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

一个合作的研究小组将开发出一类受自然启发的新型催化剂。这些“生物催化剂”将被设计用于破坏有毒的水性含氧阴离子污染物，包括高氯酸盐，硝酸盐和溴酸盐。在世界各地的地表水、地下水、自来水和废水中都检测到含氧阴离子。这些化合物对供水构成重大风险，因为它们具有高度移动的性，并且在低浓度下具有毒性。常规的含氧阴离子去除技术包括选择性离子交换、反渗透和生物还原。然而，这些方法面临许多缺点，包括二次废物的处置和低处理效率。这些催化剂将在其结构中使用常见的钼（Mo）和钨（W）金属以及新型碳和硅基载体材料。与目前使用的催化剂相比，这些将导致显著改善的反应性和稳定性。有效和廉价的催化剂的成功开发将减少从水中去除含氧阴离子的相关经济和社会负担。这些催化剂也有望在环境和能源相关领域开发新一代生物启发的Mo/W基材料。其他好处包括通过参与性研究机会培训和发展研究生、本科生和高中生，从而提高国家的科学和技术劳动力。本研究的目标是开发一种新型的基于钼和钨的生物启发催化剂，用于水和废水处理。具体的研究目标是：（i）将Mo和W前体引入到合理设计的载体材料中，以实现去除柠檬酸盐含氧阴离子污染物的高反应性;（ii）通过详细的材料表征、在可变水基质中的动力学研究以及反应建模和验证来研究反应机理;和（iii）构建工程化的流通反应器以进一步评价新催化剂的实际应用性能。仿生催化剂使用与生物酶中发现的相同的金属催化元素以及来自氢气的电子，以在环境条件下进行含氧阴离子的还原。这项研究的成功完成将为催化反应器的开发提供新的知识，这些催化反应器可以为各种水和废水处理方案提供新型催化剂。这有可能在设计和应用功能化碳和二氧化硅材料用于可持续水净化方面开发新的研究方向。除了这些研究成果外，该项目还将支持STEM领域研究生、本科生和高中生的培训和发展。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

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.