Preparation and Properties of sc-PLA/PMMA Transparent Nanofiber Air Filter

Abstract

Particulate matter (PM) pollution is a serious concern for the environment and public health. To protect indoor air quality, nanofiber filters have been used to coat window screens due to their high PM removal efficiency, transparency and low air resistance. However, these materials have poor mechanical property. In this study, electrostatic induction-assisted solution blowing was used to fabricate polylactide stereocomplex (<i>sc</i>-PLA), which served as reinforcement to enhance the physical cross-linking point to significantly restrict poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) molecular chain motion and improve the mechanical properties of <i>sc</i>-PLA/PMMA nanofibers. Moreover, the introduction of <i>sc</i>-PLA led to the formation of thick/thin composite nanofiber structure, which is beneficial for the mechanical property. Thus, <i>sc</i>-PLA/PMMA air filters of ~83% transparency with 99.5% PM_2.5 removal and 140% increase in mechanical properties were achieved when 5 wt % <i>sc</i>-PLA was added to PMMA. Hence, the addition of <i>sc</i>-PLA to transparent filters can effectively improve their performance.