Graphene Supported Palladium Gold Hybrids as Efficient Catalyst for Waste-Water Purification
From the Lab of Dr. Jun Jiao, Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA
Portland State University is seeking partnerships for research and commercialization for select technologies developed in university laboratories. This document presents a nanocrystal technology that reclaims industrial waste water by processing toxins to purity levels acceptable for introduction to municipal water treatment systems.
Opportunity
Develop disruptive technologies to change the way industrial, commercial, and municipal water treatment facilities remove chlorinated compounds from waste water with minimal change to systems users already have in place.
Application/Advantages
Technology employs grapheme supported hybridized gold-palladium nanoparticles to produce catalytics for purification of waste water by the degradation and elimination of trichlorethylene and related compounds. The technology improves the performance of granular activated carbon filtration systems and minimizes the need for expensive storage of toxic TCE degradation byproducts.
Research
Researchers in Dr. Jiao's lab successfully produced a series of novel hybrids of graphene supported AuPd. These nanoscaled hybrids have shown great potential as a high-efficient catalyst for water purification. The synthetic method is very simple, low cost, surfactant free and environmentally benign which is favorable for scalable production. This invention will lead to a solution to the critical gaps in the development of graphene metal catalysts for waste water cleanup applications. Problem(s) this invention solves: Trichloroethylene (TCE) is one of the most common industrial solvents and contaminant of hazardous waste sites, groundwater, and drinking water. Introduced into the groundwater system via chemical spills or leaks, TCE is very difficult to remove as it is progressively solubilized as a contaminant plume. Conventional pump and treat methods to remove TCE are using granular activated carbon adsorption and air stripping to merely displace TCE into a different phase. The catalytic hydrodechlorination (HDC) of TCE in water to form ethane is an alternative treatment. To date, our preliminary results demonstrate that two types of granphene/Au/Pd hybrids (graphene supported AuPd with heterostructure and graphene supported AuPd with alloy structure) are very efficient for TCE hydrodechlorination. Especially, the graphene hybrids with AuPd alloy nanoparticles showing an excellent catalytic performance.
Innovation & Intellectual Property Contact
Miska Paulorinne
Innovation Associate
PSU Office: 503-725-8336
pmiska@pdx.edu
www.pdx.edu/research/iip