Additive Manufacture of MOF Elastomers

Akita Innovations will partner with Adaptive3D and Professor Ronald Smaldone from The University of Texas at Dallas to prepare MOF/elastomer composite materials using additive manufacturing.  The goal is of the project is to develop a compressible filter cartridge with design flexibility enabled by additive manufacture.  MOFs show promise as a replacement for carbon sorbents currently used in air purification and filtration.  MOFs have been shown to be excellent sorbents for toxic industrial chemicals and catalyze the hydrolysis of chemical warfare agents, thus removing threats as opposed to sequestering them.  However, MOFs exist as fine powders which can be brittle and have unacceptably low pressure drops over packed beds.  In contrast, additively manufactured MOF/elastomer composites will be tough and flexible and will be manufactured in topology optimized architectures only accessible through additive manufacture.