Collaborative Research: Transformation, interaction and toxicity of emerging 2D nanomaterials free-standing and embedded onto nanocomposite membranes for PFAS degradation

合作研究：新兴二维纳米材料独立式和嵌入纳米复合膜上用于 PFAS 降解的转化、相互作用和毒性

• 批准号: 2324853
• 负责人: Nirupam Aich
• 金额: $ 25.48万
• 依托单位: University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-01-01 至 2025-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2324853&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Transformation; interaction; toxicity

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of chemical compounds containing strong carbon-fluorine bonds and have been produced for public and industrial usage since the 1940s. The detection of these chemicals in various environmental matrices and living organisms (including humans) along with their high stability and toxicogenic potential have raised significant public health concerns. Conventional water and wastewater treatment processes are ineffective at removing and degrading these chemicals due to their highly stable carbon-fluorine bonds along with varying hydrophobicity and polarity. The goal of this proposed project is to design a new class of reactive nanocomposite membrane filters that will simultaneously separate these compounds from water and degrade them to less- or non-toxic byproducts. To achieve this goal, the principal investigators will combine expertise from nanomaterials, membrane separations, and ecotoxicity using novel planar two-dimensional nanomaterials to fabricate catalytic nanofiltration membranes with high water flow rate, stability, and antifouling properties. This will enable removal and degradation of these chemicals which are priority pollutants as well as other emerging chemicals in this family of compounds. At the same time, the 2D nanomaterials and resulting byproducts will be tested for their toxicity to model organisms to determine the sustainability and effectiveness of this new treatment process. The successful completion of this project will benefit society through the development of fundamental knowledge about the new 2D nanomaterials and their interactions with these fluorinated compounds for the development of an integrated membrane reactor system that could serve both as a centralized water treatment system and a point-of-use filter for the treatment of water contaminated with these compounds. This project will further benefit society through education and training of underrepresented undergraduate and graduate students. This project is jointly funded by the CBET Nanoscale Interactions Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).The goal of this project is to develop a fundamental understanding for the sustainable design of 2D inorganic photocatalytic membranes for effective degradation of the priority persistent pollutants of emerging concern, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Novel 2D nanomaterials with differing electronic and physicochemical properties, non-metallic phosphorene and metalloid hexagonal boron nitride that have shown evidence for degradation of these compounds, will be employed. This research project aims to address the knowledge gap on how these properties affect transformation, stability, and toxicity of the 2D hexagonal boron nitride and phosphorene nanosheets in free-standing form in aqueous media and after incorporating them onto nanocomposite membranes. The research team will examine the degradation potential of the 2D nanomaterials and their mechanisms of interactions with these compounds, identify breakdown products, and evaluate toxicity of their degradation products using a model organism, Caenorhabditis elegans, to verify that the breakdown products are less toxic than the initial chemicals. To achieve this, state-of-the-art nanoscale characterization techniques, molecular and thermodynamic modeling, analytical chemistry, and molecular biology techniques will be employed. Findings will provide knowledge about the potential transformation of non-carbon 2D nanomaterials and the overall stability of 2D nanomaterials which will be useful to understanding other non-carbon 2D materials with varied electronic and physicochemical properties. Furthermore, while the chemistry of blending non-carbon 2D nanomaterials onto polymeric membranes for the removal and destruction of emerging water pollutants is the focus here, the same chemistry can be used to fabricate air filtration membranes that would be able to potentially capture and destroy airborne toxins, such as viruses. This project will also strengthen the ongoing educational and outreach activities of the principal investigators by integrating research and education, mentoring undergraduate and graduate students, reaching out to community organizations, and engaging underrepresented students in STEM fields. Technology dissemination to end users will be accomplished through peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference presentations. This project is jointly funded by the CBET Nanoscale Interactions Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.

每种和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）是一类含有强碳氟键的化合物，自1940年代以来就已用于公共和工业使用。在各种环境矩阵和活生物体（包括人类）中检测这些化学物质，以及它们的高稳定性和毒性潜力引起了重大的公共健康问题。传统的水和废水处理过程由于其高度稳定的碳氟键以及疏水性和极性变化而无效去除和降解这些化学物质。该提议的项目的目的是设计一类新的反应性纳米复合膜过滤器，该膜将同时将这些化合物与水分开，并将其降解为较小或无毒的副产品。为了实现这一目标，首席研究人员将使用新型平面二维纳米材料将纳米材料，膜分离和生态毒性的专业知识结合起来，以制造具有高水流，稳定性和抗染色特性的催化纳米过滤膜。这将使这些化学物质以及该化合物家族中的其他新兴化学物质的去除和降解。同时，将测试2D纳米材料和由此产生的副产品的毒性，以模拟生物体，以确定这种新治疗过程的可持续性和有效性。该项目的成功完成将通过发展有关新2D纳米材料的基本知识及其与这些氟化化合物的相互作用，以开发综合膜反应器系统，从而可以作为集中式水处理系统，又是使用这些化合物处理水污染的水的过滤器，从而使社会受益。该项目将通过教育和培训代表性不足的本科生和研究生的培训进一步受益。 This project is jointly funded by the CBET Nanoscale Interactions Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).The goal of this project is to develop a fundamental understanding for the sustainable design of 2D inorganic photocatalytic membranes for effective degradation of the priority persistent pollutants of emerging concern, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.具有不同电子和物理化学性质，非金属磷烯和金属六角型氮化硼的新型2D纳米材料将采用这些化合物降解的证据。该研究项目旨在解决有关这些特性如何影响2D六边形硝化硼和磷纳米片的知识差距，并在水性培养基中以独立形式的形式影响这些差异，并在将它们掺入纳米复合膜上。研究小组将检查2D纳米材料的降解潜力及其与这些化合物的相互作用机制，鉴定分解产物，并使用秀丽隐杆线虫模型的降解产物的毒性评估其降解产物的毒性，以验证该分解产物比初始化学物质毒性更低。为此，将采用最先进的纳米级表征技术，分子和热力学建模，分析化学和分子生物学技术。发现将提供有关非碳2D纳米材料的潜在转化以及2D纳米材料的总体稳定性的知识，这些纳米材料将有助于理解具有不同电子和物理化学特性的其他非碳2D材料。此外，尽管将非碳2D纳米材料混合到聚合物膜上的化学反应是在这里去除和破坏新兴水污染物的重点，但可以使用相同的化学物质来制造空气过滤膜，这些膜将能够潜在地捕获和破坏诸如Viruse的空气毒素，例如病毒毒素。该项目还将通过整合研究和教育，指导本科生和研究生，与社区组织接触，并吸引代表性不足的学生在STEM领域中，从而加强主要研究人员正在进行的教育和外展活动。将通过同行评审的手稿和会议演示来完成对最终用户的技术传播。该项目由CBET纳米级互动计划共同资助，并启发竞争性研究的既定计划（EPSCOR）。本奖反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的评估评估来评估的审查标准。