Acronym: FloatAeroCat
Project code: PN-IV-P1-PCE-2023-1020
Starting date: 08.01.2025, Duration: 36 months
Total budget: 1 200 000 lei
Project leader: Dr. Andreea Laura SCUTARU
Contract Authority: Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation (UEFISCDI), Funding programme: PNCDI IV - Programme 5.1 – Ideas, Subprogram: Exploratory Research Projects - 2023 Call
Environmental protection has risen to the top of global agenda, two of the most pressing issues to be faced by the world are water contamination and energy crisis. Photocatalysis, a green technology, is one of the most promising pathways to relieve these problems, being intensely used in pollutants degradation and H2 production, a clean energy source. Despite recent progress in designing highly active photocatalysts, there are several limitations (catalyst reusability, inefficient solar energy and mass transfer, s.o.) that impede their practical large-scale applications. In the current project, these challenges are tackled by designing a floatable photocatalytic platform with metal-doped ZnO NPs constructed from nanocellulosic hybrid aerogels with Janus structure achieved by hybridization of nanocellulose fibers (CNFs) with a single molecular unit, vinyltrimethoxysilane. When siloxane groups are exposed on the CNFs surface, hydrophilic aerogel will be formed; conversely, when carbon atoms are exposed on the CNFs surface, hydrophobic aerogel will be formed. The porous assembly with Janus structure with hydrophilic layer (downer) and hydrophobic one containing photocatalys ZnO NPs (upper) is designed to optimize the ability of the nanocoposite to float and to ensure efficient light delivery while preserving a facile water and pollutants supply. The photocatalytic performance will be evaluated in the simultaneous processes of hydrogen generation and organic pollutants removal.
The challenges of the proposed topic are mainly referring to an adequate engineering of the material components to provide highly porous composites with immobilized photocatalyst particles that allow excellent reactant supply, enable high floatability, transmit the light, prevent leaching of catalysts, provide mechanical robustness, long-term stability and enhanced photocatalytic response to solar radiation, and create dual functions to the photocatalyst. Figure 1 illustrates the basic principles of floating composite photocatalyst along with a schematic representation of its dual role in the generation of hydrogen and the mineralization of organic pollutants into CO2 and H2O.
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