Collaborative Research: Transformation, interaction and toxicity of emerging 2D nanomaterials free-standing and embedded onto nanocomposite membranes for PFAS degradation

合作研究：新兴二维纳米材料独立式和嵌入纳米复合膜上用于 PFAS 降解的转化、相互作用和毒性

• 批准号: 2228033
• 负责人: Olga Tsyusko
• 金额: $ 39.58万
• 依托单位: University of Kentucky Research Foundation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-01-01 至 2025-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2228033&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Transformation; interaction; toxicity

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of chemical compounds containing strong carbon-fluorine bonds and have been produced for public and industrial usage since the 1940s. The detection of these chemicals in various environmental matrices and living organisms (including humans) along with their high stability and toxicogenic potential have raised significant public health concerns. Conventional water and wastewater treatment processes are ineffective at removing and degrading these chemicals due to their highly stable carbon-fluorine bonds along with varying hydrophobicity and polarity. The goal of this proposed project is to design a new class of reactive nanocomposite membrane filters that will simultaneously separate these compounds from water and degrade them to less- or non-toxic byproducts. To achieve this goal, the principal investigators will combine expertise from nanomaterials, membrane separations, and ecotoxicity using novel planar two-dimensional nanomaterials to fabricate catalytic nanofiltration membranes with high water flow rate, stability, and antifouling properties. This will enable removal and degradation of these chemicals which are priority pollutants as well as other emerging chemicals in this family of compounds. At the same time, the 2D nanomaterials and resulting byproducts will be tested for their toxicity to model organisms to determine the sustainability and effectiveness of this new treatment process. The successful completion of this project will benefit society through the development of fundamental knowledge about the new 2D nanomaterials and their interactions with these fluorinated compounds for the development of an integrated membrane reactor system that could serve both as a centralized water treatment system and a point-of-use filter for the treatment of water contaminated with these compounds. This project will further benefit society through education and training of underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students. This project is jointly funded by the CBET Nanoscale Interactions Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).The goal of this project is to develop a fundamental understanding for the sustainable design of 2D inorganic photocatalytic membranes for effective degradation of the priority persistent pollutants of emerging concern, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Novel 2D nanomaterials with differing electronic and physicochemical properties, non-metallic phosphorene and metalloid hexagonal boron nitride that have shown evidence for degradation of these compounds, will be employed. This research project aims to address the knowledge gap on how these properties affect transformation, stability, and toxicity of the 2D hexagonal boron nitride and phosphorene nanosheets in free-standing form in aqueous media and after incorporating them onto nanocomposite membranes. The research team will examine the degradation potential of the 2D nanomaterials and their mechanisms of interactions with these compounds, identify breakdown products, and evaluate toxicity of their degradation products using a model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, to verify that the breakdown products are less toxic than the initial chemicals. To achieve this, state-of-the-art nanoscale characterization techniques, molecular and thermodynamic modeling, analytical chemistry, and molecular biology techniques will be employed. Findings will provide knowledge about the potential transformation of non-carbon 2D nanomaterials and the overall stability of 2D nanomaterials which will be useful to understanding other non-carbon 2D materials with varied electronic and physicochemical properties. Furthermore, while the chemistry of blending non-carbon 2D nanomaterials onto polymeric membranes for the removal and destruction of emerging water pollutants is the focus here, the same chemistry can be used to fabricate air filtration membranes that would be able to potentially capture and destroy airborne toxins, such as viruses. This project will also strengthen the ongoing educational and outreach activities of the principal investigators by integrating research and education, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, reaching out to community organizations, and engaging underrepresented students in STEM fields. Technology dissemination to end users will be accomplished through peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference presentations. This project is jointly funded by the CBET Nanoscale Interactions Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.

全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）是一类含有强碳氟键的化合物，自20世纪40年代以来一直用于公共和工业用途。在各种环境基质和生物体（包括人类）中检测到这些化学品沿着高度稳定性和致毒潜力，引起了严重的公共卫生问题。常规的水和废水处理方法在去除和降解这些化学品方面是无效的，这是由于它们的高度稳定的碳-氟键沿着变化的疏水性和极性。该项目的目标是设计一种新型的反应性纳米复合膜过滤器，同时将这些化合物从水中分离出来，并将其降解为毒性较小或无毒的副产品。为了实现这一目标，主要研究人员将结合联合收割机的专业知识，从纳米材料，膜分离，生态毒性使用新型平面二维纳米材料，制造催化纳滤膜高水流量，稳定性和可再生性。这将能够去除和降解这些化学品，这些化学品是优先污染物以及这类化合物中的其他新出现的化学品。与此同时，将测试2D纳米材料及其副产物对模型生物的毒性，以确定这种新处理工艺的可持续性和有效性。该项目的成功完成将通过开发有关新的2D纳米材料及其与这些氟化化合物的相互作用的基础知识来造福社会，以开发集成的膜反应器系统，该系统可以作为集中式水处理系统和使用点过滤器来处理被这些化合物污染的水。该项目将通过教育和培训代表性不足的本科生和研究生，进一步造福社会。该项目由CBET纳米级相互作用计划和刺激竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该项目的目标是对二维无机光催化膜的可持续设计进行基本了解，以有效降解新出现的关注的优先持久性污染物，全氟和多氟烷基物质。将采用具有不同电子和物理化学性质的新型2D纳米材料，非金属磷烯和非金属六方氮化硼，这些材料已显示出这些化合物降解的证据。该研究项目旨在解决关于这些特性如何影响水介质中独立形式的2D六方氮化硼和磷烯纳米片的转化，稳定性和毒性的知识缺口，以及将它们结合到纳米复合材料膜上之后。研究小组将研究2D纳米材料的降解潜力及其与这些化合物相互作用的机制，确定分解产物，并使用模式生物秀丽隐杆线虫评估其降解产物的毒性，以验证分解产物的毒性低于初始化学品。为了实现这一目标，国家的最先进的纳米表征技术，分子和热力学建模，分析化学和分子生物学技术将被采用。研究结果将提供有关非碳2D纳米材料的潜在转化和2D纳米材料的整体稳定性的知识，这将有助于了解具有不同电子和物理化学性质的其他非碳2D材料。此外，虽然将非碳2D纳米材料混合到聚合物膜上以去除和破坏新兴水污染物的化学反应是这里的重点，但相同的化学反应可用于制造空气过滤膜，从而能够潜在地捕获和破坏空气中的毒素，如病毒。该项目还将通过整合研究和教育，指导本科生和研究生，接触社区组织，并让STEM领域代表性不足的学生参与进来，加强主要研究人员正在进行的教育和推广活动。向最终用户传播技术将通过同行审查的手稿和会议介绍来完成。该项目由CBET纳米级相互作用计划和刺激竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。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。