Transparent Metallized Microfibers as Recyclable Electrostatic Air Filters with Ionization

Min Woo Kim, Seongpil An, Hyunjun Seok, Alexander L. Yarin, Sam S. Yoon

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    27 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Air-quality control remains a major environmental concern as polluted air is a threat to public safety and health in major industrialized cities. To filter pollutants, fibrous filters employing electrostatic attraction have been widely used. However, such air filters suffer from some major disadvantages, including low recyclability and a significant pressure drop owing to clogging and a high packing density. Herein, we developed ionization-assisted electrostatic air filters consisting of nonwoven nanofibers. Ionization of particulate matter (PM) using air ionization enhanced the electrostatic attraction, thereby promoting efficient filtration. Metallization of the fibers facilitated strong electrical attraction and the consequent capture of PM of various sizes. The low packing density of the metallized fibers also facilitated efficient filtration of the PM, even at low driving pressures, which in turn reduced the energy consumption of the air-filtration device.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)25266-25275
    Number of pages10
    JournalACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
    Volume12
    Issue number22
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2020 Jun 3

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This research was supported by the Technology Development Program to Solve Climate Changes of the National Research Foundation (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning (NRF-2016M1A2A2936760 and NRF-2013R1A5A1073861).

    Publisher Copyright:
    Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.

    Keywords

    • electroplating
    • electrospinning
    • electrostatic air filtration
    • ionizer-assisted filtration
    • metallized nanofibers

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Materials Science

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