Engineering Graphene Oxide/Water Interface from First Principles to Experiments for Electrostatic Protective Composites

Engineering Graphene Oxide/Water Interface from First Principles to Experiments for Electrostatic Protective Composites

Luca Valentini, Silvia Bittolo Bon, Giacomo Giorgi

From the global spread of COVID-19 we learned that SARS-CoV-2 virus can be transmitted via respiratory liquid droplets. In this study, we performed first-principles calculations suggesting that water molecules once in contact with the graphene oxide (GO) layer interact with its functional groups, therefore, developing an electric field induced by the heterostructure formation. Experiments on GO polymer composite film supports the theoretical findings, showing that the interaction with water aerosol generates a voltage output signal of up to −2 V. We then developed an electrostatic composite fiber by the coagulation method mixing GO with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). These findings could be used to design protective fabrics with antiviral activity against negatively charged spike proteins of airborne viruses.

2020

graphene oxide, mechanical properties, electrical properties, composite fibers, water interface

10.3390/polym12071596

Epidemiology and Health

Korean Society of Epidemiology

Organic chemistry