Researcher(s)
- Nelson Colon Delgado, Chemistry, Universidad de Puerto Rico - Mayagüez
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Brock Hunter, Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware
Abstract
Photocatalysis offers an environmentally friendly alternative for driving chemical reactions using light. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be generated by photocatalysts. ROS are capable of disrupting cell membranes; this gives photocatalysis an important role in wastewater treatment, replacing harmful chemicals or expensive membranes with sunlight. Many current photocatalysts are limited to absorbing UV light, which comprises a small fraction of the solar spectrum. Visible light photocatalysts can capture more sunlight than their UV counterparts, driving research for their incorporation. Here, novel approaches for engineering photoactive materials are presented. A new strategy for integrating photocatalysts into surface coatings on glass beads is explored: imide alkylation with a bromine-containing polymer. This SN2 reaction successfully incorporates a green light absorbing perylene diimide photocatalyst into surface anchored poly(bromoethyl acrylate) brushes. Multiple imide groups allow perylene diimide to serve as a crosslinker as well as a photocatalyst, greatly improving the robustness of the photoactive coating. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirms the coating synthesis. A packed bed photoreactor (PBR) is designed and tested using previously published photoactive beads. Packing characteristics such as flowrate and surface area are investigated for optimization. A thiol-ene probe reaction is developed for photoreactor testing. 1H NMR analysis confirms successful PBR probe conversion under blue light, demonstrating scalability of our photoactive materials and driving current efforts to optimize new material syntheses and flow systems.