Nicole completed an Integrated Masters degree in Chemistry at the University of Bristol where her final year project was on making magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and testing different silane coatings for the removal of heavy metal ions from water. This was done for applications in environmental remediation to reduce the effects of heavy metal contamination in freshwater systems. After graduating, Nicole worked for a company specialising in making and testing biodegradable plastic for packaging and personal care products. The company had clear goals to reduce the environmental impact of waste created by humans by developing a plastic material that would biodegrade and leave no microplastics behind. This further grew Nicole's interest in being a part of work and research to reduce damage to the environment and create a knowledge output that improves the world we live in. Nicole's project focuses on the creation of nanomaterials based on platinum metal that can be applied to fuel cell electrodes to improve their efficiency.
Decarbonisation of transport is a major challenge facing nations worldwide. There have been targets put in place by governments to limit the use and sale of petrol-powered automotive vehicles by 2035, meaning that it is becoming increasingly important to develop and improve on existing technologies to power automotives without the use of fossil fuels. One such method to power automotives is using fuel cells to generate electricity from hydrogen or hydrogen rich molecules. Current fuel cells operate at around 40-60% efficiency in conversion from fuel to electricity which is not enough to one day act as a replacement for petrol in automotives. There are various methods which can aid in improving the efficiency of fuel cells and one of these is the focus of this research. By increasing the surface area of the commonly used platinum catalyst layer in the fuel cell the rate of the hydrogen oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions that occur in fuel cells can be increased, therefore improving its efficiency. This method utilises growing platinum nanostructures inside a lipid template to create the high surface area structure. This also has the benefit of using less platinum and reducing the cost the material used in the catalyst layer. The research will build upon previous PhD students work in which the lipid phytantriol was used as a template to create the nanostructured platinum and will focus in the optimisation of the structure of the platinum in order to produce the highest surface area.
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