Dr Peter Sherrell

Screenshot of LinkedIn post from ARC saying that DP27 EOI outcomes will be released on RMS on the 26th Feb 2026.

The ARC have said (on LinkedIn) they will release outcomes for Discovery Projects Expressions of Interest (2027) tomorrow👇

This has implications beyond fundamental science 🥼, it gives us a way to make any plastic surface a #mechanical sensor 🔊.

It also lets us make #triboelectric #nanogenerators , #TENGs , ⚡generate a whole lot more energy from motion.

Simple questions can give beautiful answers! 🔬

#Ions - They make beautiful colours in the sky ✨, but what do they do when we get them 'stuck' in a plastic film ⁉️

with @andrissutka.bsky.social in @apsphysics.bsky.social #PRL we show the film transforms into an electrically responsive⚡surface!

link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...

#physics 🧪 #chemsky

Towards responsive surfaces 🔬 in @apsphysics.bsky.social by figuring out why ions change the electromechanical ⚡ response of polymers

This work was the culmination of 3 years of work - and it's opened lots of questions, we can't answer... yet.

doi.org/10.1103/th79...

#ozchem #physky #science 🧪

Proud to announce our recent work in prestigious PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS (10.1103/th79-cjz6). The ion-implanted polymers possess space charge that can be exploited to deliver materials for sensors and energy harvesting. A collaboration I built during the project TriboCharge. @nanoin3d.bsky.social

Resilient nylon-11 film generates electricity from pressure and survives repeated runovers RMIT University researchers have developed a flexible nylon-film device that generates electricity from compression and keeps working even after being run over by a car multiple times, opening the door to self-powered sensors on our roads and other electronic devices.

A resilient nylon-11 film generates electricity from pressure and maintains performance after repeated compression, offering potential for durable, self-powered sensors in infrastructure and wearable devices. doi.org/hbpz6m

Electroacoustic alignment of robust and highly piezoelectric nylon-11 films - Nature Communications Nylon-11 is a common and durable polymer but possess low piezoelectric properties. Here, the authors use mechanical accelerations and strong electric fields to induce crystallization, hydrogen-bonding...

#Published in @natureportfolio.nature.com #NatureCommunications - we show that playing certain (high frequency) sound waves during #Nylons #Crystallisation enables it to 'lock in' a structure that actively converts motion to electricity! 👀

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

‘Incredibly resilient’ nylon device creates electricity under tonnes of pressure A tough and flexible RMIT invention generates electricity from compression, opening the door to self-powered sensors on our roads.

Super-Strong #Nylon that you can drive over in a car to make #electricity? ⚡

Find how you can make #Nylon like this with #Sound waves 🔊⁉️ In our new work from Rob Komljenovic and Amgad Rezk at #RMIT.

www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-new...

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🧪 #ozchem #science #chemsky

Polymer beads generate electricity for self-charging devices using simple friction An international team has discovered a simple and environmentally friendly way to power the next generation of self-charging electronics.

Microscopic polymer spheres can generate electricity through friction, enabling thin, eco-friendly films that harvest energy for self-charging devices without toxic materials or complex manufacturing. doi.org/hbcxqj

Yes, completely tiny and pretty useless at the moment - but cool!

We've seen in this (and other) work is you can change your surface to make orders of magnitude more electricity.

You always lose energy during conversion processes... And a droplet 💧is a tiny thing! (But there are lots at once ⛈️)

The Bionic Interface: Considering the Material Mediated Electrical Stimulation of Stem Cells Electrical stimulation directs stem cell fate in tissue engineering. Cellular responses are influenced by membrane properties, intrinsic cell state, material charge-transport characteristics, and the...

How do you make #StemCells turn into what we want 🫀?

One way is with electricity⚡- but how you use the electricity really matters

In a new perspective with @drtinytaps.bsky.social in #AdvancedMaterials, we tackle these complexities:

doi.org/10.1002/adma...

