Abstract
Introduction: Face masks are regarded as effective Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the dominant polypropylene (PP)-based masks are devoid of antiviral/antibacterial activities and create enormous environmental burdens after disposal.
Objectives: Here we report a facile and potentially scalable method to fabricate biodegradable, breathable, and biocidal cellulose nonwovens (BCNWs) to address both environmental and hygienic problems of commercially available face masks.
Methods: TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nonwovens are rendered antiviral/antibacterial via covalent bonding with disinfecting polyhexamethylene guanidine or neomycin sulfate through carbodiimide coupling chemistry.
Results: The obtained results showed that the BCNWs have virucidal rate of >99.14%, bactericidal efficiency of >99.51%, no leaching-out effect, and excellent air permeability of >1111.5 mm s -1 . More importantly, the as-prepared BCNWs can inactivate SARS-CoV-2 instantly.
Conclusions: This strategy provides a new platform for the green fabrication of multifunctional cellulose nonwovens as scalable bio-protective layers with superior performance for various PPE in fighting COVID-19 or future pandemics. Additionally, replacing the non-biodegradable non-antimicrobial PP-based masks with the cellulose-based masks can reduce the plastic wastes and lower the greenhouse gas production from the incineration of disposed masks.
Keywords: Antibacterial; Antiviral; COVID-19; Cellulose; Face mask; Nonwoven.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, Antiviral, Antibacterial, Cellulose, Face mask, Nonwoven., 【초록키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, Antiviral, COVID-19 pandemic, Masks, Mask, activity, Chemistry, virucidal, Pandemics, PPE, Face masks, Antibacterial, platform, Cellulose, Face mask, Disposal, Efficiency, Incineration, sulfate, guanidine, plastic waste, face, Polypropylene, problem, green, Neomycin, dominant, effective, neomycin sulfate, carbodiimide, TEMPO, provide, reduce, multifunctional, replacing, greenhouse gas, 【제목키워드】 Personal protective equipment,