Reusable MoS₂-Modified Antibacterial Fabrics with Photothermal Disinfection Properties for Repurposing of Personal Protective Masks

Abstract

The current pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has seen a widespread use of personal protective equipment, especially face masks. This has created the need to develop better and reusable protective masks with built-in antimicrobial, self-cleaning, and aerosol filtration properties to prevent the transmission of air-borne pathogens such as the coronaviruses. Herein, molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) nanosheets are used to prepare modified polycotton fabrics having excellent antibacterial activity and photothermal properties. Upon sunlight irradiation, the nanosheet-modified fabrics rapidly increased the surface temperature to ∼77 °C, making them ideal for sunlight-mediated self-disinfection. Complete self-disinfection of the nanosheet-modified fabric was achieved within 3 min of irradiation, making the fabrics favorably reusable upon self-disinfection. The nanosheetmodified fabrics maintained the antibacterial efficiency even after 60 washing cycles. Furthermore, the particle filtration efficiency of three-layered surgical masks was found to be significantly improved through incorporation of the MoS 2 -modified fabric as an additional layer of protective clothing, without compromising the breathability of the masks. The repurposed surgical masks could filter out around 97% of 200 nm particles and 96% of 100 nm particles, thus making them potentially useful for preventing the spread of coronaviruses (120 nm) by trapping them along with antibacterial protection against other airborne pathogens.

Biodegradable and multifunctional surgical face masks: A brief review on demands during COVID-19 pandemic, recent developments, and future perspectives

“… ( El-Atab et al, 2020 ; Kumar et al, 2021 , Kumar et al, 2020 ; Lee et al, 2020 ; Lin et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Yang et al, 2020 ; Zhong et al, 2020 ) 8 Self-cleaning Self-disinfecting Self-sanitizing Self-decontaminating Photo-sterilize, thermal-sterilize Applying photo (UV) or thermal disinfecting procedure to introduce self-sterilization and enable reusability. ( Banerjee et al, 2021 ; Kumar et al, 2021 , Kumar et al, 2020 ; Lin et al, 2021 ; Zhong et al, 2020 ) 9 Fluid repellent and superhydrophobicity Increases the effective use time in different conditions specially for HCWs (anti-splash, …) ( El-Atab et al, 2020 ; Lin et al, 2021 ; Zhong et al, 2020 ) 10 Special features (smart) Uses special materials or designs to increase the performance and appearance of face masks. The transparent look can help avoid the threatening appearance of the mask and can allow lip reading for people with mutism or hearing impairment.…”

“…5 Multifunctional surgical face masks. a) Anti-influenza multilayer containing copper oxide face masks with corresponding SEM and XPS analysis ( Borkow et al, 2010 ), b) reusable and recyclable graphene-coated superhydrophobic, self-cleaning and photothermal face masks ( Zhong et al, 2020 ), c) reusable MoS 2 -modified durable antibacterial and photothermal self-disinfection face masks ( Kumar et al, 2021 ), d) reusable copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) antiviral and photo-thermal self-disinfecting face masks ( Kumar et al, 2020 ), e) multifunctional face masks to protect people from PM pollutants and simultaneously achieve personal thermal comfort ( Yang et al, 2017 ), f) skin temperature when covered with multifunctional face masks and two commercial face masks ( Yang et al, 2017 ), g) filtration efficiency of a new KN95 mask, washed and dried mask, and recharged mask for 60 min. Decay of the efficiency of the recharged mask over the course of a day ( Hossain et al, 2020 ), h) multifunctional mask by using BaTiO3@PU/PSA membrane achieved the high capture efficiency, low pressure drop, good mechanical property, sufficient flexibility, high thermal stability, favorable flame-retardancy as well as superior chemical resistance against acid and alkali ( Yang et al, 2020 ).…”

Tailoring the Surface Properties of Micro/Nanofibers Using 0D, 1D, 2D, and 3D Nanostructures: A Review on Post‐Modification Methods

“…The NiFe formed onto SNF caused at least three pronounced alterations on the NF properties: surface area (increased from 5.35 m 2 g −1 for pure SNF to 40.05 m 2 g −1 NiFe@SNM‐4), fast adsorption kinetics for methylene blue within 20 min, and oleophobic character showing an oil contact angle of 174°, whereas non‐measurable hydrophobicity is observed, which features are promising for oil/water separation membrane. [ 230 ] Other 2D materials, such as MoS 2 and rGO anchored on fibers by post‐modifications strategies were also explored recently for dye, [ 198 ] bacteria, [ 231 ] and metal remediation. [ 11 ]…”

Recent Progress in Modified Polymer-Based PPE in Fight Against COVID-19 and Beyond

“…Molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) is a two-dimensional (2D)-layered material having exciting and unique properties and can be used in several different applications. Polycotton fabric can also be fabricated to impart antibacterial properties on their surfaces with 2D materials, as illustrated by Kumar et al 11 in their study. The authors reported that the MoS 2 -coated fabrics had excellent antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and possessed photothermal properties when exposed to sunlight.…”