Deep trapped bipolar heterocharges enable electret nanofibrous membranes for high-efficiency PM0.3 filtration

• Published in: Separation and purification technology 2025-02, Vol.354, p.128931, Article 128931
• Main Authors: Gao, Hanchao, Li, Jiaxin, Fu, Huiming, Zhang, Kai, Duan, Shuxia, Zhao, Hong, Zheng, Ziqi, Zhou, Mengyang, Xia, Zhaopeng, Liu, Yong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aerosol filtration; Electret filters; Electrospinning; Heterocharge distribution; Nanofibrous membranes
• ISSN: 1383-5866
• DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2024.128931

[Display omitted] •Effect mechanism of nanofiber heterocharge configuration on electrostatic capture was stated.•Bipolar heterocharges in PS/PVDF-HFP membrane endowed stronger electrostatic force.•Excellent and durable filtration property was achieved with ultralow air resistance.•PS/PVDF-HFP membrane showed 99.97 % filtration efficiency after high humidity exposure. Recently frequent global pandemic outbreak triggers the demand of high-efficiency aerosol filtration materials. Most of traditional electret air filters can hardly achieve high efficiency (>99.99 %) due to limited charge density and inappropriate charge distribution. The influence mechanism of nanofibers bipolar heterocharge configuration on electrostatic capture of airborne particles is still confusing. Herein, a novel strategy to create high-efficiency air filters based on electret nanofibrous membranes with deep trapped heterocharge is reported. Space charges and dipole charges with opposite polarity are formed in electrospun membranes composed of different polymers under in-situ charge injection and electric poling during electrospinning. Nanoscale spatial surface potential mapping on individual nanofiber characterized by Kelvin probe force microscopy demonstrates bipolar heterocharge distribution. Numerical simulation shows that fiber heterocharge distribution endows the electret membrane with greater electrostatic field intensity gradient, resulting in stronger electrostatic force between nanofibers and airborne particles. With bipolar heterocharge configuration and bimodal fiber diameter distribution, the nanofibrous membranes exhibit high-efficiency low-resistance filtration property against 0.3 μm NaCl particles (99.994 %, 97.4 Pa) at 5.3 cm s−1. Furthermore, benefiting from charges with deep trap energy of 1.12 eV, the membranes still maintain 99.972 % filtration efficiency after 40 h exposure in 95 % relatively humidity. The prepared membranes brings new insight in the design of high-efficiency and long-term stability air filtration materials for public health precaution. This study not only reveals influence mechanism of nanofibers heterocharge distribution on electrostatic attraction, but also provides useful guidance for fiber charge configuration design to improve aerosol filtration performance of electret filters.