Significance Industrial development caused air pollution. Parallel to the effort of control air pollution, it has become necessary and important to have materials which is capable of filtering the polluted air for people to breathe clean air. The most direct and effective way to achieve this goal is to use air purifiers, masks, and other related filtering equipment. The outbreak and spread of COVID-19 pandemic in recent years have brought great challenges to global public health protection, and various countries took various protective measures. Filtering materials with low air resistance, high filtration efficiency, and high charge storage stability have attracted much attention, and the market demand has been growing. Safety protection articles such as masks, protective clothing, and respirators have become indispensable pandemic prevention materials and for normal epidemic prevention. Melt-blown nonwovens, as the key materials of protective articles, have attracted much attention in the research of melt-blown nonwovens with high efficiency, low resistance, and stable charge storage. Progress In order to deeply understand the research status of the electret technology of melt-blown nonwovens, this paper systematically reviewed the electret technology for making melt-blown nonwovens, the electret effect of melt-blown nonwovens and the prospect of electret melt-blown nonwovens. The paper summarized the characteristics and mechanisms of six electret technologies, including corona charging, friction electrification, electrospinning, and water electret. The technology and application status of corona electret and water electret treatment were analyzed in the main. Additionally, the mechanism of electrostatic storage and its stability were introduced. Then the influence of electret material, electret process, and polymer crystal structure on the electrostatic storage performance of melt-blown nonwovens was also analyzed. Furthermore, in view of the challenges to electret technology, this paper summarized the development of new electret materials with multi-function and high-added value and the combination of multiple electret technologies as the main development direction of electret melt-blown nonwovens in the future. Conclusion and Prospect With the continuous outbreak of global infectious diseases, awareness of health, safety, and protection is gradually enhanced, and the quality requirements for protective articles are constantly improved. The research and development of electret melt blown nonwovens with stable charge storage has become a scientific problem that needs to be solved urgently, which is of great significance to promoting the construction of emergency public health safety in the world. At present, electret melt blown nonwovens are made using mainly two processes, i.e., electrostatic electret and water electret. Researchers of electrostatic electret preparation methods have made some positive achievements, but the technical development and research of water electret need to be further explored. In general, with the development of new materials and the improvement of new technologies, electret melt-blown nonwovens with stable charge storage, longer service life, diverse functions, and good comfort will be more widely used in the fields of filter materials, barrier materials, medical and health materials, and so on. With the progress of information and digital technology, as well as the acceleration of industrialization and manufacturing power, intelligent, information-based, and digital electret melt blown nonwovens will also become a new trend of development. Improving the electrostatic storage and stability of electret melt blown nonwovens has also become an important and necessary work for industrial textile workers. © 2023 China Textile Engineering Society. All rights reserved.
