Congratulations to Junjie Niu, associate professor, materials science & engineering, who received a $50,000, 12-month Ignite Grant in May to further his research to develop a hybrid material that chemically degrades per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
With funds made available by the state legislature and the governor, UW System Ignite Grants (formerly called Applied Research Grants) support applied research projects and prototype development that support economic development in Wisconsin. They are awarded each spring to a handful of faculty members from universities throughout the UW System.
PFAS are man-made chemicals used in consumer products and firefighting foams that have been found in some groundwater. They do not break down over time and, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, they are very persistent in the environment and in the human body. Exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse human health effects.
Through his funded project– Photocatalytic degradation of PFAS contaminants in water—Niu plans to create a hybrid composite and integrate it in nanoparticles/porous organic framework. The resulting product will generate super oxide and hydroxyl radicals that can chemically decompose PFAS molecules in water.
Niu has already engineered porous materials that absorb almost all of the PFAS, which are then passed through a photocatalytic ultraviolet light that degrades the molecule to nontoxic levels.
UW System’s support advances Niu’s timely discoveries in clean water technology and decreasing energy consumption
This is Niu’s third Ignite/Applied Research Grant, which combined total $147,898 in funding.
In 2020-21, he received funding for his proposal A New Design of Lithium Ion Battery With Improved Energy Density For Electronic Devices and Cordless Power Tools; in 2015-2016, he received a grant for his proposal An Approach to Next-Generation Lithium-based Batteries.
UW System’s support for applied research has helped advance Niu’s timely discoveries in clean water technology and decreasing energy consumption. He has filed invention disclosures, received funding from the National Science Foundation to further his research, and created a Milwaukee-based start-up company, Niu Energy, devoted to providing high-quality electrode materials for high energy-density lithium ion batteries.
For this groundbreaking and promising research, Niu received one of UWM’s three 2020 Office of Research/UWM Foundation Research Awards.