Projects
PARTNERSHIP: DEVELOPMENT OF SINGLE- AND DOUBLE-ATOM CATALYSTS FOR TREATING AGRICULTURAL WASTEWATER
Topic: Coronaviruses
Summary
Non Technical Summary
Agricultural wastewater poses serious risks to the ecological system and human health. Current water practices face great challenges of limited efficiency for removing persistent contaminants, reduced treatment performance in complex water matrices,and a high chemical and energy demand in treatment. Chemical catalysis by single-atom catalysts (SACs) and double-atom catalysts (DACs) has emerged as a promising approach for agricultural wastewater treatment with enhanced efficiency, robustness, safety, and scalability. The most significant feature of the SACs and DACs is that catalytic metal atoms are monodispersed on a solid support, and these metal atoms show higher unsaturated coordination, quantum size effects, and favorable metal-support interactions to facilitate many unique catalytic reactions.DACs exhibit synergistic effects between two metal atoms to further increase the catalytic activity.The overall goal is to fabricate and characterize SACs and DACs for degrading persistent antibiotics and pesticides in agricultural wastewater. The investigatorswill utilize a comprehensive approach that integrates molecular simulations, advanced microscopic and spectroscopic characterizations, and the evaluation of reaction kinetics and pathways to prepare SACs and DACs with excellent performance for agricultural wastewater treatment. The project will use nanotechnology enabled solutions for enhancing agricultural wastewater treatment and promoting the protection for natural resources, the environment, and agricultural ecosystems.
Objectives & Deliverables
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to leverage nanotechnology and develop single-atom catalysts (SACs) and double-atom catalysts (DACs) to activate peroxides for degrading antibiotics and pesticides in agricultural wastewater. Specific aims including (i) determining the key properties of SACs and DACs that impact performance for contaminant oxidation; (ii) understanding the mechanisms of SACs and DACs for degrading persistent chemical contaminants; and (iii)understanding the robustness of SACs and DACs for oxidizing persistent chemical contaminants in agricultural wastewater.
Challenges
Project Methods
The investigators will first synthesize single atom catalysts (SACs) and double atom catalysts (DACs) through thermal polycondensation of metal salts and nitrogen-rich organic precursors and calcination of metal organic frameworks, with tailored metal types, loadings, binding environment, and cooperative effects. Next the SACs and DACs will be characterized by advanced microscopic and spectroscopic tools, including synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy, for physical, chemical, and morphological properties. The SACs and DACs will then be evaluated for reaction kinetics for degrading persistent antibiotics and pesticides that are commonly seen in agricultural wastewater. The reaction pathway and contribution of reaction species will be identified for the SAC- and DAC-catalyzed reactions through the quenching experiments and electron paramagnetic resonance. Molecular simulations will be used to understand the reaction mechanism. We will finallyevaluate the long-term performance of catalysts for contaminant oxidation in complex water matrices that represent agricultural wastewater to understand the robustness of catalysts for the reaction.
Principle Investigator(s)
Planned Completion date: 14/01/2027
Effort: $728,000.00
Project Status
ACTIVE
Principal Investigator(s)
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Researcher Organisations
Recipient Organization GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY 2121 EYE STREET NW SUITE 601 WASHINGTON,DC 20052
United Kingdom