Electrospun Poly(m-phenyleneisophthalamide)/TiO<sub>2</sub> Nanofiber Membranes for Particulate Matter Removal under High-Temperature Conditions
Yuying Wen, Qian Hu, Xinya Wang, Wei Zhang, Mingxing Chen
Abstract
Air pollution, especially particle matter (PM) pollution, has caused serious damage to the environment and human health. Recently, polymer nanofiber air filter materials that can effectively remove PM have become one research hotspot. However, the fabrication of polymer nanofiber air filter materials with excellent PM removal efficiency at high temperatures is still a challenge. Herein, a poly(m-phenyleneisophthalamide)/TiO 2 (PMIA/TiO 2 ) composite nanofiber membrane with superior efficiency for PM2.5 removal and high temperature stability was developed. The TiO 2 nanoparticles were selected to add into the PMIA spinning solution in order to regulate the structure and performance of the PMIA/TiO 2 composite nanofiber membrane. The PMIA/TiO 2 composite nanofiber with high roughness exhibited a filtration efficiency of 99.3% for PM2.5 and a pressure drop of 61 Pa. Furthermore, benefiting from the excellent thermal stability of PMIA and TiO 2, the PMIA/TiO 2 composite nanofiber membrane exhibited excellent high temperature stability. The filtration performance of PMIA/TiO 2 composite nanofiber remained stable after being subjected to high temperature conditions (up to 250 °C). This indicates that the PMIA/TiO 2 nanofiber membrane has great potential when applied under high temperature conditions.