Sunlight-Driven Rechargeable Antibacterial and Antiviral Helical-Encapsulated Nanofiber Air Filtration Composite Membranes with Ultralong Storage Stability

Most personal protective equipment is absent of adequate antibacterial and antiviral activity and sufficient storage stability. This limits the effectiveness in preventing the spread and infection of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). In this study, we report a multifunctional helical encapsulated nanofiber composite membrane (HENM) with ultralong photoactive storage capability as well as rechargeable antibacterial and antiviral activities. HENM rapidly releases reactive oxygen species (ROS) under both light and dark conditions and can be stored for a longer period. This ensures the pharmacological stability of the photoactive agent and thus provides an “ultralong standby” killing function. The resultant HENM demonstrated long-term photoactive storage (>5 months), stable ROS release, high encapsulation efficiency (95.62%), and rapid charging rate (•OH 288.35 and H2O2 8.86 μg/(g·min)). Moreover, its particle interception and antibacterial and antiviral efficacy reach >99.99%, >99.99%, and >99.97% respectively. This HENM enables the function as a scalable biocidal layer for protective equipment, facilitating contact killing of pathogens in both aerosol and liquid forms. The successful synthesis of these fascinating HENMs provides ideas for developing sustainable protective materials with ultralong light-active storage, air filtration, self-charging capability, and adaptive forms.