Synthesis of Electrospun PAN/TiO2/Ag Nanofibers Membrane As Potential Air Filtration Media with Photocatalytic Activity

Sri Hartati; Akmal Zulfi; Pramitha Yuniar Diah Maulida; Azis Yudhowijoyo; Mudzakkir Dioktyanto; Kurniawan Eko Saputro; Alfian Noviyanto; Nurul Taufiqu Rochman

doi:10.1021/acsomega.2c00015

Synthesis of Electrospun PAN/TiO₂/Ag Nanofibers Membrane As Potential Air Filtration Media with Photocatalytic Activity

ACS Omega. 2022 Mar 18;7(12):10516-10525. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.2c00015. eCollection 2022 Mar 29.

Authors

Sri Hartati¹, Akmal Zulfi^{1

2}, Pramitha Yuniar Diah Maulida¹, Azis Yudhowijoyo¹, Mudzakkir Dioktyanto¹, Kurniawan Eko Saputro¹, Alfian Noviyanto^{1

3}, Nurul Taufiqu Rochman^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Nano Center Indonesia, Jalan Raya PUSPIPTEK, South Tangerang, Banten 15314, Indonesia.
² National Research and Innovation Agency, Gedung B.J. Habibie Jalan M.H. Thamrin No. 8, Central Jakarta City 10340, Indonesia.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mercu Buana University, Jl. Meruya Selatan, Kebun Jeruk, Jakarta 11650, Indonesia.
⁴ Research Center for Metallurgy and Materials, National Research and Innovation Agency, PUSPIPTEK, South Tangerang, Banten 15314, Indonesia.

Abstract

The PAN/TiO₂/Ag nanofibers membrane for air filtration media was successfully synthesized with electrospinning method. The morphology, size, and element percentage of the nanofiber were characterized by a scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy, while X-ray fluorescence and FTIR were used to observe the chemical composition. The water contact angle and UV-vis absorption were measured for physical properties. Performance for air filtration media was measured by pressure drop, efficiency, and quality factor test. TiO₂ and Ag have been successfully deposited in nonuniform 570 nm PAN/TiO₂/Ag nanofibers. The nanofiber membrane had hydrophilic surface after TiO₂ and Ag addition with a water contact angle of 34.58°. UV-vis data showed the shifting of absorbance and band gap energy of nanofibers membrane to visible light from 3.8 to 1.8 eV. The 60 min spun PAN/TiO₂/Ag nanofibers membrane had a 96.9% efficiency of PM_2.5, comparable to results reported in previous studies. These properties were suitable to be applied on air filtration media with photocatalytic activity for self-cleaning performance.