Breath moisture-induced electroactive nanofibrous membrane for efficient antibacterial and antiviral air filtration

The high humidity environment created by human breath can easily lead to charge loss in the mask ' s filter and weaken the mask ' s filtration effect on aerosols containing bacteria and viruses. Therefore, in this study, a breath moisture-induced electroactive nanofibrous membrane was prepared by incorporating Cu/Zn nanoparticles into cellulose acetate/poly (vinyl butyral) fibers. Adjacent Cu/Zn nanoparticles can form galvanic couples that can be activated by human breath to undergo redox discharge reactions, thus imparting moisture-induced electroactivity to nanofibrous membrane. Based on the moisture-induced electroactivity, nanofibrous membrane demonstrated antibacterial rates of 98.32 % against Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) and 99.06 % against Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ). Moreover, moisture-induced electroactive nanofibrous membrane significantly reduced the titer of Enterovirus 71 (EV71) transmitted through the respiratory tract within 5 min. The excellent antibacterial and antiviral performance of electroactive nanofibrous membrane can be attributed to the synergistic effect of Cu/Zn ' s electrical stimulation (ES) interference on the electrodynamics of bacteria and viruses, the generated reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the released metal ions. Benefiting from the increased surface potential from Cu/Zn galvanic couples, moisture-induced electroactive nanofibrous membrane exhibited a filtration efficiency of 99.61 % for PM 0.3 particles while maintaining a low-pressure drop (78 Pa). Meanwhile, electroactive nanofibrous membrane showed excellent wear comfort and non-cytotoxicity. In summary, this moisture-induced electroactive nanofibrous membrane maintains high filtration performance and exhibits excellent antibacterial and antiviral activities, shedding some light on developing novel efficient air filters.