• Castanet, Erwan
• Des Ligneris, Elise
• Dumée, Ludo
• Kong, Lingxue
• Al-Attabi, Riyadh

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 satisfying anti-bacterial performance against gram negative Escherichia Coli within 24 h, making of 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, offer ideal low cost sanitary solutions to applications in air disinfection both indoor and outdoor fitting a circular economy strategy where advanced materials are redesigned to be sustainable.

Topics

• nanocomposite
• surface
• polymer
• strength
• chemical stability
• copper
• leaching
• alcohol
• electrospinning