CAREER: Combining Materials Science and System-Level Analysis to Sustainably Supply Safe Drinking Water

职业：结合材料科学和系统级分析，可持续供应安全饮用水

• 批准号: 2343590
• 负责人: Leanne Gilbertson
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: Duke University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-07-01 至 2026-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2343590&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Combining; Materials; Science; System

Aging water supply infrastructure is a major challenge for providing safe drinking water, particularly in areas not serviced by centralized water treatment facilities. Existing approaches for drinking water treatment have tradeoffs. For example, treatment with chlorine can create harmful substances, and ultraviolet light and ozone require high energy and can be expensive. The goal of this CAREER proposal is to develop new materials that can harness visible light inexpensively to generate reactive oxygen species as disinfectants to kill pathogens in water. The newly designed materials will be tested for the ability to kill a range of pathogens, including the microorganism that causes Legionellosis, a deadly disease responsible for $400 million/year in healthcare costs in the US. The scientific discoveries from this research will be used to improve public awareness of safe drinking water through a podcast in which the public will submit questions. Podcast listening has significantly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting this will be an effective mode of engaging the general public. The investigator will also develop a Science Through Storytelling program to enhance K-6 student knowledge using the relatable context of drinking water to develop positive attitudes and sense of identification around STEM topics. This CAREER proposal combines fundamental science and principles of environmental engineering to develop graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) water treatment technologies leveraging energy-efficient LEDs. g-C3N4 is a non-metal, visible-light photocatalyst that is synthesized using low cost, abundant precursors, making it a promising alternative photocatalyst for drinking water treatment. While modifications of g-C3N4 chemistry have been pursued to improve photocatalytic performance, the link between molecular structure, physicochemical properties, and microorganism inactivation is not fully resolved. The overall goal of this work is to establish a rational design framework for visible-light enabled, sustainable water disinfection by connecting g-C3N4 properties to both material chemistry and antimicrobial efficacy. Doing so will enable intentional material design adaptable to a range of water matrices and target bacteria. An important advance of this research includes expanded inactivation testing of drinking water pathogens like Legionella pneumophila, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and nontuberculous mycobacteria. This will provide more relevant results for water treatment, given that 90% of current studies have focused only on Escherichia coli inactivation. Finally, this research will integrate life cycle and economic feasibility assessment to ensure sustainable advancement of photocatalytic water disinfection. The PI will work with (i) K-6 students in a newly developed Science Through Storytelling program, (ii) 6-12 students through the Carnegie Science Center’s annual SciTech Days, and (iii) the general public in a podcast focused on drinking water questions and concerns sourced from our community. Through these activities, the PI aims to demonstrate how the public can become active participants in developing innovative science and engineering solutions to the grand challenge of sustainably providing safe drinking water.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.

供水基础设施老化是提供安全饮用水的一个重大挑战，特别是在没有集中水处理设施的地区。现有的饮用水处理方法有折衷之处。例如，用氯处理会产生有害物质，紫外线和臭氧需要高能量，而且价格昂贵。这个CAREER提案的目标是开发新材料，可以廉价地利用可见光产生活性氧作为消毒剂杀死水中的病原体。新设计的材料将被测试杀死一系列病原体的能力，包括导致军团菌病的微生物，这是一种致命的疾病，每年在美国造成4亿美元的医疗费用。这项研究的科学发现将通过播客提高公众对安全饮用水的认识，公众将在播客中提交问题。播客收听在COVID-19大流行期间显著增加，表明这将是一种有效的公众参与模式。研究人员还将开发一个通过讲故事的科学计划，以提高K-6学生的知识，使用饮用水的相关背景，以培养围绕STEM主题的积极态度和认同感。该CAREER提案结合了环境工程的基础科学和原理，以开发利用节能LED的石墨氮化碳（g-C3 N4）水处理技术。g-C3 N4是一种非金属可见光光催化剂，使用低成本，丰富的前体合成，使其成为饮用水处理的有前途的替代光催化剂。虽然g-C3 N4化学的改性已经被追求以改善光催化性能，但分子结构、物理化学性质和微生物灭活之间的联系尚未完全解决。这项工作的总体目标是建立一个合理的设计框架，通过连接g-C3 N4属性的材料化学和抗菌功效可见光启用，可持续的水消毒。这样做将使有意识的材料设计能够适应一系列水基质和目标细菌。这项研究的一个重要进展包括扩大了对饮用水病原体如嗜肺军团菌、铜绿假单胞菌和非结核分枝杆菌的灭活试验。这将为水处理提供更多相关结果，因为目前90%的研究仅关注大肠杆菌灭活。最后，本研究将整合生命周期与经济可行性评估，以确保光触媒水消毒的永续发展。PI将与（i）K-6学生在一个新开发的科学通过讲故事计划，（ii）6-12名学生通过卡内基科学中心的年度科技日，以及（iii）在一个播客中关注公众饮用水问题和关注来源于我们的社区。通过这些活动，PI旨在展示公众如何成为开发创新科学和工程解决方案的积极参与者，以应对可持续提供安全饮用水的巨大挑战。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。