Tianyi Ma , Le Gan , Yang Liu , Shinan Xu , Chenlong Han , Xiaolin Zhao , Xiaobei Zang , Ning Cao
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Since the global outbreak of COVID-19, medical masks have become one of the most concerned pieces of epidemiological protection equipment. Polypropylene melt-blown nonwovens are the core filtration materials of medical masks, but the filtration performance deteriorates drastically with prolonged use and water vapor adherence. Here, a series of organic solvents were used to etch the melt-blown nonwovens to construct a graded rough structure and thus obtain durable superhydrophobic melt-blown nonwovens. The melt-blown nonwovens etched with a mixture of cyclohexane and n-hexane (volume ratio: 3:2) at 65 °C for 30 min exhibited excellent superhydrophobicity (water contact angle ∼153.5°, sliding angle ∼5.9°), high durability and great chemical resistance. The mechanical strength of the superhydrophobic melt-blown nonwoven has changed very little compared to the original melt- blown nonwoven, and it has a good filtration efficiency (89.2 %) and low wind resistance (24.3 Pa). In addition, the superhydrophobic melt-blown nonwoven can achieve more than 8.5 times its previous mass of organic solvent adsorption, with oil and water separation efficiency reaching over 91 %. Therefore, the PP melt-blowns prepared by the organic solvent etching method have greatly improved mask filtration performance and they also have great application prospect in oil-water separation.
期刊介绍:
Reactive & Functional Polymers provides a forum to disseminate original ideas, concepts and developments in the science and technology of polymers with functional groups, which impart specific chemical reactivity or physical, chemical, structural, biological, and pharmacological functionality. The scope covers organic polymers, acting for instance as reagents, catalysts, templates, ion-exchangers, selective sorbents, chelating or antimicrobial agents, drug carriers, sensors, membranes, and hydrogels. This also includes reactive cross-linkable prepolymers and high-performance thermosetting polymers, natural or degradable polymers, conducting polymers, and porous polymers.
Original research articles must contain thorough molecular and material characterization data on synthesis of the above polymers in combination with their applications. Applications include but are not limited to catalysis, water or effluent treatment, separations and recovery, electronics and information storage, energy conversion, encapsulation, or adhesion.