Antibacterial nano-fibers of carbon quantum dot/titanium dioxide by electrospinning for the removal of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds

The rapid development of industrial activities has led to the release of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds, the two major anthropogenic pollutants in the atmosphere. To degrade those air pollutants, photocatalysts are commonly used; a high photocatalytic activity is beneficial for enhanced degradation of air pollutants. In this study, electrospinning technology was used to combine the QD/TiO2 with both polyimide (PI) and polyethersulfone (PES) to form a PI/PES nano-fiber membrane. The Taguchi method was applied to calculate four operational parameters (PI/PES content, QD/TiO2 content, operational voltage, and electrospinning time) with three levels for nine combinations of experimental conditions. The optimal electrospinning conditions of the QD/TiO2@PI/PES module comprised 40 wt% PI/PES and 5 wt% QD/TiO2 in the electrospinning solution, and the operational voltage of 20 kV and electrospinning time of 2 h was applied to obtain filtration efficiency and quality of 99.60 % and 0.151. The degradation rates of methylene blue and acetone were 45.5% and 87% with photocatalysis reaction via QD/TiO2@PI/PES. In the antibacterial test, QD/TiO2 was highly efficient in inactivating Staphylococcus aureus (100%) under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation of 4 h. Therefore, QD/TiO2@PI/PES membrane showed great potential in medical and industrial applications for the elimination of both particulate matter and volatile organic compounds.