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The research team of Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Medical and Health Textile Materials has developed a new type of nanofiber membrane that can still efficiently filter pollutants in the air under harsh conditions. The relevant results were published in the journal "Separation and Purification Technology".

The composition of industrial waste gas is complex and harmful, and the development of high-performance air filtration materials is imminent. The ideal filter material should have excellent liquid repellency, resistance to harmful chemicals, and high climate adaptability.

To this end, the research team developed a fluorinated metal organic framework (F-MOF) @ polyetherimide/polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene/fluoroalkylsilane (PEI/PVDF-HFP/FAS) nanofiber membrane, which shows great potential in personal and industrial protection and air filtration.

 Preparation of super-liquid-repellent nanofiber membrane 

The researchers used a multi-needle electrospinning technology to prepare this nanofiber membrane. Simply put, the material solution is stretched into very fine fibers through special equipment and then stacked into a membrane.

The main components of this membrane include polyetherimide (PEI), polyvinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene (PVDF-HFP) and fluoroalkylsilane (FAS), and a fluorinated metal organic framework (F-MOF) nanoparticles are added to enhance performance.

 Features of super-liquid-repellent nanofiber membrane 

This nanofiber membrane has a high porosity of 80% and an average pore size of 2.6 microns, allowing air to pass smoothly while effectively blocking fine particles.

It remains stable at a high temperature of 450°C and is not easy to decompose. By adjusting the material composition, the membrane surface has super-liquid-repellent properties, with a water contact angle of 162° and an oil contact angle of 145°. It can repel water and oil, is not easily contaminated by liquid, and has a self-cleaning function.

In addition, the membrane has an antibacterial rate of up to 99%, which can effectively prevent bacterial growth.

In terms of particulate matter, the super-liquid-repellent nanofiber membrane also performs well, and the filtration efficiency of NaCl and DEHS particles reaches 100% under certain conditions. At the same time, it can still maintain low air resistance during high-efficiency filtration, for example, at an airflow of 10 liters/minute, the resistance is only 25 Pa.

This new nanofiber membrane achieves a combination of super-liquid repellency and high-efficiency filtration performance through a simple preparation process, and can work stably for a long time in harsh environments.

KLC will pay close attention to the development of such high-performance nanofiber membranes, and continue to deepen the application of clean filtration technology, and is committed to promoting its wide application in key industrial fields such as petroleum, chemical, medical, and food, helping the industry to achieve more efficient and reliable air filtration solutions.