Surface Energy of Filtration Media Influencing the Filtration Performance against Solid Particles, Oily Aerosol, and Bacterial Aerosol

Polymers

Jooyoun Kim¹  Seojin Jung¹  Jaejin An²  Hyungjin Na² 

[1] Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea;Medical Convergence Textile Center, Gyeongbuk Technopark, Gyeongsangbuk-do 38412, Korea;

关键词: filtration;    electrospun web;    surface energy;    electret;    particle;    aerosol;    bacteria;   

DOI  :  10.3390/polym11060935

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Particulate airborne pollutants are a big concern to public health, and it brings growing attention about effective filtration devices. Especially, particulate matters smaller than 2.5 µm can reach the thoracic region and the blood stream, and the associated health risk can be exacerbated when pathogenic microbials are present in the air. This study aims at understanding the surface characteristics of nonwoven media that influence filtration performance against solid particles (sodium chloride, NaCl), oily aerosol (dioctyl phthalate, DOP), and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria. Nonwoven media of polystyrene (PS) fibers were fabricated by electrospinning and its pristine surface energy (38.5 mN/m) was modified to decrease (12.3 mN/m) by the plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of octafluorocyclobutane (C₄F₈) or to increase (68.5 mN/m) by the oxygen (O₂) plasma treatment. For NaCl particles and S. aureus aerosol, PS electrospun web showed higher quality factor than polypropylene (PP) meltblown electret that is readily available for commercial products. The O₂ plasma treatment of PS media significantly deteriorated the filtration efficiency, presumably due to the quick dissipation of static charges by the O₂ plasma treatment. The C₄F₈ treated, fluorinated PS media resisted quick wetting of DOP, and its filtration efficiency for DOP and S. aureus remained similar while its efficiency for NaCl decreased. The findings of this study will impact on determining relevant surface treatments for effective particulate filtration. As this study examined the instantaneous performance within 1−2 min of particulate exposure, and the further study with the extended exposure is suggested.

【 授权许可】

Unknown