#ozchem #science #chemsky 🧪 #matsky

Impact of Initial Charge Conditions on the Slide Electrification of Droplets Contact electrification and electrostatic induction are the core mechanisms behind solid–liquid (SL) triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which have garnered interest for powering microscale devices....

What if Solar Panels harvested energy when rain was falling ❔

In @acs.org #Langmuir - we looked at raindrops falling and sliding. We show the ⚡ charge already on a surface before a droplet 💧 hits a surface matters... a lot⁉️

🧪 #Physics #TENG #Chemsky

@andrissutka.bsky.social

The Bionic Interface: Considering the Material Mediated Electrical Stimulation of Stem Cells Electrical stimulation directs stem cell fate in tissue engineering. Cellular responses are influenced by membrane properties, intrinsic cell state, material charge-transport characteristics, and the...

How do you make #StemCells turn into what we want 🫀?

One way is with electricity⚡- but how you use the electricity really matters

In a new perspective with @drtinytaps.bsky.social in #AdvancedMaterials, we tackle these complexities:

doi.org/10.1002/adma...

#ozchem #science #chemsky 🧪 #matsky

Diamond power could be a medical implant’s best friend Researchers have created a 3D-printed diamond–titanium device that generates electricity from flowing liquid and receives wireless power through tissue.

Have a read of the great write up by the RMIT media team.

www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-new...

🧪 #science #ozchem #3Dprinting

Additively Manufactured Diamond for Energy Scavenging and Wireless Power Transfer in Implantable Devices Additive manufacturing is expanding beyond mechanical prosthetics into microelectronic implants. This work presents a diamond-titanium hybrid that enables wireless power transfer, localized heating, ....

A (micro) bit of Diamond can make a lot of difference

In our study led by Arman Ahnood and Kate Fox, we show that microdiamonds 💎 transform Titanium implants into active energy harvesting materials - from fluid flow (think blood 🩸), or as an antenna 📶

doi.org/10.1002/adfm...

#ozchem 🧪 #science

Thanks for the lovely write up!

Aqueous Synthesis of UiO‐66 Metal‐Organic Frameworks With Enhanced Crystallinity and Surface Area In this work, highly crystalline UiO-66 is synthesized in water at 65 °C, achieving a high surface area of 741 m2 g−1, by modulating the pH of the reaction, promoting optimal coordination between met....

Want to make #MOFs cheaply?

At RMIT, led by Ph.D. student Nandish H. S., we've shown how to make #UiO-66 with excellent crystallinity and high surface area.

At atmospheric pressure. 💎
In water. 💧

#Science #ozchem #chemsky 🧪

advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

We also had a lot of fun testing these at the RMIT #FLAMME Lab - showing how these work for next-generation PPE for first responders.

🧪🔬 #science #textiles #contactelectrification #chemsky

Flexible High Temperature Stable Hydrogel Based Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Structural Health Monitoring and Deep Learning Augmented Human Motion Classification A high-performance flexible and high-temperature stable hydrogel-based triboelectric nanogenerator for scavenging mechanical energy, and structural health monitoring is developed. The device demonstr...

Had some fun with our paper in collaboration between RMIT and AcSIR.

doi.org/10.1002/smll...

Published in Small - we show we can make #batteryfree energy harvesting systems stable up to 200C🔥(at nowhere near the energy density of batteries 🪫- but it's interesting!)

🧪🔬 #ozchem #chemsky

This paper is probably the last one I get into the lab and do *most* of the experimental myself. Perhaps why it started in 2021 and it took 4 years to finish. 🤦‍♂️

Thanks to the wonderful collaborators 💌vand helpers on the way!

Onwards to more motion-driven #catalysis ⚡at #RMIT!

#OzChem 🧪 #chemsky

Piezo‐Electro‐Catalytic Hydrogen Production via Piezoelectric Fluoropolymers Piezo-electro-catalysis is demonstrated to double the efficiency of hydrogen production from acid by combining a self-poled fluoropolymer with a platinum mesh. The improvement is attributed to locali...

