SBIR Phase II: Removal of VOCs using novel photocatalytic materials and systems

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is establishment of sustainable, cost-effective technology to mitigate volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in a variety of industrial settings by using photocatalysts to effectively destroy them. The technology is broadly applicable to VOC removal and is highly relevant to environments with low levels of VOCs that pose health, environmental, and manufacturing risks and where current approaches underperform. The proposed innovation addresses key gaps limiting the successful application of photocatalysts to these environments, specifically the need to eliminate by-products that may form during VOC destruction and the implementation of high-performing photoreactors employing robust photocatalysts with long lifetimes. It is expected that the developed technology will extend to chemical processing on an industrial scale, including CO2 conversion. This technology will enable large-scale processes and has the potential for an extensive societal impact by reducing CO2 emissions that affect climate change. The technology will also form the core foundation of high performance and attractive residential products, which will improve indoor air quality in homes and businesses where VOCs pose health risks. This SBIR Phase II project proposes to improve indoor air quality in industrial settings by developing a photocatalytic technology platform that enables efficient and effective VOC removal. The technology will be particularly valuable in the presence of low-level contamination where alternative technologies are expensive, poorly performing, and adversely affect the environment. Photocatalysts are widely known as effective chemical scrubbers and disinfectants. When activated by light, their surfaces become chemically active via formation of reactive oxygen species, which decompose toxic VOCs. The objectives of this project are to overcome the key drawbacks of commercially available photocatalysts that inhibit their widespread use in industrial environments. Previous photocatalysts form by-products and intermediates, which may be toxic or which can contaminate the photocatalyst. Those products are powder-based, leading to shedding and high attrition. The proposed research will develop a photocatalyst and photoreactor systems that provide efficient light coupling and enable rapid reaction rates. The anticipated result is a highly robust photocatalyst with an optimized macroscopic form factor that is matched to a prototype reactor system. The technology developed in Phase II will be validated for industrial VOC mitigation in the parts per trillion range. 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.