A highly efficient nanofibrous air filter membrane fabricated using electrospun amphiphilic PVDF- g-POEM double comb copolymer

Juyoung Moon; Tan Tan Bui; Soyoung Jang; Seungyoung Ji; Jung Tae Park; Myung-Gil Kim

doi:10.1016/j.seppur.2021.119625

A highly efficient nanofibrous air filter membrane fabricated using electrospun amphiphilic PVDF- g-POEM double comb copolymer

Sep Purif Technol. 2021 Dec 15:279:119625. doi: 10.1016/j.seppur.2021.119625. Epub 2021 Sep 11.

Authors

Juyoung Moon¹, Tan Tan Bui², Soyoung Jang³, Seungyoung Ji³, Jung Tae Park¹, Myung-Gil Kim²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea.
² School of Advanced Materials Science & Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, 2066 Seobu-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
³ LEMON Co., 1105-65, Sanho-daero, Sandong-eup, Gumi 39170, Republic of Korea.

Abstract

Current global emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and particulate matter (PM) pollution, require urgent protective measures. Nanofibrous air filter membranes that can capture PM_0.3 and simultaneously help in preventing the spread of COVID-19 are essential. Therefore, a highly efficient nanofibrous air filter membrane based on amphiphilic poly(vinylidene fluoride)-graft-poly(oxyethylene methacrylate) (PVDF-g-POEM) double comb copolymer was fabricated using atomic transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and electrospinning. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis were employed to successfully characterize the molecular structure of the fabricated amphiphilic PVDF-g-POEM double comb copolymer. The nanofibrous air filter membrane based on amphiphilic PVDF-g-POEM double comb copolymer achieved a low air resistance of 4.69 mm H₂O and a high filtration efficiency of 93.56 % due to enhanced chemical and physical adsorption properties.

Keywords: Air filter; Atomic transfer radical polymerization (ATRP); COVID-19; Double comb copolymer; Electrospinning; Nanofibers.