COVID-19: Indoor light-activated, self-cleaning surfaces for continuous decontamination of transparent PPE

目前的疫情突显了一线工作人员佩戴个人防护装备的重要性，以保护他们和公众免受病毒传播。这种个人防护用品大部分是由透明塑料制成的(面罩、隔板、窗户等)它们防止通过咳嗽、打喷嚏等雾化液滴在人与人之间直接传播。然而，它们不能通过间接接触(例如，用徒手或手套接触受污染的口罩，然后接触你的眼睛)来预防感染。此外，许多其他表面也可以作为间接接触传输的热点。为了避免这些间接接触途径，滑铁卢大学的研究人员与Everloak Inc.合作，提议开发一种透明涂层，可以应用于个人防护用品和其他高风险表面，并能够杀灭SARS-CoV-2和其他微生物。在使用过程中，当使用环境中的室内光线照射时，薄膜会持续发挥作用。虽然自清洁窗户的概念已经被广泛商业化，但由于紫外线激活的要求，这种涂层只能在阳光直射下工作。在这次合作中开发的基于超薄2D材料半导体的涂层将在室内光线条件下运行(不需要紫外线)，并在医院或杂货店等室内环境中实现表面自动清洁。除了新冠肺炎危机，这种涂层还可以用来为其他商业产品去污，比如手机、平板电脑和自助服务亭的触摸屏，它们应该会显著降低疾病传播的风险。

The current pandemic has highlighted the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers to protect both them and the public from transmitting the virus. Most of this PPE is made of clear plastic (face shields, dividers, windows, etc.) which prevent direct person-to-person transmission via aerosolized fluid droplets via coughs, sneezes, etc. However, they do not protect against infection by indirect contact (e.g., touching a contaminated mask with bare hands or gloves then touching your eye). Furthermore, many other surfaces may also act as hotspots for indirect contact transmission. To avoid these indirect exposure routes, researchers at the University of Waterloo in collaboration with Evercloak Inc. propose to develop a transparent coating which can be applied to PPE and other high risk surfaces and is capable of killing SARS-CoV-2 and other microbes. The films act continuously during use when illuminated with ambient, indoor light. While the concept of self-cleaning windows has been widely commercialized, such coatings only work under direct sunlight due to the requirement of UV activation. The coatings developed in this collaboration based on ultra-thin 2D material semiconductors will, instead, operate under indoor light conditions (no UV required) and enable self-cleaning surfaces in an indoor environment such as a hospital or grocery store. Beyond the COVID-19 crisis, such coatings can also be used to decontaminate other commercial products like touch screens of phones, tablets and kiosks and should significantly reduce the risk of disease transmission.