is often used to complement neutron measurements.

Challenge: Cobalt is a critical battery component but there are concerns regarding its supply due to sparse reserves and large sources located in conflict zones. Cobalt Blue Holdings is an Australian company working to produce battery-ready cobalt and sulfur and received a large grant for the CRCP-8 project with ANSTO.

Solution: Cobalt Blue Holdings is partnering with ANSTO and UNSW through a CRC-P collaboration to develop a proprietary cobalt sulfide ore beneficiation process. Cobalt Blue’s process will optimise the processing of cobalt pyrite ores in order to produce battery-ready cobalt and sulfur product. ANSTO’s neutron and synchrotron characterisation techniques will provide Cobalt Blue valuable insight that will aid process development and optimisation.

Challenge: Understanding the internal void structure of iron ore lump and sinter inside a blast furnace is important for efficient operation. Gaining this understanding is, however, quite difficult as iron is good at blocking X-rays: the light used in CT scans to study internal structures of material.

Solution: Using the high-energy X-rays at IMBL and neutrons at DINGO that are able to pass through the thick iron layers in their test samples, BHP and University of Newcastle were able to successfully visualise the way the iron ore lump and sinter were melting, and the resulting networks of voids inside the melted iron, to study how different mixtures of lump iron ore and sinter behave together; such insights help inform the efficient operation of steelworks blast furnaces, saving energy and increasing profitability.

Publication: A Novel Measurement of Voidage in Coke and Ferrous Layers in Softening and Melting under Load Test Using Synchrotron X-ray and Neutron Computed Tomography Xinliang Liu, Tom Honeyands, Subhasish Mitra, Geoffrey Evans, Belinda Godel, Robert George Acres, Floriana Salvemini, Damien O’Dea, Ben Ellis … - ISIJ International, 2018

Challenge: The separation and storage of energy relevant gases are critical to many energy storage technologies. Hydrogen is an alternative energy carrier, however, this small molecule is energy intensive to compress and storing it efficiently can be a challenge. New materials are needed to allow for the gas to be stored safely, efficiently and compactly if it is to be a competitive energy carrier.

Solution: Novel materials such advanced alloys and metal organic frameworks are being developed that offer solutions for hydrogen gas storage. Neutron diffraction and scattering techniques are ideal to study the material interactions with hydrogen and hydrogen containing gases. The knowledge neutron scattering provides can be used to improve the hydrogen storage capacity and energy efficiency of these materials.

Challenge: Fuel cells are used to power both stationary and mobile applications, with low temperature fuel cells being used for transportation applications. How well a fuel cell functions is limited by the materials at the heart of the fuel cell, the membrane electrode assembly, and in particular how well those conduct protons. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are one example, but require development to have a higher operating temperature in order to increase the catalytic ability of electrodes, improve their tolerance to impurities and improve heat recovery.

Solution: Neutron scattering techniques such as quasielastic neutron scattering allowed for detailed understanding of the mechanisms of proton conduction and allowed assessment to various modifications to proton exchange membranes in order to improve the materials. Neutron powder diffraction was also utilised to characterise the proton conduction abilities of a new class of hexagonal perovskite-related oxide material.

Challenge: A large proportion of the world’s electricity is used for cooling and refrigeration. Current mechanisms of refrigeration use materials that are not environmentally friendly and have a large global warming potential. Solid-state caloric effects are an alternate method of refrigeration but application is limited by the performance of current materials.

Solution: Colossal barocaloric effects (CBCEs) are the cooling effects of pressure induced phase transitions. These effects were demonstrated by plastic crystals, which are a promising material for solid-state thermal energy storage. The microscopic mechanism of the CBCEs in plastic crystals was elucidated using elastic neutron scattering at ANTSO, providing fundamental understanding of this cooling method in order to optimise alternate refrigeration techniques.