Integrating
nanostructured active materials, antimicrobial components,
and rational porous structures is one of the promising approaches
for simultaneously boosting removal efficiency, antimicrobial capacity,
mechanical property, hydrophobic performance, and air permeability
of air filters. However, realizing these performances of an air filter
still remains a big challenge. Herein, a multifunctional air filter
zNFs-Ag@PT, which is composed of a unique substrate prepared from
Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs)-paper towel (PT) microfibers and an upper
layer formed from aligned zein nanofibers (zNFs) inspired by a “tug-of-war”
repulsion force, is reported. The Ag@PT substrate is fabricated via
in situ reduction; and zNFs are prepared by electrospinning a well-prepared
zein Pickering emulsion onto a specially designed collector. The innovative
collector is a partially conductive design composed of an insulative
middle section and two conductive ends. It is demonstrated that the
introduction of AgNPs not only endows the zNFs-Ag@PT filter with an
effective antimicrobial activity but also provides the substrate with
an anisotropic electric field to achieve stretched and aligned zein
fibers forming thinner nanofibers than that without AgNPs. As a result,
the filtration performances of a zNFs-Ag@PT filter are enhanced. This
study initiates an effective way to fabricate bio-based multifunctional
air filters with antimicrobial and filtration performances via combining
nano- and biotechnology.
Ethylene
scavengers exhibit considerably high potential for their
application in prolonging the shelf-life of fruits, but their application
has been hindered owing to food safety and environmental issues. Thus,
in this study, we fabricated a bio-based nanofiber film composed of
zein, Artemisia sphaerocephala Krasch. gum (ASKG),
and chitosan (CS) via electrospinning. The addition of ASKG and CS
increased the viscosity and surface tension of zein precursor solutions
and consequently enhanced their spinnability. Electrostatic co-assembly
between the protein and polysaccharides led to the formation core–shell
nanofibers (Z@A-CS nanofibers), which effectively enhanced their ethylene
removal efficiency, mechanical properties, and hydrophobicity. Furthermore,
bananas incubated with the Z@A-CS nanofiber films for 10 days exhibited
a lower browning rate, higher hardness, and prolonged shelf-life compared
to those incubated without a film. Based on these results, we deduce
that the strong interactions between the numerous active functional
groups of zein and ethylene and the large specific surface area of
the nanofibers led to the development of highly efficient, environmentally
friendly, and economical ethylene scavenger films, which exhibit a
high potential in fruit preservation.
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