Long-lifespan and sterilizable face masks leveraging the power of light and electricity

•CP present a highly germicidal, self-charging, and long-lifespan based on the synergistic effect of light and electricity.•The photocatalytic sterilization of CP reaches 99.999% against E. coli and S. aureus.•The filtration lifespan of CP is extened to 30 h, 6–7 times longer than surgical masks. The rapidly evolving virus and worsening air pollution have created a huge demand for face masks. However, most commercial masks are limited in their ability of long-time filtering air particulates and killing pathogens. We here present a highly germicidal, self-charging, and long-lifespan mask based on the synergistic effect of light (photocatalysis of CuO-ZIF-8) and electricity (piezoelectricity of PVDF-TrFE). Specifically, we synthesize CuO-ZIF-8 nanomaterials that are 99.999 % bactericidal against E. coli and S. aureus in PBS buffer under 2 h of simulated solar irradiation. Air filters made of CuO-ZIF-8 nanocubes and PVDF-TrFE nanofibers possess a low pressure drop of 90 Pa and high filtration efficiency of 99.01 % for 0.3 µm particles thanks to the piezoelectric energy conversion from breathing to electric charge accumulation. The filtration efficiency keeps up to 94.2 % for an ultralong 30 h, 6–7 times longer than surgical masks. This work sheds new light on developing public protective materials featured with photocatalytic antibacterial and piezoelectric enhanced adsorption.