Polarity‐Dominated Stable N97 Respirators for Airborne Virus Capture Based on Nanofibrous Membranes

Abstract

The longevity and reusability of N95‐grade filtering facepiece respirators (N95 FFRs) are limited by consecutive donning and disinfection treatments. Herein, we developed stable N97 nanofibrous respirators based on chemically modified surface to enable remarkable filtration characteristics via polarity driven interaction. This was achieved by a thin‐film coated polyacrylonitrile nanofibrous membrane (TFPNM), giving an overall long‐lasting filtration performance with high quality factor at 0.42 Pa−1 (filtration efficiency: over 97 %; pressure drop: around 10 Pa), which is higher than that of the commercial N95 FFRs (0.10–0.41 Pa−1) tested with a flow rate of 5 L min−1 and the 0.26 μm NaCl aerosol. A coxsackie B4 virus filtration test demonstrated that TFPNM also had strong virus capture capacity of 97.67 %. As compared with N95 FFRs, the TFPNM was more resistant to a wider variety of disinfection protocols, and the overall filtration characteristics remained N97 standard.

Polymersomes as virus-surrogate particles for evaluating the performance of air filter materials

“…A common strategy to address this issue is to conduct filtration test against surrogates such as sodium chloride (NaCl) particles, polystyrene latex spheres, and oil aerosols [ 15 , 16 ]. These surrogates could be fabricated into various sizes ranging from tens of nanometers to several micrometers in order to mimic virus or virus-containing aerosols [ 17 , 18 ]. While the test results could be used to understand the dependence of filtration performance on the particle size, however, it remains unknown to what extent the differences in composition, morphology, and other properties between the currently available surrogates and the virus would affect the test results.…”

P(VDF-TrFE)/BaTiO3 Nanofibrous Membrane with Enhanced Piezoelectricity for High PM0.3 Filtration and Reusable Face Masks

“…On the one hand, the enhanced PM 0.3 filtration efficiency of the 4# composite nanofiber may be attributed to its higher piezoelectric performance during airflow, which results in an enhanced electrostatic adhesion due to the larger inductive charges on the surface of the P­(VDF-TrFE)/BTO nanofibrous membrane. On the other hand, according to the results of polar interfacial attractions of piezoelectric membranes (Figure S9 and Table S2), due to the hydroxyl groups on the surface of BTO NPs, the addition of BTO NPs can enhance the surface polarity of the composite P­(VDF-TrFE)/BTO membrane, thus increasing the polarity–polar interaction in the PM capture capacity and further improving the PM 0.3 filtration efficiency …”

“…On the other hand, according to the results of polar interfacial attractions of piezoelectric membranes (Figure S9 and Table S2), due to the hydroxyl groups on the surface of BTO NPs, the addition of BTO NPs can enhance the surface polarity of the composite P(VDF-TrFE)/BTO membrane, thus increasing the polarity−polar interaction in the PM capture capacity and further improving the PM 0.3 filtration efficiency. 21 To investigate the comprehensive filtration performance of mask samples, air permeability must be considered, 46,47 and the quality factor (QF) is always used to evaluate the filtration performance of filters, which is calculated according to the following formula 48…”

OPPS Fibers with High Temperature Resistance and Excellent Antioxidant Properties by an Oxidation Method

“…5 Commonly, nonwoven filters are processed by electrospinning, meltblowing, and needlepunching nonwoven techniques, where electrospun and meltblown nonwovens have excellent air filtration efficiency due to their fine fiber diameter. 6 However, the high pressure drops and poor mechanical properties of electrospun and meltblown nonwovens limit their application in industrial exhaust gas filtration. Compared with the electrospun and meltblown nonwoven filters, the needle-punched nonwoven filter has a lower pressure drop and superior mechanical properties, which is a very promising filter material for industrial exhaust gas filtration.…”

“…Compared with the woven filters, the nonwoven filters have higher porosity and more uniform pore size, so they have higher air filtration performance . Commonly, nonwoven filters are processed by electrospinning, meltblowing, and needle-punching nonwoven techniques, where electrospun and meltblown nonwovens have excellent air filtration efficiency due to their fine fiber diameter . However, the high pressure drops and poor mechanical properties of electrospun and meltblown nonwovens limit their application in industrial exhaust gas filtration.…”