Graphene and its derivatives for air purification: A mini review

Abstract

Acceleration of industrialization causes an increase in concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs), particularly CO2, as well as particulate matter in the air. Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies for the elimination of GHGs. Graphene and its derivatives were reported to be excellent candidates for CO2 adsorption and also for the removal of particulate matter by air filtration. For the fabrication of air filtration membranes, by using graphene/graphene derivatives, they were incorporated with certain polymers such as polyacrylonitrile and made into nanofibrous membranes. Electrospun nanofibrous membranes are characterised by high porosity, small pore size and excellent connectivity, have been found to be a promising candidate for air filtration. The review article focuses on two aspects of air purification, first part discuss the use of graphene/graphene derivatives for CO2 adsorption and the second part discuss the use of graphene based electrospun nanofibrous membranes for particulate matter removal. The factors influencing the efficiency of filtration has been discussed in detail.