Design, Synthesis and Fabrication of Freestanding Aerogels of Graphene-Mixed Oxides for Air Treatment

Bioaerosols, malodors and VOCs are important pollutants found indoor. They are known to cause discomfort and irritations, and are linked to many illnesses, both chronic and acute. Current air purification technologies based on air filtration and adsorption are far from satisfactory due to poor system integration, high energy consumption and secondary pollution. This work attempts a new approach in the design of air purification system by direct integration of the particulate filtration, bioaerosol disinfection, malodor adsorption and catalytic conversion at the material level. Graphene-Mixed oxides aerogels were prepared by crosslinking graphene and metal oxide, and create a new composite porous network of enormous surface area for efficient particulate and gaseous pollutant captures. The freestanding aerogels are formable and possess good mechanical strength. Active catalysts for oxidative treatment of VOCs, NH₃ and H₂S were successfully dispersed on the new aerogel materials. The graphene-mixed oxides aerogels are intrinsic bactericides and capable for reducing viability of airborne bacteria.