Preparation of PAN/SiO2/CTAB electrospun nanofibrous membranes for highly efficient air filtration and sterilization

Air particulate pollution from increasing industrialization poses an enormous threat to public health. It is therefore of particular importance to develop air filters with excellent filtration properties and antimicrobial properties. Here we design a novel air filter for outdoor personal protection. The air filter's composite nanofibrous materials are prepared by electrospinning method using polyacrylonitrile (PAN) as the base polymer, silica dioxide (SiO2) as the electret r and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as the antimicrobial agent. Fourier-infrared spectroscopy, surface potential, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterization reveal the successful incorporation of SiO2 and CTAB into PAN. The air filtration test shows that the composite nanofibrous membrane has outstanding PM0.3 filtration efficiency (98.5%) and lower pressure drop (76 Pa) at 32 L/min flow rate. Moreover, the durability tests show that the composite nanofibrous membranes have a long lifetime in terms of filtration performance. The filtration efficiency is reduced by only 2% after 48 h. In addition, the antimicrobial properties were tested by implementing both E. coli and S. aureus with up to a 99% bacteriostasis rate. Thus, this work improves the application potential of high-performance air filters for the removal of particulate pollution and may provide useful insights into the design of next-generation air filters suitable for applications in high antibacterial applications.