UMIP-384 – Multicomponent Photocatalytic Materials for Environmental Remediation

Problem: Numerous persistent organic contaminantshave been released to the environment, which adversely affect human health(e.g. polychlorinated biphenyls, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, etc.). Thesespecies are highly stable and can persist for extended times, thus methods fortheir degradation at the contaminated site are required. Unfortunately, moststate of the art methods for this degradation process rely upon materials thatdegrade over time and/or require energy intensive approaches that are notsustainable. To overcome these limitations, new materials that remainreactivity over extended lifetimes that exploit sustainable approaches arerequired. Technology: Researchers at the University of Miami have developed a set ofmaterials designed to use sunlight and water (either in liquid form or viahumidity) to clean up pollutants in the environment. The structures are basedupon SrTiO3 nanoparticles as a core structure with a variety of differentsecondary and tertiary materials integrated into the system. Based upon thecomposition and arrangement, the system can be optimized to use sunlight tobreak down environmental pollutants at incredibly fast rates. Peter Gutenberg pxg372@miami.edu 305-243-4604