Silver nanoparticles/graphene oxide arranged on polytetrafluoroethylene substrate hydrophilic modified with TiO2 to construct efficient air purification material

Abstract

Recently, the harsh air environment caused by disasters and human activities poses a great challenge to the development of efficient and antibacterial air purification systems to protect human health. In this work, a new type of high-efficiency polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) air filter was successfully prepared by employing silver nanoparticles decorated with graphene oxide (Ag NPs/GO) functional materials that deposited in PTFE substrate membranes hydrophilic modified with TiO2 for the improvement of the enclosed space air quality. The results revealed that the introduction of TiO2 can improve the interfacial adhesion between PTFE membrane and functional materials, improving the feasibility of long-term application of composite membrane. The composite membrane possessed the crisscross network structure interconnected by fibrils, which gives the membrane high-efficiency particulate matters (PMs) removal rate (99.25% for PM2.5) without sacrificing the pressure drop (90.52 Pa). Moreover, the prepared composite membrane also has more excellent antibacterial performance (98.7% for Escherichia coli (E. coli)), which can reduce the secondary pollution caused by improper post-treatment of the polluted filter in practical applications. After simple cleaning and regeneration, the composite membrane can still maintain an ultra-high particle removal rate (over 95%) after 5 cycles. The prepared efficiency air filtration composite membranes have positive potential applications in air purification.