Dr Bjorn Winther-Jensen

Dr Bjorn Winther-Jensen is a Research Fellow at the Australian Centre for Electromaterials Science (ACES) Monash.

In the area of nanotechnology, Dr Winther-Jensen is investigating polymer-based air-electrodes for fuel-cells and metal-air batteries. His focus on nanotechnology for the design and structure of these interfaces is critical to maintain high performance.

Together with Professor Doug MacFarlane from Monash’s Department of Chemistry and Professor Maria Forsyth inMonash’s Engineering Faculty, Dr Winther-Jensen has built a new cathode which could replace the more expensive platinum based fuel-cell. This novel design substitutes the platinum with a breathable fabric used in outdoor clothing – Goretex – which has been treated with a conductive layer of plastic.

"The same way as waste vapour is drawn out of (Goretex) to make hikers more comfortable and less prone to hypothermia, so it is able to 'breathe' oxygen into our fuel- cell and into contact with the conductive plastic."

By replacing rare and expensive metal-catalysts like platinum and palladium, this new design fuel-cell can cut costs considerably. Dr Winther-Jensen hopes his novel electro-catalytic approach will be applied to other catalytic reactions and so create a new group of organic electro-catalysts.

Dr Winther-Jensen’s work will have a real impact on our future society – for instance in the next generation of hybrid cars - as the price of petrol rises and its supplies diminish. Fuel-cells and metal-air batteries will play a major role in energy transformation and storage. The use of low-cost and efficient electrodes will be crucial.

His collaboration with Professors MacFarlane and Forsyth in the design of the new cathode was published in the August 2008 edition of the Journal, ‘Science’. In addition, Dr Winther-Jensen is working with the group at the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) at the University of Wollongong, where he is specialising in the investigation of carbon nanotubes.

Dr Winther-Jensen is also exploring the use of plasma polymerisation of thin films onto conducting polymers. His aim is to create a surface which can be ‘switched’ – from non-stick to stick, for instance.

Publications

Bjørn  Winther-Jensen, Orawan Winther-Jensen, Maria Forsyth, Douglas R. MacFarlane, High Rates of Oxygen Reduction over a Vapor Phase–Polymerized PEDOT Electrode, Science, 321, (2008) 671.

Bjørn  Winther-Jensen, Maria Forsyth, Keld West, Jens Wenzel Andreasen, Paul Bayley, Steven Pas, Douglas R. MacFarlane, Orderedisorder transitions in poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), Polymer, 49 (2008) 481-487.

Bjørn Winther-Jensen and Keld West, Vapor-Phase Polymerization of 3,4Ethylenedioxythiophene: A Route to Highly Conducting Polymer Surface Layers, Macromolecules 37 (2004) 4538-4543.

Bjørn Winther-Jensen and Frederik C. Krebs, High Conductivity Large Area Semi-Transparent Electrodes for Polymer Photovoltaics by Silk Screen Printing and Vapour Phase Deposition, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells. Volume 90, Issue 2, 23 January 2006, 123-132.