{"links":{"self":"http://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/API/grants/DE260101548"},"data":{"type":"grant-details","id":"DE260101548","attributes":{"code":"DE260101548","administering-organisation":"The University of Queensland","announcement-administering-organisation":"The University of Queensland","scheme-name":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","grant-status":"Active","funding-commencement-year":2026,"years-funded":3,"project-start-date":"2026-06-01","anticipated-end-date":"2029-05-31","grant-summary":"Mesoporous High-Entropy Alloys for Electrocatalytic Plastic Upcycling. This project aims to develop advanced mesoporous high-entropy alloys materials to convert plastic waste into value-added chemicals using electrochemical upcycling technology. Generating new knowledge in intelligent design strategies for nanomaterials and understanding structure-performance relationships holds promise in addressing the growing challenge of plastic waste through valorising plastic waste streams. Expected outcomes include a green nanotechnology platform for novel mesoporous high-entropy alloy-based materials synthesis and technology design. This is expected to generate valuable intellectual property, that reduces energy consumption and cost of plastic upcycling for commercial, economic and environmental benefits to Australia.","funding-current":510149.00,"funding-at-announcement":506079,"investigators-current":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Yunqing","familyName":"KANG","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":"0000-0001-8719-5098 "}],"investigators-at-announcement":[{"title":"Dr","firstName":"Yunqing","familyName":"KANG","roleName":"Discovery Early Career Researcher Award","roleCode":"DECRA","isFellowship":true,"orcidIdentifier":"0000-0001-8719-5098 "}],"organisations-current":[{"organisationName":"The University of Queensland","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"QLD"}],"organisations-at-announcement":[{"organisationName":"The University of Queensland","roleName":"Administering Organisation","state":"QLD"}],"field-of-research":[{"isPrimary":false,"code":"401102","name":"Environmentally Sustainable Engineering","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"401605","name":"Functional Materials","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":true,"code":"4018","name":"Nanotechnology","type":"FOR20"},{"isPrimary":false,"code":"401807","name":"Nanomaterials","type":"FOR20"}],"socio-economic-objective":[{"code":"280105","name":"Expanding Knowledge In the Chemical Sciences","type":"SEO20"},{"code":"280110","name":"Expanding Knowledge In Engineering","type":"SEO20"}],"international-collaboration":["China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)","Japan"],"lief-register":[],"achievement-summary":null,"national-interest-test-statement":"Australia urgently needs to shift towards a recycling-focused and sustainable economy; it is currently ranked ninth globally in per capita greenhouse gas emissions. A major contributor to these emissions globally is the plastics industry, releasing ~4% of global carbon emissions and leading to other serious environmental concerns (pollution of lands and waterways). However, only 9% of global plastic waste was recycled in 2019 and the predominant physical recycling method results in downcycling into lower-grade and lower-value products. This project directly addresses this gap by employing an emerging chemical electrocatalytic recycling technology, utilising a renewable energy-driven system, to directly convert plastic waste into high-value chemicals while simultaneously producing green hydrogen. Through innovations in nanotechnology, this project is expected to contribute to Australia’s transition to a circular economy, reducing plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, aligned with Australia’s National Science and Research Priority of Transitioning to A Net Zero Future. The novel technical outputs developed in this project are expected to have a lasting impact on the Australian economy and environment through dissemination to industry (patent transfer and ability to commercialise the findings) which will in turn bring new revenue streams into the country, creating jobs and income for a sustainable Australia."}}}