Abstract
The development of high-performance air filter has become more and more important to public health. However, it has always been very challenging for developing a multifunctional air filter to simultaneously achieve excellent filtration and antibacterial properties. Herein, a versatile air filter was prepared with loading the reduced graphene (rGO) and zinc oxide on the superfine glass fibre (s-GF) with the three-dimensional network structure by in situ sol–gel process followed by calcination, which aims to achieve synergistic high-efficiency air filtration and rapid response to photocatalytic antibacterial properties under visible light. The air filter showed a three-dimensional network structure based on a rGO/ZnO/s-GF multilayer and exhibited the highest catalytic performance by achieving a 95% degradation effect on rhodamine B within 2 h and achieving 100% antibacterial inactivation of the Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus within 4 h under visible light when the weight ratio of rGO in rGO/ZnO is 1.6%. The air filtration efficiency can also be maintained at 99% after loading ZnO and rGO photocatalytic particles. The spectrum of the photoluminescence (PL), UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) and electron spin resonance (ESR) indicate that the combination of rGO and ZnO on the s-GF can increase the separation of photogenerated carriers and the specific surface area of the air filter, thereby increasing the photocatalytic response and antibacterial properties of the s-GF air filter under visible light in a short time.
Highlights
Semiconductor photocatalysis has been widely regarded as one of the most promising technologies in air purification especially in high population density occasions where the antibacterial air filtration is urgently required [1,2]
The multifunctional rGO/Zinc oxide (ZnO)/superfine glass fibre (s-GF) air filter was synthesized by in situ sol–gel process followed by calcination [22]
The method loaded rGO/ZnO on the surface of s-GF by in situ sol–gel process followed by calcination, the subsequent characterization of the morphology and structure of the air filter confirmed the special 14 three-dimensional network structure of the filters and the tight loading and uniform distribution of rGO/ZnO
Summary
Semiconductor photocatalysis has been widely regarded as one of the most promising technologies in air purification especially in high population density occasions where the antibacterial air filtration is urgently required [1,2]. The superfine glass fibre (s-GF) has better physical properties in the field of air filtration and thermal-acoustic insulation due to its small diameter lower than 4 μm and strong interweaving network than the traditional fibre materials, resulting in that it has been widely used as filter elements for air purification [3]. The development of a novel filter to combine the s-GF and photocatalytic semiconductor materials is a promising way for air purification and sterilization in the densely populated environment
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