Enhanced Filtration Materials for Indoor Air Pollutants

空气质量是一个公共卫生问题，受到越来越多的关注。由于英国人的大部分时间都在室内环境中度过，家庭、工作场所和学校的空气质量现在受到了极大的关注。室内环境中可能会发现各种各样的污染物，人们越来越多地了解与这些污染物有关的健康影响。目前的空气净化技术可以去除其中的一些污染物，但需要新的过滤材料来可靠地满足医疗专家概述的空气质量标准。ImMaterial是一家于2015年从剑桥大学剥离出来的材料公司。InMaterial建立在一项独特的技术之上，该技术能够开发称为金属有机骨架(MOF)的尖端材料，从而可以将它们集成到过滤系统中。MOF是一种纳米多孔材料，起到了“分子海绵”的作用。它们可以在分子水平上进行调整，这意味着特定的污染物可以被靶向并以比传统过滤材料(如活性碳或沸石)更高的效率去除。这种可调性还意味着可以选择一个MOF(或一小部分MOF)来有效过滤广泛范围的污染物。ImMaterial目前正在应用这项技术开发汽车、航空航天和国防设备的过滤器。在这个项目中，InMaterial将采取类似的方法来开发针对英国国内环境中的污染物和条件进行调整的MOF材料。INMATIAL将与工业和学术合作伙伴合作，将这些材料集成到空气净化风扇和机械通风装置等熟悉系统的原型中，并展示增强的性能。最初要解决的污染物将是二氧化氮和非甲烷挥发性有机化合物--英国政府确定的五种主要污染物中的两种。MOF有可能瞄准所有关键污染物，在未来，非物质的目标是在其材料中开发更大的功能，以充分满足这些需求。

Air quality is a public health issue under ever-increasing scrutiny. With people in the UK spending the majority of their time in indoor environments, air quality at home, in the workplace, and in our schools is now receiving significant attention. A wide range of pollutants may be found in indoor environments and the health impacts associated with these pollutants is increasingly being understood. Current air purification technologies can remove some of these pollutants, but new filtration materials are required to reliably meet air quality standards outlined by healthcare experts.Immaterial is a materials company spun out from the University of Cambridge in 2015\. Immaterial was founded on a unique technology that enables the development of cutting-edge materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) such that they may be integrated into filter systems. MOFs are nanoporous materials that act as "molecular sponges". They can be tuned at the molecular level, meaning specific pollutants can be targeted and removed with far greater efficiency than traditional filtration materials such as activated carbons or zeolites. This tunability also means that a single MOF (or a small selection of MOFs) can be chosen to effectively filter a broad range of pollutants.Immaterial is currently applying this technology to develop filters for automotive, aerospace and defence settings. In this project, Immaterial will take a similar approach to develop MOF materials tuned for the pollutants and conditions found in the UK domestic environment. Immaterial will collaborate with industrial and academic partners to integrate these materials into prototypes of familiar systems such as air purifying fans and mechanical ventilation units and demonstrate the enhanced performance. Initial pollutants to be addressed will be nitrogen dioxide and non-methane volatile organic compounds -- two of the five key pollutants identified by the UK government. MOFs have the potential to target all of the key pollutants and, in the future, Immaterial aims to develop greater functionality in its materials to fully meet these needs.