# ELIMINATION OF AIRBORNE VOLATILE COMPOUNDS THROUGH INCORPORATION OF ADVANCED 3D NANOSTRUCTURED CATALYTIC COATINGS IN ADSORPTION/DECOMPOSITION AIR PURIFICATION SYSTEMS

> **NIH NIH R43** · METALMARK INNOVATIONS, PBC · 2020 · $173,341

## Abstract

NIH (NIEHS) ​SBIR Phase I Proposal
Metalmark Innovations, Inc.
Project Summary / Abstract
Indoor air quality (IAQ) directly impacts human health, cognitive function, productivity, and comfort. While
numerous technologies (e.g. filtration, sorption, and photocatalytic degradation) have been developed to
address poor IAQ, each one has its own drawbacks, and they are particularly inefficient at targeting low boiling
point volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as the ubiquitous carcinogen, formaldehyde, and ultrafine
particulates (UFPs, size <0.1 µm), which are frequently found in indoor air. This NIEHS SBIR Phase I proposal
will lay the foundations for a commercializable prototype that will enable safe, low-cost, and highly efficient
degradation of the types of indoor pollutants that continue to constitute a significant IAQ problem. Toward this
goal, Metalmark Innovations has developed a platform technology for the fabrication of low cost 3D micro- and
nano-structured catalysts with enhanced activity for the decomposition of various VOCs. The high modularity
and level of control over the composition and microstructure provided by the platform technology makes the
development and optimization of the catalysts straightforward, allowing to create highly efficient materials. In
this project, a prototypical air purification subsystem, integrating Metalmark’s advanced catalysts with sorbent
materials, will be designed and tested. A major goal of this SBIR is to investigate the time dependency and
operating conditions for the efficient operation of the two technologies in combination and to define the optimal
operating procedure for the complete decomposition of target VOCs. Such system-level design is crucial for
the realization of cost-efficient treatment of indoor VOCs. Success of the projects would greatly advance the
technology toward commercialization, including catalytic material scale up, product design, and manufacturing
with industry partners.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10011057
- **Project number:** 1R43ES031893-01
- **Recipient organization:** METALMARK INNOVATIONS, PBC
- **Principal Investigator:** Elijah Shirman
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $173,341
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-06-22 → 2021-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10011057

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10011057, ELIMINATION OF AIRBORNE VOLATILE COMPOUNDS THROUGH INCORPORATION OF ADVANCED 3D NANOSTRUCTURED CATALYTIC COATINGS IN ADSORPTION/DECOMPOSITION AIR PURIFICATION SYSTEMS (1R43ES031893-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10011057. Licensed CC0.

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