Electrospinning with a spindle-knot structure for effective PM2.5 capture

Abstract

Long-term air contamination and pollution challenges in particulate matter (PM) have raised fervent concerns for public health, e.g., the PM physical damage or the bacteria and virus carried by the PM. The desired air filter, seeking both high filtration efficiency and low pressure drop remains challenging. Here, we report a bio-inspired spindle-knot halloysite nanotube microsphere-incorporated nanofiber (HNM-NF) filter with the assembly and shape structures of the spider silk. The resulting HNM-NFs exhibit integrated properties of high surface energy, hydrophilicity and strong PM capture. The spindle-knot structures could shrink the outer pore size on two-dimensional (2D) surface and construct the fluffy 3D reticular architecture, facilitating high-efficiency air pollutant capture (>85.0%) while maintaining low resistance to airflow (~39 Pa). The spindle-knot construction method was applicable to various materials (i.e., Al 2 O 3 , ZnO and TiO 2 ) and volume production of the microsphere-incorporated NF cartridge. The diversified spindleknot construction will be valuable for adapting to meet different filtration requirements.

Microfluidic Spinning of Metal–Organic Framework-Loaded Nanofibers toward High-Efficient Particulate Matter Removal and Antibacterial Filters

“…Obviously, with the particle size increasing from 0.5 to 10 μm, the Q f increased for both the pure polymer and the ZIF-8@CCM-loaded composite nanofiber membrane. Meanwhile, compared with the pure polymer nanofiber membrane, the ZIF-8@CCM endows the composite nanofiber membrane with a higher Q f , which is comparable to other membrane filtration materials reported in the literature. − The above results indicate that the ZIF-8@CCM-loaded composite nanofiber membrane has good PM removal efficiency, which can be attributed to the following. On the one hand, due to the high porosity and excellent pore connectivity, the particles are blocked in the nanofiber membrane.…”

Tailoring micro/nano-fibers for biomedical applications

“…The formation of spindle-knot was attributed to the halloysite nanotube dispersed in the PCL electrospinning solution. The special structure imparted the scaffolds with synthetic performances of superior surface energy and hydrophilicity [ 153 ]. Coaxial electrospinning has been developed in recent years to fabricate fibers with advanced properties and various structures, such as hollow, core/shell, and multi-channeled structures.…”

Clays and Wound Healing

“…The incorporation of clays into the nanofibers can enhance their mechanical properties and play a supporting role in wound hemostasis and cell proliferation [82]. Clays can be partially exposed or attached to the nanofiber surface to form a rough texture or a unique fiber structure, such as a spindle-like structure [83]; this phenomenon increases the specific surface area and the number of active sites of the nanofiber, which can improve the ability of the fiber material to capture blood cells and to activate coagulation factors to promote the coagulation process, thereby promoting wound healing.…”