QUT offers a diverse range of student topics for Honours, Masters and PhD study. Search to find a topic that interests you or propose your own research topic to a prospective QUT supervisor. You may also ask a prospective supervisor to help you identify or refine a research topic.
Found 33 matching student topics
Displaying 25–33 of 33 results
Metal halide perovskite solar cell performance based on impurity profiles from Australian sourced precursor materials
Australia has the potential to lead globally in supplying precursor materials for next-generation metal halide perovskite solar cells, leveraging its abundant critical minerals and strong mineral processing capabilities with an innovative "mineral to precursor to final product" strategy.This project will demonstrate the performance of next-generation metal halide perovskite solar cells using Australian sourced materials, complimented with computational modelling to understand the elemental interactions of any impurities.
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
Recovery of metal halide perovskite precursors from Australia sources
Investigate, model and experiment on the extraction and recovery of cations and anions, used in the synthesis of perovskite solar cells, from Australian resources.Australia has the potential to lead globally in supplying precursor materials for next-generation metal halide perovskite solar cells, leveraging its abundant critical minerals and strong mineral processing capabilities with an innovative 'mineral to precursor to final product' strategy.
- Study level
- PhD
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
Glassy 2D molecular materials
Modern semiconductor technologies are based on crystalline materials with well-defined physical and electronic structures.However, molecular materials, such as organic semiconductors, may present interesting opportunities through disordered structures.The focus of this project will be on conjugated 2D materials without long-range order: molecular glasses. Through control of the chemical composition, atomic bonding motifs, and lateral size, we will be able to modify the properties of these materials.Our focus will be on synthesising and studying these new materials to better understand the relationship …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
High energy absorbing materials and composites for building protection from collision damage
Protection of structures has become a priority for saving lives and preventing structural collapses caused by increased natural or man-made disasters. Most injuries and mortalities in these disasters are caused due to fragmentation of structures, and therefore, structural protection through systems that can absorb more energy and effectively contain the fragments (debris) are needed. Additive manufacturing (such as 3D printing) can be used to develop special geometries called auxetic geometries and composites using sustainable bioplastics which can absorb shock energy …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Macromolecular barcoding for tracing plastic materials for the circular economy: a game changer for recycling
The reduction and management of plastic waste is perhaps the most critical challenge facing modern economies and plastic pollution cannot be resolved by generic approaches to research or to problem-solving. The Soft Matter Materials Team aims to resolve the anonymity and ubiquity of plastics by pioneering a simple optical readout system that can identify the uniquely coded information in macromolecules that have been embedded in plastics.In this project, optically readable macromolecular barcodes based on a system of excimer fluorescence switch-on …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
Australian Ganoderma species for the production of bioactive metabolites and new functional materials synthesis
Fungi are essential components of all ecosystems in roles including symbiotic partners, decomposers and nutrient cyclers and as a source of food for vertebrates and invertebrates. While vital to soil health and organic matter turnover, fungi have great potential in sustainable design and medicine.Ganoderma strains in particular produce bioactive compounds and display growth characteristics that favour their use in medical and applied biotechnology. Some species produce triterpenoids, such as ganoderic acids, and have been used in traditional Asian medicine for …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Biology and Environmental Science
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy
Designing future magnetic materials
Low-dimensional and atomically-thin magnets host a myriad of exotic magnetic states. As such, they are excellent candidates for memory and logic devices in future technologies.However, the atomic structures needed to realise these states are still not well understood.For this reason, theoretical investigations of the electronic and magnetic properties of these materials are crucial to engineer functional magnetic materials in the future.
- Study level
- Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Engineering
- School
- School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering
Phosphate-based polyanionic cathode materials for (post) Li-ion batteries
Mixed polyanionic compounds have been studied extensively as viable cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries. Mixed phosphates Na4M3(PO4)2P2O7 (M = Mn2+, Fe2+, Co2+, Ni2+), provide a low barrier for Na-ion diffusion, being advantageous in comparison to phosphates and pyrophosphates. Despite being structurally similar, electrochemical performance differs for their analogues with different degrees of (de)sodiation, according to the transition element present. This project will develop series of mixed phosphates using novel rapid heating methods to achieve desired electrochemical properties.
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Science
- School
- School of Chemistry and Physics
- Research centre(s)
- Centre for Materials Science
‘race for the surface’: designing the next generation antimicrobial biomaterials
When a biomaterial is implanted into the body and bacteria get into the implantation site, both the bacteria and tissue cells actively seek to establish their colonization on the biomaterial surface. This process, called ‘the race for the surface’ by Anthony Gristina in 1987, is still a subject of intense investigation. It is generally accepted that a biomaterial’s success in integrating with the body depends on if tissue cells win or the bacteria win the race. However, evidence from the …
- Study level
- PhD, Master of Philosophy, Honours
- Faculty
- Faculty of Business and Law
- School
- School of Accountancy
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