Biomass-derived Carbon Dots Enable Flexible, On-Demand Hydrogen Delivery
R&D Focus Areas:
Photochemical and photocatalytic processes, Liquid organic carriers, Mobility
Lead Organisation:
Griffith University
Partners:
Not applicable
Status:
Active
Start date:
January 2023
Completion date:
December 2025
Key contacts:
Lead Chief Investigator – Qin Li: qin.li@griffith.edu.au
Chief Investigator – Dechao Chen: Dechao.chen@griffith.edu.au
Funding:
Australian Research Council (DP230102192)
Project total cost:
AUD$439,209
Project summary description:
Methanol is a promising liquid hydrogen carrier for long distance hydrogen transportation and exportation, because it is rich in hydrogen content, low-cost, recyclable between methanol-formaldehyde, and easier to manufacture from renewable resources including biomass waste.
The critical bottleneck in adopting methanol as the carrier is the demanding dehydrogenation process. The project aims to create a new class of photocatalyst based on biomass-derived carbon nanodots grown on transition metal (di)chalcogenide nanosheets that can effectively enable a light-controlled methanol hydrogen release of desired quantity.
The key outcomes of the project will be a new class of photocatalysts and flexible, on-demand hydrogen delivery technology for liquid hydrogen carriers.
Related publications and key links:
Amandeep Singh, Annalena Wolff, Soniya D. Yambem, Mostafa Esmaeili, James D. Riches, Mahboobeh Shahbazi, Krishna Feron, Ehsan Eftekhari, Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov, Qin Li & Prashant Sonar 2020, ‘Biowaste-Derived, Self-Organized Arrays of High-Performance 2D Carbon Emitters for Organic Light-Emitting Diodes’, Advanced Materials, vol. 32, no. 10, pp. 1906176, doi:10.1002/adma.201906176.
Shujun Wang, Ivan S. Cole & Qin Li 2016, ‘Quantum-confined bandgap narrowing of TiO2 nanoparticles by graphene quantum dots for visible-light-driven applications’, Chemical Communications, vol. 52, no. 59, pp. 9208–9211, doi:10.1039/c6cc03302d.
Zhiqing Wu, Nela Ambrožová, Ehsan Eftekhari, Nikhil Aravindakshan, Wentai Wang, Qilin Wang, Shanqing Zhang, Kamila Kočí & Qin Li 2019, ‘Photocatalytic H2 generation from aqueous ammonia solution using TiO2 nanowires-intercalated reduced graphene oxide composite membrane under low power UV light’, Emergent Materials, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 303–311, doi:10.1007/s42247-019-00029-5.
Higher degree studies supported:
Two PhD students at Griffith University are supported by this project.
May 2023