Collaborative Research: Bioinspired Catalysts with Earth-Abundant Metals for Reductive Treatment of Waterborne Contaminants

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A collaborative team of researchers will develop a novel class of catalysts inspired by nature. These “bioinspired catalysts” will be designed for the destruction of toxic waterborne oxyanion pollutants including perchlorate, nitrate, and bromate. Oxyanions are detected worldwide in surface water, groundwater, tapwater, and wastewater. These compounds represent a substantial risk to water supplies because they are highly mobile and toxic at low concentrations. Conventional oxyanion removal technologies include selective ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and biological reduction. However, these approaches face numerous drawbacks including the disposal of secondary waste and low treatment efficiency. The catalysts will use common molybdenum (Mo) and tungsten (W) metals and novel carbon and silica-based support materials in their construction. These wil result in significantly improved reactivity and stability compared to the currently used catalysts. Successful development of effective and inexpensive catalysts will decrease the associated economic and social burdens of removing oxyanions from water. These catalysts also hold promise in the development of a new generation of bioinspired Mo/W-based materials for environmental and energy-related fields. Additional benefits include the training and development of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students through participatory research opportunities, thus improving the Nation’s science and technology workforce.This goal of this research is to develop a novel class of Mo- and W-based bioinspired catalysts for water and wastewater treatment. The specific research objectives are to: (i) introduce Mo and W precursors into rationally designed support materials to achieve high reactivity for the removal of recalcitrant oxyanion pollutants; (ii) investigate reaction mechanisms through detailed material characterization, kinetic studies in variable water matrices, and reaction modeling and validation; and (iii) build engineered flow-through reactors to further evaluate the performance of the new catalysts for practical applications. The bioinspired catalysts use the same metal catalytic elements found in biological enzymes together with electrons from hydrogen gas to carry out the reduction of oxyanions under ambient conditions. Successful completion of this research will generate new knowledge for the development of catalytic reactors that can accommodate novel catalysts for a variety of water and wastewater treatment scenarios. This holds potential to develop new research directions in designing and applying functionalized carbon and silica materials for sustainable water purification. Beyond these research outcomes, the project will support the training and development of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students in STEM fields. Their participation in this project will prepare them for careers in industry, academia, or government agencies.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.