Researchers at the University of Chicago have revealed which materials are best at filtering out aerosol particles for those making their own masks. They say a combination of two fabrics are the most effective.
A combination of cotton with natural silk or chiffon can effectively filter out aerosol particles, as long as the fit is good, according to their study, which was published in ACS Nano.
Using an aerosol mixing chamber to produce particles ranging from 10 nm to 6 μm in diameter, and a fan to blow the aerosol across various cloth samples at an airflow rate corresponding to a person’s respiration at rest, they measured the number and size of particles in the air before and after passing through the fabric.
They found that one layer of a tightly woven cotton sheet combined with two layers of polyester-spandex chiffon, a material that many evening gowns are made of, filtered out the most aerosol particles (80-99%, depending on particle size), with performance close to that of an N95 mask material.
They reportedly produced similar results by substituting the chiffon with natural silk or flannel, or by just using a cotton quilt with cotton-polyester batting.
>> Read the original article here
Source: ACS Pressroom
