The outbreak of COVID-19 provided a warning sign for
society worldwide:
that is, we urgently need to explore effective strategies for combating
unpredictable viral pandemics. Protective textiles such as surgery
masks have played an important role in the mitigation of the COVID-19
pandemic, while revealing serious challenges in terms of supply, cross-infection
risk, and environmental pollution. In this context, textiles with
an antivirus functionality have attracted increasing attention, and
many innovative proposals with exciting commercial possibilities have
been reported over the past three years. In this review, we illustrate
the progress of textile filtration for pandemics and summarize the
recent development of antiviral textiles for personal protective purposes
by cataloging them into three classes: metal-based, carbon-based,
and polymer-based materials. We focused on the preparation routes
of emerging antiviral textiles, providing a forward-looking perspective
on their opportunities and challenges, to evaluate their efficacy,
scale up their manufacturing processes, and expand their high-volume
applications. Based on this review, we conclude that ideal antiviral
textiles are characterized by a high filtration efficiency, reliable
antiviral effect, long storage life, and recyclability. The expected
manufacturing processes should be economically feasible, scalable,
and quickly responsive.