Hydrophobic cross-linked zein-based nanofibers with efficient air filtration and improved moisture stability

Though zein is gaining more and more attention because of its multifunctionality and biodegradability, the high sensitivity to humidity limits its further applications. In the present study, the multifunctional zein nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning with the assistance of polyvinyl alcohol, followed by cross-linking with glutaraldehyde. In this way, the moisture resistance of the nanofibers was significantly improved while the air filtration performance was well retained. The optimized nanofibers exhibited over 97% filtration efficiency of PM0.3 (particulate matter size less than 0.3 mu m), and the filtration efficiency of other sizes of pollutant particles was more than 98%. In addition, the relatively weak mechanical properties of zein have also been improved. These results suggest that cross-linked zein-based nanofibers are promising for air filtration applications.

尽管玉米蛋白因其多功能性和可生物降解性而受到越来越多的关注，但对湿度的高敏感性限制了其进一步的应用。 在本研究中，多功能聚乙烯醇溶蛋白纳米纤维是通过在聚乙烯醇的帮助下进行电纺丝，然后与戊二醛交联制备的。 这样，纳米纤维的耐湿性显着提高，同时空气过滤性能得到了很好的保留。 优化后的纳米纤维对PM0.3的过滤效率超过97％（颗粒尺寸小于0.3微米），其他尺寸的污染物颗粒的过滤效率超过98％。 另外，玉米醇溶蛋白的相对较弱的机械性能也得到了改善。 这些结果表明交联的玉米醇溶蛋白基纳米纤维有望用于空气过滤应用。

Published: 2020

Journal ：CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL

Impact Factor：11315

Paper link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1385894720313656