The consumption of disposable facemask increased drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic. People have become accustomed to wearing cotton face masks in public places, which could have been contaminated with viruses and bacteria. These stick viruses to the mask could be transferred elsewhere when the wearer removes or touches it. Researchers have successfully modified cotton substrated to solve this problem that kills up to 99.9999% of bacteria and viruses within 60 minutes of daylight exposure.
The developed fabrics with durable and reusable daylight-induced antibacterial/antiviral functions employ strong electrostatic interaction between cationic cotton fibers and anionic photosensitizers to get the desired results. The cationic cotton contains polycationic short chains produced by a self-propagation of 2-diehtylaminoehtyl chloride (DEAE-Cl) on cotton fibers’ surface.
The biocidal properties of the photo-induced fabrics (PIFs) were promising. The PIFs achieved 99.9999% reductions against bacteria and the bacteriophage within 60 min of daylight exposure. Moreover, the PIFs showcase excellent washability and photostability, making them ideal materials for reusable face masks and protective suits with improved biological protections compared with traditional PPE.
Further testing showed that the material could be hand-washed at least ten times and constantly exposed to Daylight for at least seven days without losing its antimicrobial activity. The fabric shows promise for making reusable, antibacterial/antiviral cloth face masks and protective suits.
