Wednesday, 8 November 11:00am – 12:00pm

This seminar will be delivered in Chemistry Lecture Theatre 4

Speaker: Prof. Valeska Ting, Australian National University

Host: Dr Kaye Kang

Title: Adventures in functional porous materials for sustainable applications

Abstract: High surface area nanoporous materials such as porous carbons, zeolites and metal-organic framework materials are fascinating structures. Their nanoscale and macroscopic structures can be tuned to allow exceptionally high densities of gas within their pores, which can lead to exciting possibilities for energy storage, both by physical adsorption of hydrogen and through emergence of unusual materials states via gas densification. They can act as highly selective catalysts for environmental remediation and porous scaffolds, and can even discriminate between different gas and liquid molecules to perform challenging separations, for uses as diverse as carbon dioxide capture and separation of hydrogen and deuterium for fusion energy. The most interesting aspect of these materials is how the performance of these materials and their various functions links with their chemical composition and nanoscale porous structures.

Here we will present results from select studies into a range of porous materials, highlighting different approaches for extracting key information on the structures and properties of these systems. These include parametric studies and combinations of techniques including neutron scattering under static and dynamic conditions, gas sorption, molecular modelling and properties measurements under coupled extremes of low temperature and high pressures. Such studies can produce surprising and useful insights into the effect of nanoconfinement on the atomic arrangement, preference and properties of gases and liquids interacting with these frameworks under different environmental conditions, paving the way for the design and development of new porous materials for sustainable applications.

References

• Bimbo, N., Zhang, K., Aggarwal, H., Mays, T., Jiang, J. Barbour L., Ting, V. P. 2021. Hydrogen Adsorption in Metal-Organic Framework MIL-101(Cr) – Adsorbate Densities and Enthalpies from Sorption, Neutron Scattering, In-Situ X-ray Diffraction, Calorimetry, and Molecular Simulations, ACS Applied Energy Materials 4 (8) pp 7839-7847
• Tian, M., Lennox, M.J., O’Malley, A.J., Porter, A.J., Krüner, B., Rudić, S., Mays, T.J., Düren, T., Presser, V., Terry, L.R. Ting V.P., 2020. Effect of pore geometry on ultra-densified hydrogen in microporous carbons. Carbon 173, pp 968–979
• Doan, H, Hamzah, HA, Prabhakaran, P, Petrillo, C & Ting, VP, 2019, ‘Hierarchical Metal–Organic Frameworks with Macroporosity: Synthesis, Achievements, and Challenges’. Nano-Micro Letters, vol
• Ting, V. P, Ramirez-Cuesta, A. J., Bimbo, N., Sharpe, J. E., Noguera Diaz, A., Presser, V., Rudic, S. and Mays, T. J., 2015. Direct evidence for solid-like hydrogen in a nanoporous carbon hydrogen storage material at supercritical temperatures. ACS Nano, 9 (8), 8249–8254

Bio: Professor Valeska Ting is Associate Dean at the ANU College of Engineering, Computing and Cybernetics (CECC) and a Professor at the Research School of Chemistry at the Australian National University. She is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM) and holds an honorary appointment as a Professor of Smart Nanomaterials at the University of Bristol, UK. She currently leads an international team of researchers developing materials aimed at sustainable energy applications including hydrogen storage. Notable awards include the 2013 Sir Frederick Warner medal, the UK’s Parliamentary and Scientific Committee’s SET for Britain Gold Medal for Engineering, and Westminster Medal in 2013, and being named one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering in 2020.