Graphene Oxide-Modified Polyacrylonitrile Nanofibrous Membranes for Efficient Air Filtration

Particulate matter (PM) pollution has brought about severe threats to public health nowadays. PM2.5, referring to particles with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm, is the most common form of pollutants triggering disease. To cease these detrimental effects of PM2.5 on our physical fitness, air filters with high efficiency, high stability, and low cost are urgently called for. Herein, we introduce a new kind of nanofiber (PAN/GO) composed of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and graphene oxide (GO) to capture PM pollutants. The nanofibers are synthesized by a simple and versatile electrospinning method. Nanofibrous membranes possess large adsorption capacity, high adsorption efficiency, and excellent long-term removal efficiency for PM2.5. When PAN/GO nanofibers are exposed in an environment where the concentration of PM2.5 reaches ∼460 μg m–3, the PM2.5 removal efficiency can turn out to be 99.6%. After 100 h of adsorption, PAN/GO nanofibers can still maintain a PM2.5 removal efficiency of 99.1%, showing an excellent and long-term-stable adsorption ability. As-synthesized PAN/GO nanofibers can act as a prominent contender for practical applications as air filtration masks, showing competitive potential in large-scale production and becoming an up-and-coming alternative for air purification media.