RAPID: Design, Fabrication, and Testing a Prototype of Heatable Face Mask for Preventing Respiratory Diseases Contracted through Airborne

目前，由于COVID-19疫情在美国爆发，个人防护设备（尤其是口罩）严重短缺。统计数据显示，每位COVID-19患者平均每天消耗17个由医务人员佩戴的口罩。这一流行病还影响到军事和惩戒设施的人员。COVID-19后的预测描述了在感染和死亡人数曲线变平和下降后很长一段时间内都需要口罩。在很长一段时间内，在工作场所、购物中心和公共活动中佩戴口罩将成为一种新常态。与此同时，随着巨大的需求，口罩价格也在大幅上涨。该项目旨在设计和制造一种可加热和可重复使用的口罩原型，该口罩可以杀死口罩表面的病毒，从而防止它们渗透到人体呼吸系统中。这是通过高于病毒致死温度的电阻加热来实现的。将使用由工程碳纳米材料制成的薄而透气的仇恨膜，该膜是多孔的，可以改装或放置在任何商业面罩的外表面上。这种可加热的过滤器由便携式电池或手机供电，并与面部皮肤隔热。该口罩可以在佩戴或储存时通电消毒。具有不同背景的学院以及本科生和研究生，最终将涉及一些行业。该提案的主要目的是制造和测试一种可加热的多孔碳纳米管空气过滤器，该过滤器被纳入市售的N95呼吸器或其他面罩中，适用于处理病原体的医护人员。焦耳加热由从垂直对齐的碳纳米管阵列中拉出的几层碳纳米管片组成的薄膜产生，然而也可以采用其他碳纳米管片材料，如巴基纸。直接作用在多孔碳纳米管加热器表面的性能温度被设计为不超过85 ℃，这将足以阻止SARS-CoV-2。当佩戴加热面罩时，所选的透气隔热层将使该温度降低至无害的37 °C。当防护设备在使用后通过加热30秒而激活时，这里提出了面罩操作的第二种模式，这将对储存的面罩进行消毒以供再次使用。本提案的目的将通过追求以下目标来实现：（a）设计和制造可透气的碳纳米管加热器，该加热器是灵活的，并且需要低电压来通过便携式电池或手机供电;（B）将多孔碳纳米管加热器集成到商业口罩中;（c）测试空气流速和口罩对病毒替代物的有效性，以及其佩戴的安全性。拟议工作的智力价值在于将多孔碳纳米管加热器与传统面罩合并，从而将其转换为可重复使用的个人防护设备，这是首次提出。这种面罩在其他商业面部防护设备中没有替代品。该提议的更广泛的影响可以在本发明的面罩的多用途中找到，预计这不仅对医疗保健提供者有益，而且对暴露于生物武器的军事人员有益，以及对预防引起COVID-19的病毒的公众有益。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Currently, there is a significant shortage of Personal Protective Equipment, particularly face masks, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The statistic shows that one COVID-19 patient consumes on average 17 face masks per day worn by the medical personnel. The pandemic is also affecting personnel in military and correction facilities. The post COVID-19 forecast describes that the face masks will be required long after the infection and death toll curve is flattened and declines. Wearing face masks will become a new norm for a long period of time at workplaces, shopping centers, and public events. Simultaneously, with the huge demand, face mask prices are increasing dramatically. This project is targeting the design and fabrication of a prototype of heatable and reusable face mask that can kill viruses caught on the mask surfaces thus preventing their penetration within the human respiratory system. This is achieved through resistive heating above the virus lethal temperature. A thin and breathable hater film made of engineered carbon nanomaterials will be used, which is porous and can be retrofitted or placed on the outer surface of any commercial face mask. This heatable filter is powered by a portable battery or a cell phone and is thermally insulated from facial skin. The mask can be energized when worn by the user or in storage to disinfect it. Faculties with diverse background as well as undergraduate and graduate students, and eventually some industries, will be involved in this project. The main objective of the proposal is to fabricate and test a heatable and porous carbon nanotube air filter incorporated into a commercially available N95 respirator or other face masks that are suitable for healthcare workers dealing with pathogens. The Joule heating is generated by a thin film consisting of a few layers of carbon nanotube sheet drawn from vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays, however other carbon nanotube sheet materials like Bucky paper can be also employed. The performance temperature directly on the surface of the porous carbon nanotube heater is designed not to exceed 85 °C, which will be enough to inactivate SARS-CoV-2. The selected breathable insulating layers will attenuate this temperature down to the harmless 37 °C when wearing the heated mask. A second mode of the mask operation is proposed here when the protective equipment after use is activated by heating for 30 seconds which will disinfect the stored mask for reuse. The objective of this proposal will be achieved by pursuing the following aims: (a) design and fabricate a breathable carbon nanotube heater that is flexible and requires low voltage for powering via a portable battery or cell phone; (b) integrate the porous carbon nanotube heater into commercial masks; (c) test the air flow rate and the effectiveness of the mask to inactivate virus surrogates, and its safety to be worn. The intellectual merit of the proposed work is seen in the merging of a porous carbon nanotube heater with a conventional face mask, thus converting it to a reusable Personal Protective Equipment, which is proposed here for the first time. This mask does not have an alternative among other commercial face protective equipment. The broader impact of this proposal can be found in the multipurpose use of the invented face mask, which is expected to be beneficial not only for healthcare providers, but also for military personnel exposed to biological weapons, as well as for the general public preventing viruses causing COVID-19. Faculties with diverse background as well as undergraduate and graduate students, and eventually some industries, will be involved in this project.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.