Abstract
Membranes decorated with biocide materials have shown great potential for air sanitization but can suffer from biocide agent leaching by dissolution in water. In order to tackle the diffusion of biocide metal ions from the fiber matrix, composite nanofiber membranes of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) cross-linked with copper (II) acetate have been successfully engineered via sol–gel electrospinning, providing a stable mean for air bactericidal microfiltration. The novelty lies in the bonding strength and homogeneous distribution of the fiber surface biocide, where biocide metals are incorporated as a sol within a polymer matrix. The electrospinning of bead-free composite nanofibers offered over 99.5% filtration efficiency for PM2.5, with a theoretical permeance above 98%. The PVA/copper nanofiber membranes also showed satisfactory anti-bacterial performance against the gram-negative Escherichia coli within 24 h, making them promising materials for the remediation of airborne bacteria. The mechanical and chemical stability of the engineered nanocomposite electrospun nanofiber webs added to the natural biodegradability of the materials, by offering ideal low-cost sanitary solutions for the application of air disinfection in both indoor and outdoor fitting a circular economy strategy where advanced materials are redesigned to be sustainable.
Highlights
Air sanitization plays an important role in the limitation of the spread of infections caused by pathogenic micro-organisms, such as bacteria Legionella pneumophila [1]
Three poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/copper nanofiber membranes were electrospun in different of electric wasand performed to assess the impact of the bacteria presence across the nanofiber mats
Solution volume at the needle tip to help establish a composite nanofiber membrane profile suited for air filtration
Summary
Air sanitization plays an important role in the limitation of the spread of infections caused by pathogenic micro-organisms, such as bacteria Legionella pneumophila [1]. The coordination of metal atoms present under ionic form with polymer chains imposes a higher reaction energy required to free the metal ions, in comparison with materials where solid metal biocides are deposited or grown at the nanofiber surface as previously reported, rate-limiting potential leaching [15]. Copper is a known affordable anti-bacterial agent, and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a biodegradable polymer that showed to be highly compatible with copper salt to form a sol–gel via crosslinking, increasing its water resistance suitable for air filtration in relatively humid conditions applications [20,24,25]. Copper as a biocide agent and PVA as a green polymer precursor were considered to limit the cost of production and the environmental footprint. The here presented development of PVA/copper nanofiber microfilters opens a way toward means of green and affordable air sanitization
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