Dr Rodopoulos is a chemist who leads the development of novel metal production processes using non-aqueous electrochemistry.
Current activities
Dr Theo Rodopoulos works in the High Temperature Processing group of CSIRO Process Science and Engineering. He leads a Light Metals Flagship project investigating the use of ionic liquids in reducing the energy required to produce aluminium.
Dr Rodopoulos's current research interests include:
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low-temperature molten salts
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design and synthesis of new ionic liquids
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electrochemistry in ionic liquids
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metal speciation in ionic liquids
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structure and dynamics of ionic liquids
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process development.
Dr Rodopoulos leads a group with significant expertise in:
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design and synthesis of ionic liquids for particular applications
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assessment of physical properties of ionic liquids
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non-aqueous electrochemistry and its application to metal production
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focused experimental electrochemical work, carried out in close collaboration with experts in metal production, electrochemistry and materials characterisation.
The team maintain close links with prospective users in industry and rely on their input to drive the project in appropriate directions.
Dr Rodopoulos's research, through the Light Metals Flagship, in developing a novel low-temperature process for producing aluminium metal has the potential to revolutionise aluminium production, offering significant reductions in energy use and environmental impact.
Background
Dr Rodopoulos started at CSIRO in 1997 as a chemist in the Flotation Group where he worked on a number of projects to improve the beneficiation (pre-treatments to improve yield) of ores for various Australian and overseas mining companies.
His particular interest in flotation research was the design and synthesis of novel flotation collectors for imparting improved mineral selectivity during the processing of sulphide ores.
From 1994 to 1996, he was at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, as a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) International Postdoctoral Fellow.
Dr Rodopoulos has been a research scientist with the CSIRO's Light Metals Production program since 2003.
Dr Rodopoulos’ research in developing a novel low-temperature process for producing aluminium metal has the potential to revolutionise aluminium production.
His work involves developing and using novel ionic liquids for low temperature routes in electro-winning, electro-refining and electro-plating, as applied to production of the light metals aluminium and titanium.
The aim of this work is to exploit the unique physical and chemical properties of ionic liquids, organic salts with a melting point typically below 100 °C.
Ionic liquids have been widely investigated as solvents for electrochemical applications due to:
In terms of aluminium production, ionic liquids would require much less energy than the current process, which uses the molten salt cryolite at high temperatures.
Academic qualifications
Dr Rodopoulos graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours and a Doctor of Philosophy in chemistry.
Learn more about Aluminium production: reducing costs and energy consumption.
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