{"id":26376,"date":"2024-10-08T14:52:26","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T06:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/?post_type=advice&p=26376"},"modified":"2024-10-08T14:52:30","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T06:52:30","slug":"red-hot-research-from-curtin-student-to-science-innovator","status":"publish","type":"advice","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/advice\/red-hot-research-from-curtin-student-to-science-innovator\/","title":{"rendered":"Red-hot research: From Curtin student to science innovator"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Not long after completing his Physics degree, Jason Fogg discovered the solution to a mystery in materials science. Soon he\u2019ll be installing the hottest furnace in Australia for his research program at Curtin.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After high school, Dr Jason Fogg enrolled in a Bachelor of Science at Curtin, and now he\u2019s a member of a world-renowned Curtin research team and a startup company, RapidGraphite, that is innovating the manufacture of a super substance \u2013 graphite. The most exciting part? Their work could be a game-changer for the lithium-ion battery industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s special about graphite?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Most of us first knew graphite as the stuff in the pencils we learned to write with. In fact, the word \u2018graphite\u2019 originates from the Greek language and translates as \u2018to write\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graphite is a crystalline form of carbon. And while carbon isn\u2019t a mineral, graphite is, and it\u2019s found in metamorphic and igneous rocks all over the world. It\u2019s common but unique \u2013 soft, greasy, chemically stable and able to withstand high temperatures. Crucially, it\u2019s also an excellent conductor of electricity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Powdered<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGraphite\u2019s atoms are layered and arranged in a hexagonal lattice, forming sheets. Each one of those sheets is called graphene,\u201d Jason explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With all those advantages, graphite has abundant industrial uses beyond pencils \u2013 for lubricants, batteries, the production of glass and steel, the processing of iron, sports gear like tennis racquets, and much more. And because it\u2019s chemically inert, graphite is even used in nuclear reactors to stabilise nuclear reactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, as common as it is, graphite has been a bit of a mystery substance for material scientists for decades. Jason explains why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the 1950s, a British scientist called Rosalind Franklin started researching graphite and how to make it. She proposed that all carbon materials when heated should form graphite quite easily. However, she showed that most carbon materials, when heated, actually don’t form graphite,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd for the past 70 years it’s been a real question as to why they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to make graphite<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Jason was working with graphite as part of his master degree research with the Curtin Carbon Group<\/a>, intrigued with Rosalind Franklin\u2019s physics puzzle, and continued to a PhD project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were doing what we call blue-sky research,\u201d he says. \u201cWe asked a fundamental question: why is it so difficult to make graphite?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe started with molecular dynamics. The Curtin Carbon Group has a lot of expertise in the simulation of graphite and how it forms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To explain that: Molecular dynamics are simulations of the behaviour of atoms and molecules, using high-speed computers \u2013 a technique that\u2019s been likened to using a \u2018virtual microscope\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen we began to explore experimentally, which involved heating materials to extreme temperatures up to around 3,000 degrees Celsius.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For perspective, 3,000 degrees is equal to about half the surface temperature of the Sun, and they were able to reach that temperature in seconds by \u2018creating\u2019 a customised furnace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were on a shoestring budget \u2013 like most research starts out \u2013 so we repurposed an atomic absorption spectrometer. It\u2019s an instrument that was invented in Australia in the 1950s and developed to analyse the composition of liquids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe sort of tweaked it so we could heat material to these wildly high temperatures that most furnaces can\u2019t manage. Heating to 3,000 degrees so quickly allowed us to explore the kinetics of how graphite is formed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe observed the first ever atomic-level detail of graphite forming, and watched that process essentially in snapshot frames over a couple of seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does the world need more graphite?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Graphite isn\u2019t especially difficult to mine or create, but both processes have industry challenges. For the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries, for example, graphite must be almost pure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou lose about 70\u201380% of what you dig out of the ground during purification, and the process uses a highly dangerous chemical \u2013 a single drop on your skin will kill you,\u201d Jason says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or you can manufacture graphite. But the common manufacturing process for tonne-scale graphite hasn’t changed since the early 1900s and it\u2019s extremely wasteful. It uses a lot of energy and about half is wasted, which contributes to significant CO2<\/sub> emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, graphite is important in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries, and their role in the green energy transition is driving a massive spike in demand for graphite. Complicating the increased demand, 98% of the world’s graphite supply for batteries comes from one country. This creates significant supply chain risk for other countries who need the mineral but can\u2019t source it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the best way to avoid supply disruptions is to create your own resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe existing knowledge for manufacturing graphite starts with thermodynamics and a carbon phase diagram that shows that graphite should be easy to form.