Research database

In recent years, many studies have focused on the importance of reducing not only CO2 emissions from industries but also other more harmful compounds, such as VOCs, in the atmosphere. For some time, the focus has been on strategies to purify the outdoor air by reducing the concentrations of these pollutants. However, scientific studies have confirmed that indoor pollution may be more dangerous and that prolonged exposure to these compounds, even at low concentrations, can cause damage to human health. In addition to VOCs, bacteria, commonly found in indoor environments, can cause health issues. The main aim of the GUARDIAN (desiGn of dUal Action filteR for inDoor aIr treAtmeNt) project is the design and development of innovative and sustainable catalysts for the abatement of both gaseous pollutants, in particular VOCs and CO, and bacteria with the ambitious objective of achieving their complete removal at low temperature for indoor air purification to improve the air breathed inside offices and domestic places. The removal of pollutants for indoor air purification is a key point to ensure the health and well-being of people in enclosed and confined environments. In this context, catalytic oxidation at low temperature (mainly at room temperature) represents a challenging route that can be exploited. This is an important research objective since mastering activity, selectivity and realizing a single pot process to remove not only gaseous pollutants but also bacteria that commonly can be found in indoor contexts is a formidable techno-economic challenge from the application perspective. This project aims to address in a unifying vision and approach the concept of catalytic oxidation of VOCs, CO and other pollutants with the inactivation of microbial species using sustainable materials based on heterogeneous catalysis. The ambitious goal of the GUARDIAN project is to offer a unique possibility to join high-quality researchers on these aspects to explore the problem of indoor pollution from a multifaceted perspective and to prepare the bases for applications in EU projects. The project proposes a different and more effective concept for knowledge integration. It will best use the different multidisciplinary competences to explore new directions through a synergistic approach. The project involves two research units (Politecnico Torino - POLITO; University of Napoli (Federico II) - UNINA) and includes the preparation, chemical-physical characterization and evaluation of the antimicrobial and catalytic properties of materials; the evaluation of possible synergies between the synthesized materials and the realization of a composite “cartridge” as a prototype device for scale-up; and finally, the evaluation of the environmental sustainability and economic feasibility of the materials produced for possible applications in the occupational and healthcare context.