Electrostatically charged mask

History

2023: Product Announcement

At the end of February 2023, scientists at the City University of Hong Kong presented an electrostatically charged face mask that can replenish its charge by breathing the user.

Electrostatic charge helps the mask adsorb the smallest particles, such as SARS-CoV-2 viruses. To solve the problem, researchers at the City University of Hong Kong created a mask with two layers of triboelectric nylon tissue that replenish the charge when the layers move back and forth while breathing.

Electrostatic mask prototype

Masks for February 2023 can provide protection against airborne viruses for much longer than conventional masks, increasing the safety of medical personnel and reducing waste. The technology scientists use in the device involves electrostatic adsorption, where electrostatic charge helps tiny particles stick to the mask, complementing the mechanical filtration that masks provide. However, this electrostatic charge is depleted over time, especially in wet conditions that are difficult to avoid in what you breathe through. This means that masks may not provide optimal protection for the entire period of wearing, as well as the fact that masks have to be changed often, which leads to the formation of waste.

Face mask technology supports protection against viral particles by generating an electric charge against breathing movement and is based on triboelectric layers of nylon tissue that can create an electric charge when moved.

According to one of the researchers, Yang Zhengbao, when the middle layer moves back and forth between the side layers during breathing, charge transfer occurs between polyvinylidene fluoride and nylon due to their large difference in electron affinity, as a result of which the polyvinylidene fluoride layer charges negatively and the nylon layers - positively. Zhengbao added that it is this self-charging process that provides continuous replenishment of electrostatic charges and prolonged electrostatic adsorption.^[1]

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