I-Corps: Electrospun composite nanofibers for point-of-use and point-of-entry drinking water treatment

I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是开发高性能过滤器，以改善获得安全可靠的饮用水。受污染的饮用水是一种公共健康危机，影响着全球数亿人，包括美国各地的许多人。拟议的纳米技术支持的滤水技术为普遍存在的饮用水污染物提供了一种独特的解决方案，包括铅和砷。作为一种家庭内或使用点(POU)技术，预计产品将在用于水消费的主水龙头或可重复使用的水瓶中使用。对于那些依赖私人饮用水水井等不受监管的供水的人来说，这项技术可能特别有价值。在这些水井里，水的消耗往往很少或根本不经过处理。拥有老式管道系统的机构将受益于喷泉和鼓泡器上的这些过滤器。这可能对淡水资源有限或人道主义任务或自然灾害需要的社区产生积极影响。i-Corps项目以开发纳米技术水处理设备为基础。静电纺丝制备功能化聚合物-金属氧化物纳米纤维复合材料，用于饮用水处理，耦合了各种污染物的物理和化学去除途径。因此，这项工作的首要目标是将纳米纤维制造配方转化为工业规模，并使用原型使用点(POU)水处理设备(例如，用于水龙头、家用冰箱或可重复使用的水瓶)展示功能化聚合物纳米复合材料的性能。开发工作包括扩大电纺工艺，以制造集成到POU处理设备中所需尺寸的纳米纤维膜片；将这些纳米纤维膜片集成到POU原型处理平台中，以证明安装、使用和维护的简单性；以及验证该设备的监管批准，以去除铅(Pb)和砷(As)。这项技术的变革性方面是创造具有协同性能特征的多功能纳米结构材料。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of high-performance filters to improve access to safe and reliable drinking water. Contaminated drinking water is a public health crisis affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide, including many across the United States. The proposed nanotechnology-enabled water filter technology provides a unique solution to pervasive drinking water pollutants, including lead and arsenic. As an in-home or point-of-use (POU) technology, it is envisioned that a product would be used at the primary faucet used for water consumption or in reusable water bottles. The technology may be especially valuable for those relying on unregulated water supplies like private drinking water wells, where water is often consumed with little to no treatment. Institutions with older plumbing systems would benefit from these filters at their fountains and bubblers. This could positively impact communities with limited freshwater resources or needs of humanitarian missions or natural disasters.This I-Corps project is based on the development of nanotechnology-enabled water treatment devices. Electrospinning to fabricate functionalized polymer-metal oxide nanofiber composites for drinking water treatment coupling physical and chemical removal routes for a diverse range of pollutants has been shown. Accordingly, the overarching goal of this work is to translate nanofiber fabrication recipes to industrial scale and demonstrate the performance of the functionalized polymer nanocomposites using a prototype point-of-use (POU) water treatment device (e.g., for use at the tap, within a home refrigerator or a reusable water bottle). Development efforts include scaling up electrospinning processes to fabricate nanofiber membrane sheets of dimensions necessary for integration into POU treatment devices; integration of these nanofiber membrane sheets into prototype POU treatment platforms to demonstrate ease of installation, use and maintenance; and validation of the device for regulatory approval of removal of lead (Pb) and arsenic (As). The transformative aspect of this technology is to create multi-functional, nanostructured materials with synergistic performance characteristics.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.