Superwetting Electrospun PDMS/PMMA Membrane for PM_2.5 Capture and Microdroplet Transfer

Abstract

Efficient acquiring and removal of a hazardous particulate matter (PM) have significant effects on human health. Here, we illustrate the fabrication of a superwetting electrospun polydimethylsiloxane/polymethyl methacrylate (PDMS/PMMA) membrane (EPPM) with multifunctional performance for PM2.5 capture and microdroplet transfer, where PMMA was added as a carrier polymer to the superhydrophobic PDMS, which has very low cohesive energy density. The obtained EPPM, which is composed of special bead-on-string fibers with a mean fiber diameter of 350 nm, shows a porous structure with an aperture of 7.87 μm (calculated by the bubble pressure method) and superb thermostability (up to 325 °C). The EPPM possesses an excellent PM2.5 purification efficiency of nearly up to 100% at a very low pressure drop (70 Pa, <0.07% of the atmospheric pressure) under the condition of high humidity (96 ± 3%), which is greatly advantageous over those hydrophilic filters frequently suffering the drawbacks of low efficiency or total invalidation in humid environments. In addition, benefitting from the superhydrophobic and strong adhesive properties of the membrane surface, the EPPM could complete the trace aqueous sample analysis such as “robotic hand” from superhydrophobic to hydrophilic surfaces without any contamination or loss and hold a high contact angle of 161.6° for water. Altogether, the EPPM may have technological advantages as a kind of novel fibrous filter in diverse environmental applications, including PM2.5 capture, separation, microdroplet transfer, and so on.

Modifying the Fiber Structure and Filtration Performance of Polyester Materials Based on Two Different Preparation Methods

“…In addition, it is difficult to widely promote these filters due to the relatively high economic cost of the new materials and the relatively high difficulty of preparation . Therefore, one of the most commonly used technical methods to prepare composite materials is by combining porous materials with existing air filter materials. − These composite air filters not only meet the requirements of high efficiency and low resistance but also effectively use the space of the combined filter.…”

Optical transparency of electrospun nanofibrous membranes: A study on influencing parameters

“…This study prepares nanofibers using 8 wt% PMMA/PDMS solution, and obtains different fiber diameters by controlling the electrospinning voltage from 12 to 20 kV while the spinning time is set to 5 min. [33][34][35] Finally, the collected nanofibers are placed in a vacuum oven at 80 C for 24 h to remove the residual solvent on the fiber surface.…”

A versatile “3M” methodology to obtain superhydrophobic PDMS-based materials for antifouling applications

“…For PDMS with other materials, various methods can be used to obtain superhydrophobicity, such as spin coating with PDMS and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) powder ( Ruan et al, 2017 ), electrospinning to produce PDMS and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites ( Lu et al, 2021 ), drop casting or spray coating with PDMS and wax ( Zhao et al, 2019b ; Torun et al, 2019 ; Celik et al, 2021 ), spray coating with PDMS and starch ( Wang et al, 2021c ), preparing PDMS films with SU-8 resin ( Wu et al, 2018 ), and other methods ( Děkanovský et al, 2019 ; Pakzad et al, 2020 ; Cao et al, 2022 ; Zhao et al, 2022 ). The combined action of the used materials and methods leads to specific morphologies that result in superhydrophobicity.…”