Branched nanofibers for biodegradable facemasks by double bubble electrospinning

Abstract

World health organization (WHO) data shows that air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year. A nanofiber based biodegradable facemask can keep breath from smoke and other particles suspended in the air. In this study, we propose branched polymeric nanofibers as a biodegradable material for air filters and facemasks. Fibers have been elecrospun using double bubble electrospinning technique. Biodegradable polymers, PVA and PVP were used in our experiment. Two tubes, each filled with one of the polymers, were supplied with air from the bottom to form bubbles of polymer solutions. DC 35-40 kV was used to deposit the fibers on an aluminum foil. Results show that the combination of polymers under specific conditions produced branched fibers with average nanofibers diameter of 495nm. FT-IR results indicate the new trends in the graph of composite nanofibers.