SBIR Phase II: Nanostructured 3D Catalytic Coatings for High-Efficiency Pollution Control and Air Purification

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is addressing the growing societal need for indoor air purification, as indoor air quality (IAQ) directly affects human health, productivity, cognitive function, and quality-of-life. Awareness of the long-term consequences of poor IAQ has recently witnessed an increase due to research results, improvements in monitoring and sensing technology, public awareness campaigns by organizations such as the American Lung Association, World Health Organization, and Environmental Protection Agency, and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Finding sustainable, economical, and effective solutions to the problem of poor IAQ will greatly benefit public health and wellbeing and will help curtail the spread of pathogens, minimizing the need for social distancing. This project will develop a new system air purification, addressing viruses, harmful chemicals, odors, and ultrafine particulates. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to scale up the production methodology and coating process of novel catalytic materials. The materials are 3D nanostructured porous powders that are designed at multiple length scales to achieve enhanced catalytic activity, stability, and longevity, while reducing costs and utilizing raw materials in an environmentally responsible manner. The system uses a synthetic approach based on self-organization of nanoscale building blocks and wet chemistry tools in order to assemble finely structured coatings for integration in air-purification units. This project focuses on expanding it to production scale, wherein achieving control over the composition, structure, porosity, and placement of nanoparticles on a production scale is challenging. The materials platform development will include adaptation to high-throughput instrumentation and scale-up of the material production and coating process to pilot production. In the process, this project will develop tools and guidelines for manufacturing hierarchically-structured functional materials more generally. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.