Transparent and antibacterial air filters based on nanofiber/nets membrane

Abstract

Air pollution is a serious human health issue worldwide, especially the pollution of particulate matter (PM) and the spread of airborne bacteria. However, most existing filters are opaque, have limited filtration efficiency and no antimicrobial properties. We report an electrospinning/netting technology to prepare high-performance and transparent air filters with antibacterial properties. By regulating the ejection and phase separation of charged droplets, nanofiber/nets (NFN) membrane is created. The resulting NFN filter has integrated properties of low packing density (0.32 g cm−3), high porosity (85 %), desirable pore size (280 nm), robust tensile strength (12.8 MPa) and high PM0.3 removal efficiency (99.996 %). Furthermore, the NFN filter also exhibits ideal transparency (90 %) and excellent bactericidal rate (99.99 %). This work should be a positive attempt to develop efficient, transparent and antibacterial filtration materials.