School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164, United States.
ACS Appl Bio Mater. 2024 Sep 16;7(9):6229-6238. doi: 10.1021/acsabm.4c00828. Epub 2024 Sep 4.
To create a healthier indoor environment via sustainable technologies, there is a growing demand for constructing high-performance air filters from natural materials. Addressing this need, we have fabricated high-performance protein air filters with a tailored frame-channel structure via electrospinning. The innovative feature of the protein air filter is generated by adding a small amount of an organic salt, tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC), to modulate the denaturation of zein for tuning electrical charge distribution and hydrophilicity of the protein solutions. The results highlight that the optimized filter with 1.0 wt% TBAC exhibits a denser nanofiber assembly on the frame and a sparser arrangement on the channel. Functionally, the filter demonstrates ultralow pressure drop (ca. 9.04 Pa) that is only a third of that observed in unmodified formulation and commercial air filters, while it maintains high filtration efficiency in capturing PM (99.42% ± 0.30%) and PM (98.25 ± 0.39%). More importantly, the filter indicates multifunctional perspectives, e.g., high removal efficiency for formaldehyde (HCHO) and PM under high airflow rates (up to 8 L/min) or after prolonged testing period (120 min). Our design of the frame-channel structure for the protein air filter marks a leap forward in developing biomass-based structural materials.
为了通过可持续技术创造更健康的室内环境，人们对用天然材料制造高性能空气过滤器的需求日益增长。针对这一需求，我们通过静电纺丝制造了具有定制框架-通道结构的高性能蛋白质空气过滤器。该蛋白质空气过滤器的创新之处在于添加了少量的有机盐四丁基氯化铵（TBAC），以调节玉米醇溶蛋白的变性，从而调整蛋白质溶液的电荷分布和亲水性。结果表明，添加 1.0wt%TBAC 的优化过滤器在框架上具有更密集的纳米纤维组装，而在通道上具有更稀疏的排列。在功能方面，该过滤器表现出超低的压降（约 9.04Pa），仅为未改性配方和商业空气过滤器的三分之一，同时在捕获 PM（99.42%±0.30%）和 PM（98.25±0.39%）方面保持了高过滤效率。更重要的是，该过滤器显示出多功能性，例如在高气流速率（高达 8L/min）或经过长时间测试（120 分钟）下，对甲醛（HCHO）和 PM 的去除效率高。我们为蛋白质空气过滤器设计的框架-通道结构标志着基于生物质的结构材料的发展向前迈进了一步。
