Graphene oxide/silver nanoparticle (GO/AgNP) impregnated polyacrylonitrile nanofibers for potential application in air filtration

Abstract

There is an immediate necessity for the development of air filtration personal protective equipment (PPE) in order to eliminate the deterioration of air quality. In specific, the airborne pollutants such as aerosols, particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10) and microbes etc. causes serious health hazards. Herein, PAN templated composite nanofibrous membrane using GO/AgNP as filler materials was fabricated by electrospinning. It was developed for their dual application as a potential point of use (POU) filter for airborne pollutants and microbes. The properties of the developed PAN-GO/AgNP composite nanofibrous membrane was studied by various analytical techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM). The disc diffusion assay exhibited effective bactericidal efficacy having zone of inhibition (ZOI) of ∼19 and ∼18 mm against the bacterial strains such as S.aureus and GFP E. coli, respectively. Henceforth, the developed composite nanofibrous membrane can be used as potential nanofibrous filter for airborne pollutants and microbes. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.