\u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut it’s only a select group of petrochemicals that can make synthetic graphite, so we started our research to better understand why thermodynamics doesn’t crossover into experimental results.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current theory on why most carbon materials don\u2019t form graphite, is that internal defects prevent the material from restructuring into crystalline graphite even at temperatures as high as half the sun\u2019s surface temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research team\u2019s technology overcomes these defects, enabling them to produce graphite from materials, others would have considered as an impossible source for graphite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve discovered specific catalysts blends that can take classic non-graphitising carbons and transform them into highly crystalline graphite \u2013 opening the door to new sources for this critical mineral.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, the innovative new method for making graphite is incredibly quick, taking just seconds to complete in the lab. Compared to traditional manufacturing methods that take days, this new method is a game changer for graphite production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The logical next step was to establish a start-up company that could evolve the technology into an innovative business. The company RapidGraphite<\/a> was registered and, through Curtin\u2019s Accelerate program, the commercialisation journey began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What will it mean for Australians?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

One of the most exciting prospects is that the RapidGraphite process can quickly manufacture graphite for lithium-ion batteries, using a much more sustainable process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGraphite actually comprises about a quarter of the weight in all Li-ion batteries. So, a significant proportion of the make-up and the cost of every smart phone and smartwatch is graphite,\u201d Jason explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s a looming shortage for battery-grade graphite, predicted to reach about nine million tonnes by 2035, due to the rising demand for batteries needed to store energy from renewable sources. Could RapidGraphite solve that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRapidGraphite offers a revolutionary manufacturing process. Right now, we’ve got a simple aim of making low-cost graphite for Li-ion batteries. That would mean that batteries for home solar systems, for example, would be cheaper. \u201c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe graphite shortage also impacts on a national scale. Australia\u2019s transition to net-zero will see large solar arrays built, and they’re going to need grid-scale battery storage. Most of the massive renewable resources that Australia has through wind and solar goes to waste \u2013 we have to store it, and we need graphite to make the batteries to store it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does it feel to be a real-life innovator?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s been a crazy ride. I was an undergrad student who continued on to research, and now we\u2019re commercialising our research and taking into market,\u201d Jason says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dr<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCurtin\u2019s Commercialisation<\/a> team has been a massive support, and the Trailblazer<\/a> funding program has just provided $500,000 for a new furnace. When it arrives around February 2025, it’s going to be the hottest furnace in an Australian university! It will allow us to scale our technology, take it out of the laboratory and into the commercial domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting, transitioning from that core research and carrying on with what I’m passionate about \u2013 which is making graphite.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Â鶹ֱ²¥\u2019s Accelerate program supports early-stage startups to enhance their entrepreneurial skills, connect with investors, and elevate their products and services into businesses. Find out more about Accelerate and our successful Accelerate innovators here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","image":false},"related_courses":[{"title":"Bachelor of Science","qualification":"Bachelor of Science (Science) (Physics)","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/study\/offering\/course-ug-bachelor-of-science-science--b-scnce\/","description":"Reach for the stars, by gaining advanced knowledge of matter and energy and specialising in applied physics, astrophysics, materials science or mathematical physics.","faculty":"Science and Engineering"}],"credits":{"author":"","photographer":"","media":false},"display_author":true,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Jason-Fogg-in-the-lab-1200x500.png","author_meta":{"first_name":"Curtin","last_name":"University","display_name":"Â鶹ֱ²¥"},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advice\/26376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advice"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/advice"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4451"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advice\/26376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}