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 transportation is a goal to which many companies and countries are moving towards. One method this can be achieved is by the implementation of new fuel sources. One such example is using fuel cells and hydrogen-based fuels to generate electricity. Current fuel cells have issues surrounding efficiency, this can be solved by increasing the surface area of the electrodes by applying nano-structured metals for reactions to occur on. My project will use existing electrochemical methods to produce nano-structured metals that can be grown on to electrodes which will then be tested under fuel cell conditions, I will also be looking at a wider range of metals that may be able to be grown onto electrodes using similar methods
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