A nanocoating that can halt viral outbreaks and new materials for solar cell and light emitting technology are among the cutting-edge AIBN projects to win funding in the latest Australian Research Council Discovery Projects scheme.
The two successful AIBN research teams in the latest funding round attracted a combined $1.2 million, alongside 536 other projects nationwide.
AIBN's Professor Professor Michael Monteiro will use his $591,594 Discovery grant to engineer an environmentally friendly antiviral nanocoating designed with a new and universal mode of viral inactivation for broad-spectrum and long-lasting viral protection.
Professor Monteiro has established an international reputation in the field of 'living' radical polymerisation to create complex polymer architectures.
With the help of fellow AIBN Professor Megan O’Mara, he will use a combination of synthesis, computational modelling, and cutting-edge visualisation and quantitative analysis techniques to provide new antiviral design principles to guide surface coatings development.
“We aim to build a mechanistic understanding of virus properties and behaviour on coatings, leading to a next generation antiviral nanocoating to optimally bind and rupture viruses,” Professor Monteiro said.
“This should provide economic and health benefits through protecting Australians by halting transmission of known and new viral outbreaks.”
Elsewhere, ARC Australian Laureate Professor Lianzhou Wang was awarded $657,243 to develop new lead-free perovskite materials for next-generation solar cells.
A joint appointment between the AIBN and UQ School of Chemical Engineering, Professor Wang is a pioneer in the clean energy sector and renowned for his work in new functional materials for solar energy conversion and storage systems.
Professor Wang will be assisted by AIBN colleague ARC DECRA Fellow Dr Miaoqiang Lyu in this work, and also plans to explore the application of these new lead-free materials in devices that detect, control, and create light.
“To address the toxicity problem of lead containing perovskites, we aim to design high-quality tin-based perovskite thin film devices through new interfacial engineering and defect passivation strategies,” Professor Wang said.
“This project will significantly contribute to a decarbonised economy in Australia, and position the country at the forefront of renewable energy technologies and application of high-performance semiconductors.”
A number of other AIBN researchers will also be involved in the delivery of Discovery projects led by their colleagues and collaborators.
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Sign up todayThis includes Associate Professor Jeffrey Harmer, who is part of a project led by Professor Craig Williams from UQ’s School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences that aims to evolve the nitrogen-nitrogen three electron bond as a technology enabler for the development of solar cells and rechargeable batteries.
Associate Professor Viktor Vegh will help develop a new mathematical framework based on water diffusion in tissue to map tissue microstructure using MRI, while Dr Lena Oestreich will be developing methodologies and standards for defining reproducible, benchmarked analysis pipelines.
Meanwhile, Dr Li Li is teaming up with Professor Bernard Carroll from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) to design biologically active nanoparticle formulations to deliver RNA into crops for enhanced yield and quality.
Professor Megan O'Mara – as well as working with Professor Monteiro - is also part of a Discovery project led by Professor Robert Harvey from The University of the Sunshine Coast that will investigate neurotransmitter receptors in Varroa destructor mites.
You can see the full results of the 2025 Discovery Project round here.
