Electrocharged facepiece respirator fabrics using common materials

TL;DR

This paper introduces practical, accessible methods for fabricating electrocharged filtration layers for N95 masks using common materials and simple cotton candy-like setups, addressing mask shortages during COVID-19.

Contribution

It presents a novel, easy-to-implement fabrication approach for electrocharged mask fabrics using widely available materials and simple equipment, enabling broader production.

Findings

Fabricated fabrics show promising filtration properties.

Design principles allow easy replication with common parts.

Electrocharged fabrics can be made from recycled plastics.

Abstract

Face masks in general, and N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FRs) that protect against SARS-Cov-2 virion in particular, have become scarce during the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. This work presents practical design principles for the fabrication of electrocharged filtration layers employed in N95 FRs using commonly available materials and easily replicable methods. The input polymer is polypropylene or polystyrene, and can include discarded plastic containers of these materials, and the fabrication setup is based on the cotton candy (CC) principle. The primary parameters underlying the CC principle are translated to simple design rules that allow anyone to construct their own fabrication system from common parts, or employ a commercial cotton candy machine with minimal modifications. Finally, basic characterization results for structural and filtration properties of electrocharged fabrics made using the CC principle are detailed.