PFI-TT: Development of Aerogel Materials for Automotive Pollution Reduction

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The broader impact/commercial potential of this PFI project is the development of a sustainable, environmentally-friendly material for reducing pollution from automobiles. The existing technology used to reduce pollution, a catalytic converter, contains expensive, rare metals and does not perform well when an engine starts. An aerogel is a special lightweight material with many features that make it an attractive addition to a catalytic converter. Aerogel-based catalytic converters would provide an economically attractive and sustainable approach to reducing automotive pollution, and thereby have a significant positive economic and environmental impact on the nation. This project will develop new aerogels to achieve these goals. In addition, the project will develop a research/entrepreneurship practicum to engage students (including those from traditionally underrepresented groups) in developing entrepreneurial ideas and learning about bringing technology developed through fundamental research to the marketplace. This new model for the undergraduate curriculum will provide students with substantial entrepreneurial experience at precisely the point at which such training could have maximal impact: prior to entering graduate school or the STEM workforce.The proposed project will develop and test new aerogel catalysts to be used in the development of a superior technology for reducing automotive pollution. One of the primary technical challenges of the current technology, the catalytic converter, is its inability to minimize or eliminate emissions under cold-start conditions. Aerogels offer many features (high temperature stability, large surface area, low mass and tunable chemistry) that make them viable candidates for an alternative technology and they have been shown to be active in reducing exhaust pollution. By tuning their chemistry, aerogels can be made catalytically active and are effective at promoting conversion of exhaust gas pollutants. The proposed project will address several technical challenges associated with developing this potentially transformative alternative technology to reduce cold-start emissions by: (1) developing catalytically active aerogels with alternate chemistries to improve activation characteristics; (2) demonstrating the high-temperature survivability of these materials (3) investigating the potential of the catalytically active aerogels for lowering thermal inertia; (4) incorporating aerogels into conventional washcoating methods; (5) integrating aerogels into a prototype catalytic converter; and (6) developing transferable models of broad-based training and leadership development in innovation and entrepreneurship for undergraduate STEM students.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.