Through-hole composite membrane with an ultrathin oxide shell for highly robust and transparent air filters

Taehyun Ryu; Junyong Ahn; Junyong Park

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131241

Through-hole composite membrane with an ultrathin oxide shell for highly robust and transparent air filters

J Hazard Mater. 2023 Jun 15:452:131241. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131241. Epub 2023 Mar 18.

Authors

Taehyun Ryu¹, Junyong Ahn¹, Junyong Park²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi, Gyeongbuk 39177, Republic of Korea; Department of Energy Engineering Convergence, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi, Gyeongbuk 39177, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi, Gyeongbuk 39177, Republic of Korea; Department of Energy Engineering Convergence, Kumoh National Institute of Technology, Gumi, Gyeongbuk 39177, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jpark@kumoh.ac.kr.

PMID: 36958166
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131241

Abstract

Exploring pore structures that are optically transparent and have high filtration efficiency for ultrafine dust is very important for realizing passive window filters for indoor air purification. Herein, a polyester track-etched (PETE) membrane with vertically perforated micropores is investigated as a cost-effective candidate for transparent window filters. The pore size, which governs transparency and filtration efficiency, can be precisely tuned by conformally depositing an ultrathin oxide layer on the PETE membrane via atomic layer deposition. The maximum visible light transmittance (∼81.2 %) was achieved with an alumina layer of approximately 55 nm, and the resulting composite membrane exhibited competitive filtration efficiency compared to commercial products. The chemically inert alumina layer also increased resistance to various external stimuli and enabled simple cleaning of the contaminated membrane surface with a solvent. The membrane installed on an insect screen effectively maintained its filtration performance (∼85 % for PM_2.5) even after 10 reuse cycles under extremely harsh conditions (PM_2.5 concentration: ∼5000 μg cm^-3). The proposed through-hole composite membrane can expand the choice of aesthetic window filters to situations that require high outside visibility and daylighting.

Keywords: Air filter; Atomic layer deposition; Particulate matter; Polyester track-etched; Through-hole membrane.