New paper on #Hydrogen Evolution!

Really proud of this one - dx.doi.org/10.1002/aesr...

We figured out a way to make non-stick fluoropolymers 'stick' to metals. This meant that if we use #MXenes to polarise the fluoropolymer we get excellent #piezoelectric coupling.

#chemsky 🧪 #science

The water droplets on your car window are building electrical charge The water droplets are building up an electrical charge, and physicists say it is 10 times greater than previously thought.

Lovely coverage of @apsphysics.bsky.social #PRL in #CosmosMagazine on a beautiful & basic phenomena

How droplets get charged when moving 💧⚡

cosmosmagazine.com/technology/m...

We've 🔃 previous studies - charging can occur from dry to wet⁉️

journals.aps.org/prl/abstract...

#physics #physsky 🧪

Water movement on surfaces makes more electric charge than expected Researchers from RMIT University and the University of Melbourne have discovered that water generates an electrical charge up to 10 times greater than previously understood when it moves across a surf...

Lovely write up of our @apsphysics.bsky.social #PRL article on stick-slip #water #electrification
@sciencex.bsky.social

This work flips 🔃 droplet charging on its head, showing it happens dry to wet as well as wet to dry! 💧⚡

phys.org/news/2025-03...

doi.org/10.1103/Phys...

#Ozchem #Chemsky 🧪

a painting of rain drops falling on a tiled floor by duc-koolh ALT: a painting of rain drops falling on a tiled floor by duc-koolh

In terms of rain drops being repelled by static - I suspect it is related - but we haven't studied it in detail enough to make a statement either way!

A droplet that split from pinning events on top of a polymer for measuring droplet electrification

We *think* - and the next step is demonstrating control of it - that the wobble you see when a droplet jumps releases a little bit of energy, which can interact with the surface to create (or transfer) an electric charge. 💧

I love the fact we still can't (properly) answer something so simple. ⁉️

Water movement on surfaces makes more electric charge than expected Researchers from RMIT University and the University of Melbourne have discovered that water generates an electrical charge up to 10 times greater than previously understood when it moves across a surf...

Lovely write up of our @apsphysics.bsky.social #PRL article on stick-slip #water #electrification
@sciencex.bsky.social

This work flips 🔃 droplet charging on its head, showing it happens dry to wet as well as wet to dry! 💧⚡

phys.org/news/2025-03...

doi.org/10.1103/Phys...

#Ozchem #Chemsky 🧪

Water moving over a surface - one of the most common things we can imagine.

With @drjoeberry.bsky.social, Amanda Ellis, and Shuaijia Chen, we've shown when a droplet 'sticks' and 'jumps - it creates 10x more electric charge! ⚡

In @apsphysics.bsky.social doi.org/10.1103/Phys...

#ozchem 🧪 #chemsky

At this stage, it's really an observation 🔬 - but the next steps in controlling when and how this occurs can have big implications for energy storage 🔋 and flammable fuel 🔥handling processes.

Looking forward to the journey!

#ozchem #chemsky 🧪

Water movement on surfaces makes more electric charge than expected Researchers have discovered that water generates an electrical charge up to 10 times greater than previous understood when it moves across a surface.

This is amazing for me - discoveries like this, "finding out how the cosmos works" is why I became a scientist. 💓

RMIT has done a wonderful write-up of why this matters, and what it means here:

www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-new...

#ozchem #ChemSky 🧪

Water moving over a surface - one of the most common things we can imagine.

With @drjoeberry.bsky.social, Amanda Ellis, and Shuaijia Chen, we've shown when a droplet 'sticks' and 'jumps - it creates 10x more electric charge! ⚡

In @apsphysics.bsky.social doi.org/10.1103/Phys...

#ozchem 🧪 #chemsky