CAREER: Hybrid Nanostructures as Catalysts for Advanced Oxidation Processes: An Integrated Research and Education Plan Promoting Water Reuse and Sustainability

对于像南加州这样的干旱地区来说，发展和维持可靠的家庭饮用水供应是一个挑战，因为该地区预计人口将增加，目前地下水盆地已经透支，干旱和气候变化预计到2050年塞拉积雪将减少40%。在加州，这将需要增加对城市废水的处理和再利用，其中大部分含有过量的有机污染物，如激素、药物和干扰内分泌的化合物。本研究通过探索功能化碳纳米管作为可调臭氧化催化剂降解这些和其他有机污染物的潜力，实现了一种捕获和使这些化合物无害的新方法。这种方法的好处是，纳米管可以被用作活化的过滤器和膜。该研究的主要目标是生成结构-活性关系，以指导未来用于水净化的混合纳米材料的设计。为了实现这一目标，功能化碳纳米管和杂化纳米结构的合成和详细表征将使用一系列最先进的工具，如XPS和ATR-FTIR，从它们的总体结构和形态、化学成分、表面化学和溶液相稳定性方面进行。表征之后，将使用一系列与水和废水处理相关的模型污染物和化学物质，在封闭间歇反应器系统中进行反应性和性能测试。性能测试包括检查基质化学的影响、纳米材料在去除废水中的有机物、减少氧化副产物和去除二级废水中溶解的有机碳方面的效果。更广泛的影响包括社会效益，其形式是提供更可靠、安全和可持续的水供应。它将支持一名早期职业教师，并在主办机构培训博士生，以及来自附近的西班牙裔服务机构加州保利波莫纳的一名社区大学学生。学生将从事多学科研究，培养对负责任地开发和使用纳米材料的认识。将努力从传统上在STEM领域代表性不足的群体中招收学生，以促进科技劳动力的更大多样性。项目成果将被纳入加州大学河滨分校纳米技术专业的两门本科课程，并将传播到加州大学其他校区。该项目还将开展一项外联计划，以提高公众对地区和全球水危机的认识和了解。

It is a challenge for arid regions like southern California to develop and maintain a reliable domestic drinking water supply in light of projected population increases in the regions and presently overdrawn groundwater basins, drought, and climate change which is slated to reduce the Sierra snowpack by 40% by 2050. In California, this will require an increase in the treatment and reuse of municipal wastewater, much of which contains a plethora of organic pollutants such as hormones, pharmaceuticals, and endocrine-disrupting compounds. This research implements a novel approach to trapping and rendering harmless these compounds by exploring the potential of functionalized carbon nanotubes as tunable ozonation catalysts to degrade these and other organic pollutants. The benefit of this approach is that the nanotubes can be functioned into activated filters and membranes. A main goal of the research is to generate structure-activity relations to guide future design of hybrid nanomaterials for water purification. To achieve this, synthesis and detailed characterization of the functionalized carbon nanotubes and hybrid nanostructures in terms of their bulk structure and morphology, chemical composition, surface chemistry, and solution phase stability will be carried out using a wide array of state-of-the-art tools such as XPS and ATR-FTIR. Characterization will be followed by reactivity and performance testing in closed batch reactor systems using a range of model pollutants and chemistries relevant to water and wastewater treatment. Performance testing includes examination of the influence of matrix chemistry, how effective the nanomaterials are in removing organic matter in the effluent, mitigation of oxidation bi-products, and removal of dissolved organic carbon from secondary effluents. The broader impacts include societal benefits in the form of providing more reliable, safe, and sustainable water supplies. It will support an early career faculty member and train doctoral students at the host institution and one community college student from nearby Hispanic Serving Institution, Cal Poly Pomona. Students will be engaged in multi-disciplinary research that fosters an appreciation for the responsible development and use of nanomaterials. Efforts will be made to recruit students from groups traditionally under-represented in STEM fields to promote greater diversity in the science and technology workforce. Project outcomes will be incorporated into two undergraduate courses associated with the Nanotechnology major at the University of California, Riverside and will be disseminated to other University of California campuses. The project will also carry out an outreach program to raise public awareness and understanding of regional and global water crises.