Highly adsorptive photocatalytic media for by-product-free air purification

Overview

Diatomix has developed a high surface area photocatalytic media technology that destroys airborne pollutants without releasing degradation by-products. Traditional photocatalytic air filters tend to release predictable by-products from introduced contaminants in nearly molar ratios. Diatomix media beds practically eliminate by-product release when tested at typical indoor air concentrations. The technology combines high surface area adsorption with photocatalytic destruction, ensuring contaminants and their by-products are captured and destroyed on the media surface rather than released back into the air stream. This makes it suitable for indoor air quality applications where both pollutant removal and by-product safety are critical.

Technical specifications

Core principle: By overwhelming pollutants in an air stream with adsorptive surface sites and destroying adsorbed species, contaminants and by-products are unable to escape media beds. The relationship governing by-product release is expressed as: Concentration of Byproducts Released = (Photocatalytic Rate × Contaminant Concentration) / Surface Area.

Key features:

• High surface area inert photocatalytic media using TiO2 or ZnO catalysts
• Thin film media bed format optimized for single-pass pollutant removal
• Compatible with 405 nm blue light LEDs and germicidal UVC light sources
• Validated for VOC removal, virus inactivation, and zero ozone release
• Scalable manufacturing process developed over five years with National Science Foundation support

Competitive performance: Tested in a 250 ft³ glass chamber within full-scale home air purifiers against competitive units such as Molekule and Vornado, demonstrating superior by-product elimination.

Technology readiness level

Diatomix has engineered and scaled its high surface area photocatalytic media over the past five years with National Science Foundation financial assistance. The technology has been validated through internal testing in full-scale home air purifiers and through third-party laboratory testing confirming no ozone release and effectiveness at removing VOCs and viruses. Remaining development work includes determining the UVC light power necessary to achieve 3-log pathogen inactivation when combined with Diatomix media in a commercially available air purifier, with planned third-party validation testing. The media is ready for pilot integration and co-development partnerships targeting commercial air purification products.