Graphene oxide embedded polyvinylidene fluoride nanofiber membranes with biomimetic polar adsorption function for mask cartridge materials

Abstract

Face masks have become an effective tool for daily protection against the spread of influenza viruses and issues with airborne particulate matter (PM). However, developing a functional filter material with consistent intercepting performance to instead existing commercial cartridge materials for masks is still a challenge. In this work, biomimetic polar adsorption polydopamine (PDA) flakes were grown on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers embedded with graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets through blending-electrospinning and surface in situ polymerization method for high-efficiency mask filters. Embedding GO and growing PDA significantly decreased the water contact angle from 141.6° to 56.7° and increased tensile strength from 1.99 MPa to 6.30 MPa. Moreover, the functionalized nanofiber membranes exhibited a high removal efficiency (PM0.3-99.37%), a low air resistance (56 Pa), and keep 98.52% interception for PM0.3 after de-static treatment. Notably, it retained more than 92.00% (PM0.3) of its filtration performance after 72 h of wear. Thus, this work reveals that growing PDA flakes on nanofibers is a practical functionalization technique for high-efficiency mask filters.