Evaluations of Electrostatic Filtration Efficiency and Antibacterial Efficacy of Antibacterial Electret Polypropylene Filters: Effects of Using Low Molecular Antibacterial Agent as Additive

Jia-Horng Lin; Ying-Huei Shih; Chen-Hung Huang; Mei-Feng Lai; Shu-An Lee; Bing-Chiuan Shiu; Ching-Wen Lou

doi:10.3390/polym13193303

Evaluations of Electrostatic Filtration Efficiency and Antibacterial Efficacy of Antibacterial Electret Polypropylene Filters: Effects of Using Low Molecular Antibacterial Agent as Additive

Polymers (Basel). 2021 Sep 27;13(19):3303. doi: 10.3390/polym13193303.

Authors

Jia-Horng Lin^{1

2

3

4}, Ying-Huei Shih², Chen-Hung Huang⁵, Mei-Feng Lai², Shu-An Lee⁶, Bing-Chiuan Shiu¹, Ching-Wen Lou^{4

7

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ College of Material and Chemical Engineering, Minjiang University, Fuzhou 350108, China.
² Laboratory of Fiber Application and Manufacturing, Department of Fiber and Composite Materials, Feng Chia University, Taichung 40724, Taiwan.
³ School of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
⁴ Advanced Medical Care and Protection Technology Research Center, College of Textile and Clothing, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China.
⁵ Department of Aerospace and Systems Engineering, Feng Chia University, Taichung 40724, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Environmental Engineering and Science, Feng Chia University, Taichung 40724, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Bioinformatics and Medical Engineering, Asia University, Taichung 41354, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan.
⁹ Fujian Key Laboratory of Novel Functional Fibers and Materials, Minjiang University, Fuzhou 350108, China.

Abstract

In recent years, air filtration has been gaining much attention, and now people are much more concerned about antibacterial filters due to the spreading of COVID-19. The electret polypropylene (PP) nonwoven fabrics possess excellent filtration efficiency but a limited antibacterial effect against S. aureus and E. coli, and therefore triclosan is used in this study. Serving as an antibacterial agent, triclosan with a low molecular weight is an effective additive for the test results, indicating that the presence of triclosan strengthens the antibacterial effects of the filters. In addition, triclosan also strengthens the PP's crystallinity, which in turn betters the filtration efficiency of the filters concurrently. Demonstrating powerful filtration and antibacterial performances, the antibacterial electret PP filters are highly qualified for filter applications.

Keywords: antibacterial; electret; filter; polypropylene; triclosan.