title: Tailoring Supramolecular Nanofibers for Air Filtration Applications.
abstract: The demand of new materials and processes for nanofiber fabrication to enhance the performance of air filters is steadily increasing. Typical approaches to obtain nanofibers are based on top-down processes such as melt blowing, centrifugal spinning, and electrospinning of polymer materials. However, fabrication of polymer nanofibers is limited with respect to either a sufficiently high throughput or the smallest achievable fiber diameter. This study reports comprehensively on a fast and simple bottom-up process to prepare supramolecular nanofibers in situ inside viscose/polyester microfiber nonwovens. Here, selected small molecules of the materials class of 1,3,5-benzenetrisamides are employed. The microfiber-nanofiber composites exhibit a homogeneous nanofiber distribution and morphology throughout the entire nonwoven scaffold. Small changes in molecular structure and processing solvent have a strong influence on the final nanofiber diameter and diameter distribution and, consequently, on the filtration performance. Choosing proper processing conditions, microfiber-nanofiber composites with surprisingly high filtration efficiencies of particulate matter are obtained. In addition, the microfiber-nanofiber composite integrity at elevated temperatures was determined and revealed that the morphology of supramolecular nanofibers is maintained compared to that of the utilized polymer nonwoven.
authors.affiliation: Macromolecular Chemistry I, ‡Bayreuth Institute of Macromolecular Research, and §Bayreuth Center for Colloids and Interfaces, University of Bayreuth , 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.affiliation: Macromolecular Chemistry I, ‡Bayreuth Institute of Macromolecular Research, and §Bayreuth Center for Colloids and Interfaces, University of Bayreuth , 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Skrybeck
authors.affiliation: Macromolecular Chemistry I, ‡Bayreuth Institute of Macromolecular Research, and §Bayreuth Center for Colloids and Interfaces, University of Bayreuth , 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Misslitz
authors.affiliation: Macromolecular Chemistry I, ‡Bayreuth Institute of Macromolecular Research, and §Bayreuth Center for Colloids and Interfaces, University of Bayreuth , 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nardini
authors.affiliation: Macromolecular Chemistry I, ‡Bayreuth Institute of Macromolecular Research, and §Bayreuth Center for Colloids and Interfaces, University of Bayreuth , 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kern
authors.affiliation: Macromolecular Chemistry I, ‡Bayreuth Institute of Macromolecular Research, and §Bayreuth Center for Colloids and Interfaces, University of Bayreuth , 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kreger
authors.affiliation: Macromolecular Chemistry I, ‡Bayreuth Institute of Macromolecular Research, and §Bayreuth Center for Colloids and Interfaces, University of Bayreuth , 95440 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Werner
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Schmidt
keywords: air filtration; microfiber−nanofiber composites; nanofibers; particulate matter; supramolecular materials