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Styrene-Functionalized Cyclodextrin Polymers for Enhanced PFAS Water Purification
SHORT DESCRIPTION
For water treatment providers, this advanced styrene-functionalized cyclodextrin polymer rapidly adsorbs PFAS contaminants using optimized host–guest interactions and scalable synthesis.
INVENTORS
William Dichtel*
Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Chemistry
Damian...
Published: 7/9/2026
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Updated: 7/9/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Chemicals, Cleantech, Climate tech, Ecosystems and Resilience, Environment, Health & Safety, Materials, PFAS, Polymer, Remediation, Sustainability, Sustainable Materials, Water purification, Water remediation
Category(s): Physical Sciences > Energy & Sustainability
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Northwestern Startup: Coral Innovations
Founded: 2020
Northwestern Inventor:
Vinayak Dravid
McCormick School of Engineering
Department of Materials Science
Coral Innovations uses a multi-functional nanostructured coating platform to efficiently remove targeted water pollutants (oil, phosphates, heavy metals) in applications across a wide range of industries.
Coral Innovations Website
Published: 6/22/2026
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Updated: 6/22/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s):
Category(s): Physical Sciences > Materials and Industrial Processes, Physical Sciences > Energy & Sustainability
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Northwestern Startup: NuMat Technologies, Inc
Founded: 2011
Northwestern Inventor:
Omar Farha
Weinberg School of Arts & Sciences
Department of Chemistry
Randall Q. Snurr
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Joseph T. Hupp
Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Chemistry
Numat Technologies is an advanced materials...
Published: 6/22/2026
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Updated: 5/5/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Catalyst, Energy and Infrastructure, Environment, Materials, MOFs, Polymer, Startup with Northwestern IP
Category(s): Physical Sciences > Energy & Sustainability, Physical Sciences > Materials and Industrial Processes
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Northwestern Startup: Volexion, Inc.
Founded: 2018
Northwestern Inventor:
Mark Hersam
McCormick School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Materials Science
Volexion is developing advanced cathode materials for lithium ion batteries that overcome key limitations to conventional technology, primarily enhanced battery performance at low temperatures and rapid charging and discharging....
Published: 6/22/2026
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Updated: 5/5/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Batteries, Energy and Infrastructure, Energy storage, Graphene, Lithium-ion, Materials, Startup with Northwestern IP
Category(s): Physical Sciences > Energy & Sustainability, Physical Sciences > Materials and Industrial Processes
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Northwestern Startup: NanoGraf
Founded: 2012
Northwestern Inventor:
Harold Kung
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Jiaxing Huang
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
Department of Materials Science
Formerly SiNode Systems, NanoGraf pursues advances in Lithium-ion battery anodes to transform a wide...
Published: 6/22/2026
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Updated: 5/5/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Batteries, Energy and Infrastructure, Fuel Cell, Graphene, Nanoparticle, Startup with Northwestern IP, Sustainability, Sustainable Materials
Category(s): Physical Sciences > Energy & Sustainability, Physical Sciences > Materials and Industrial Processes
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Northwestern Startup: Lilac Solutions
Founded: 2016
Northwestern Inventor:
Christopher Wolverton
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Lilac Solutions is developing new ion exchange materials to transform lithium extraction from brine resources.
Lilac Solutions Website
Published: 6/22/2026
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Updated: 5/5/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Batteries, Energy and Infrastructure, Manufacturing/Processing, Materials, Startup with Northwestern IP, Sustainability, Sustainable Materials
Category(s): Physical Sciences > Energy & Sustainability
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Plasma-Enhanced Catalytic Reactor for Selective Methane-to-Methanol Conversion
A plasma-enhanced catalytic reactor that converts methane to methanol under ambient conditions with high selectivity and energy efficiency.
INVENTORS
Dayne Swearer*
James Ho
* Principal Investigator
DEVELOPMENT STAGE
TRL-4 Prototype Validated in Lab: Key functions have been demonstrated in a laboratory-scale...
Published: 5/15/2026
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Updated: 5/1/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Catalyst-liquid interface, Methanol production, Nonthermal plasma, Sustainable fuels, Sustainable Materials
Category(s): Physical Sciences > Energy & Sustainability, Physical Sciences > Materials and Industrial Processes, Physical Sciences > Engineering & Technology
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Northwestern Startup: Actinia
Founded: 2020
Northwestern Inventor:
Mercouri Kanatzidis
Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Chemistry
Actinia’s mission is to increase the resolution and decrease the dose used in radiological imaging techniques such as SPECT, CT, and even plain X-rays. Actinia develops cutting-edge radiation detector materials...
Published: 5/5/2026
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Updated: 4/29/2026
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): CT, Image/Signal processing, Imaging, Radiation detection, SPECT, Startup with Northwestern IP, X-ray
Category(s): Physical Sciences > Energy & Sustainability, Life Sciences > Healthcare Devices, Tools & IT, Life Sciences > Healthcare Devices, Tools & IT > Radiology, Physical Sciences > Engineering & Technology, Physical Sciences > Materials and Industrial Processes
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Catalytic Methane to Ethylene Conversion over Mixed Oxide-Sulfide Catalysts using S2
NU 2014-181
INVENTORS
Tobin Marks*
Matthias Peter
SHORT DESCRIPTION
This innovation leverages transition metal oxides that partially convert to sulfides with S2 to efficiently convert methane into ethylene. It targets industrial chemical production by reducing cost and enhancing selectivity.
BACKGROUND
Current industrial methods for producing...
Published: 12/9/2025
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Updated: 11/21/2025
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Biofuels, Catalyst, Chemicals, Energy and Infrastructure, Manufacturing/Processing
Category(s): Physical Sciences > Energy & Sustainability
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Chiral Redox-Active Isosceles Triangles for Enhanced Organic Lithium-Ion Batteries
NU 2016-043
INVENTORS
J. Fraser Stoddart (Nobel laureate; Northwestern University, Weinberg College of Arts & Science, Department of Chemistry)*
Siva Nalluri
Zhichang Liu
SHORT DESCRIPTION
This technology uses chiral, redox-active isosceles triangles as active materials for organic rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. It offers improved...
Published: 12/9/2025
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Updated: 10/21/2025
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Inventor(s):
Keywords(s): Batteries, Energy storage, Lithium-ion, Materials
Category(s): Physical Sciences > Materials and Industrial Processes, Physical Sciences > Energy & Sustainability
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