(562f) Antiviral Mxene-Laser-Induced Graphene Composite Air Filters

During the pandemic, especially during the rapid spread of coronavirus Omicron variant, clean air is receiving significantly increasing attention. Removal of the infectious particles from contaminated air can be achieved with air filters, which usually trap the particles based on size. Recently, we developed a polyimide non-woven supported laser-induced graphene (LIG) air filter and showed that low electrical current density inactivates bacteria. In this work, we further achieved the fabrication of MXene/LIG composite membranes with enhanced electrical conductivity for virus inactivation. MXenes are a family of novel two-dimensional (2D) materials with superior electrical conductivity. A combination of LIG with MXenes is expected to provide much-improved surface electrical conductivity and enhanced antiviral activities. The MXene flakes were directly spray-coated on the LIG surface. Uniform coating of MXene layers on the vertical LIG flakes was observed, which would bridge the neighboring LIG flakes for fast electron transfer. Compared to pure LIG and MXene membranes, the MXene/LIG composite membranes showed much improved electrical conductivity and antiviral activities. Furthermore, the effects of MXene flake size, loading amount, and composition on the properties and antiviral performance of the composite membranes were systematically investigated. Our work successfully demonstrated the great promise of MXene/LIG composite membranes for antiviral air filtration applications, which also foresee other separation applications, such as voltage-dependent desalination and water purification process.