Regenerative face mask with long shelf life and long service time for effective coronavirus filtration

Project Summary/Abstract: PolyK Technologies, LLC SBIR Phase I The outbreak of COVID-19 causes a soaring increase in demand of N95 masks, which can effectively filter out over 95% of coronavirus. Despite the dramatic supply-demand gap has been temporarily suppressed by the use of vaccines, the virus mutation and the misinformation holding back people from receiving the vaccine add complexity to the battle against the COVID virus. Currently, the infection rate begins to rise sharply in several states, and the mask mandate is being reinstated. It is unclear whether the looming increase of mask demands can be fulfilled. The electrostatic filter is the key element rendering N95 masks effective against minuscular airborne containminats, but also the one limiting the service time of the N95 masks. N95 masks have to be discarded after daily use (once surface charges are dissipated) and cannot be resued by cleaning or disinfection. Inspired by our experience in piezoelectric polymers, this project will develop a novel piezo/pyro filter for N95 masks. The piezo/pyro filters can generate can continuously generate substantial surface charges during breathing, therefore enabling effective filtration against minuscular COVID virus even after repetitive sanitization and sterilization. This project will address any shortage of N95 masks and similar PPE once and for all, by providing genuine resuable piezo masks with with high filtration efficacy, long service time, and regeneration capability (reusable after disinfection without sacrificing the filtration performance).