People spend the majority of their day in buildings and therefore have increased inhalation exposure to indoor airborne contaminants. Therefore, development of novel materials and strategies to control indoor air quality in a more energy-efficient way is of paramount importance, In our previous investigation, we demonstrated the feasibility of sorbent-incorporated latex paints in removing 5 ppm<sub>v</sub> formaldehyde at room temperature through a passive approach. However, it was found that incorporation of sorbent particles into the polymer matrix resulted in 6–30% reduction in adsorption capacity and 50–70% drop in the adsorption rate. To address these issues, we embarked on a study to develop polymer-sorbent composites (latex-mixed metal oxide (MMO)) by surface coating approach, instead of matrix incorporation, with the aid of propylene glycol (PG). The PG serves as a binder between the surface of the solidified latex and sorbent particles via formation of hydrogen bonding, leading to a uniform deposition of MMO particles on the polymer surface, while at the same time providing more active sites available for adsorption. Three different compositions of PG and MMO was prepared and coated with equal amounts of the sorbent. The formaldehyde adsorption-desorption performance on the composites was monitored in a lab-scale indoor air chamber, and the results were compared to both the sorbent-incorporated and powder analogues under the same conditions. Our results indicated that the coating approach can improve formaldehyde adsorption capacity by 30% relative to the sorbent-incorporated analogue. Moreover, faster adsorption-desorption rates on the order of 50% were realized for the coated composites. Our results highlight the suitability of polymer-supported MMOs in efficient abatement of airborne aldehydes from indoor environments with high capture capacity and rate.

Polymer-supported metal oxide composites for adsorptive removal of indoor aldehydes: Investigating the effect of composite formation on uptake capacity and rate

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.