14 DAY TRIAL // China is currently dealing with a serious air pollution crisis. In fact, all major urban areas have a whole lot of dangerous compounds and particles hovering over them and threatening to take their toll on people's health.
Looking to solve this problem, researcher Yi Cui with Stanford University and his team turned their attention to developing a new generation of air filters. Interestingly enough, they found that something as simple as surgical gloves might hold the key to fighting air pollution.
How surgical gloves could make cities more people-friendly
In a study published in the journal Nature Communications, Stanford University scientist Yi Cui and fellow researchers explain that, looking to find a simple solution to curbing air pollution, they turned their attention to a material dubbed polyacrylonitrile.
This material, more commonly referred to simply as PAN, is usually used to make surgical gloves. In a series of laboratory experiments, the scientists found that it can also be used to remove the main components of smog from the air people breathe.
Thus, the researchers say that, when converted into spider web-like fibers whose diameter is a thousand times smaller than that of the average human hair, this material can successfully remove particle matter and other smog components from the air.
Specifically, it appears that, when in spider web-like form, PAN can collect about 99% of the harmful particles coming its way. What's more, specialist Yi Cui and his colleagues argue that the material can absorb the particle equivalent of 10 times its weight.
“It was mostly by luck, but we found that PAN had the characteristics we were looking for, and it is breathtakingly strong,” study co-author Po-Chun Hsu said in a statement. “The fiber just keeps accumulating particles, and can collect 10 times its own weight,” added the researcher.
Potential uses of this innovative material
The Stanford University scientists behind this research project imagine using PAN to make personal masks or new and improved air filtration systems for buildings such as hospitals. Seeing how it has a transparency of 70%, the material could also be used to make window shades that block air pollution.
This means that, even if they live in heavily polluted areas, people might still have a chance to breathe in fresh air and not smog when opening their windows to cool off a tad. In time, this small change could yield significant health benefits.
In the report detailing their work, specialist Yi Cui and his team argue that, provided that it is robust enough to survive being repeatedly hit by acidic and toxic compounds, PAN might even help make cars and power plants more environmentally friendly by filtering their exhaust.
