Luo Group

The advanced battery materials and technology group, led by ARC Future fellow Dr Bin Luo, focuses on the development of functional materials for electrochemical energy storage applications.

The Luo Group are especially interested in the design of carbon materials and their hybrid structures with organic/inorganic species, as well as exploring their applications in next-generation battery technologies, such as multivalent metal batteries, redox flow batteries, and solid-state batteries.

By understanding the redox chemistry of these materials and devices with operando or ex-situ technologies, their research aims to reveal the underlying energy storage mechanism and structure-performance relationships, with an ultimate goal of improving electrochemical performance and solving the future energy storage demand.

In addition to material design, the Luo Group are also interested in developing new conceptual energy storage systems, such as solar batteries and micro-batteries with specific functions and applications. For example, they are developing a range of new solar battery systems by integrating solar energy conversion and storage in one device. With this innovation, the direct storage of solar energy without the use of photovoltaic cells can be realised, resulting in better use of abundant solar energy.

The Luo Group are also working closely with industries to translate fundamental science into practice and solve industrial problems.

Collaborations

In addition to the internal collaborations within the Nanomaterials Centre led by Prof Lianzhou Wang at The University of Queensland, Dr Luo has built extensive collaborations with many other domestic and international research groups. This includes collaborations with, or mentorships from, leading figures in the field such as Prof Ian Gentle (UQ), Prof Debra Barnhart (UQ), Dr Ruth Knibbe (UQ), Prof Huijun Zhao (Griffith), A/Prof Porun Liu (Griffith), Prof Aijun Du (QUT), Dr Qinfen Gu (ANSTO), Prof Linjie Zhi (CUP East China), Prof Dan Wang (IPE-CAS), Prof Bin Wang (NCNST), Dr Tobias Schülli (ESRF-The European Synchrotron), Prof Lei Wang (QUST), Prof Yun Hau Ng (CityUHK), Prof Michael Giersig (IPPT-PAN). Luo group is also involved in collaborations with industrial partners, e.g. Redflow, Energy Storage Industries- Asia Pacific, Dynamic group.