The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted
the use of disposable
facemasks,
which has raised serious environmental concerns. Thus, we developed
ultrafine electrospun masks comprising eco-friendly and biodegradable
polymer polylactic acid, spun with different degrees of fiber alignments,
ranging from random to less, medium, and highly aligned nanofibers.
The filtration performance was assessed by penetrating sodium chloride
(NaCl) aerosol particles (mean diameter 0.25 μm). The LA-NF
samples exhibited a homogeneous network of fibers and thus even pore
size distribution. The homogeneity of flow is generally accompanied
by a decreased value of pressure drop. Such flow through the gaps
(pores) created between the fibers follows Bernoulli’s principle,
which revealed an extremely decreased value of pressure drop of 96
Pa and yielded a high filtration efficiency of 99.998% and a Q
f of 0.17 Pa–1. The presence
of static charges on membranes varies according to the geometry of
the surface, which provides a strong electrostatic force between fine
particulates and the charged surface. Moreover, a comparative study
of static chargeability of the less aligned sample and conventional
polypropylene filter was conducted, which revealed mean potential
values of 67.1 and 60.8 V, respectively. The outcome implies the superior
characteristics of the former, which can be attributed to the surface
geometry of the structured membrane.
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