SBIR Phase I: Improving Indoor Air Quality using a Biosilica Based Functional Paint & Coatings Photocatalyst

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将开发一种材料，当添加到商业油漆和涂料中时，可以通过主动去除和降解挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）来改善室内空气质量。室内空气质量通常比室外空气质量差五倍，室内环境中普遍存在挥发性有机化合物，这些物质来自电子产品、清洁剂和地板等典型的家用物品。人们一生中90%的时间都在室内环境中度过，这使得室内空气质量差成为更严重的健康风险。众所周知，挥发性有机化合物会引起和加重哮喘和湿疹等过敏性疾病，这两种疾病每年给美国造成约560亿美元的医疗支出和工作效率损失。减轻过敏性疾病带来的不适和经济负担可以提高美国6000多万受影响的美国人的生活水平。低voc和零voc涂料（90亿美元的市场）是建筑涂料（620亿美元的市场）中增长最快的部分。这项技术有可能显著改善室内空气质量，改善儿童、老人和患有过敏性疾病的成年人的日常生活。这个项目的智力价值将进一步理解使用硅藻和光催化剂结合来收集光作为从环境中去除污染物的能源。硅藻已被证明可以增加紫外线、蓝色和红色波长光的收集。作为利用这些波长的光催化剂的底物，硅藻可以提供优越的光收集能力，提高光催化剂的效率。拟议的目的是显示VOC降解的光催化速率的增加，这可能有助于使金属氧化物光催化成为空气处理的更可行的选择。本研究主要有以下贡献：1)硅藻基添加剂在可见光高效光催化方面的研究进展；2)了解将光催化涂料添加剂整合到基础涂料和涂料混合物中，优化到最小的涂料基材降解和最大的室内空气污染物光催化降解；3)室内空气质量的长期改善。总的来说，预计第一阶段将显示硅藻作为底物，在典型的照射源下可以将光催化剂的速率提高两倍。这个项目的目标是在不增加能源使用的情况下，通过去除污染物的活动来清洁室内环境。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will develop a material which when added to commercial paint and coatings can improve indoor air quality by actively removing and degrading Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Indoor air quality is generally five times worse than outdoor air quality and VOCs are prevalent in indoor environments, being emitted from typical household items like electronics, cleaners, and flooring. People spend 90% of their lives in indoor environments, making poor indoor air quality a more acute health risk. VOCs are known to cause and worsen allergic diseases such as asthma and eczema, which combined, costs the United States approximately $56 billion in medical spending and lost work productivity every year. Alleviating the discomfort and financial burdens posed by allergic diseases can improve the standard of living of over 60 million affected Americans in the United States. Low- and zero-VOC paints ($9 billion market) are the fastest growing segment of architectural paints ($62 billion market). This technology has the potential to dramatically improve indoor air quality and make everyday living better for children, the elderly, and adults suffering from allergic diseases.The intellectual merit of this project will further the understanding of using diatoms in conjunction with a photocatalyst to harvest light as an energy source for the removal of pollutants from environments. Diatoms have been shown to increase the collection of ultraviolet, blue and red wavelengths of light. As a substrate for photocatalysts which utilize these wavelengths, diatoms may provide a superior light collection capability, increasing the effectiveness of photocatalysts. The proposed aim is to show an increase in the photocatalytic rate of VOC degradation which could help to make metal oxide photocatalysis a more viable option for air treatment. The proposed research makes the following contributions: 1) advancement of efficient visible light photocatalysis with a diatom-based additive; 2) understanding integration of photocatalytic paint additives into base paint and coatings mixtures, optimized for minimal paint substrate degradation and maximal photocatalytic degradation of indoor air-pollutants; and 3) long-term improvement of indoor air quality. Overall it is expected that this Phase I will show diatoms, as substrates, can increase the rate of photocatalysts up to two times under typical irradiation sources. This project targets cleaner indoor environments through pollutant removal activity without increased energy usage.