Studies on soy protein isolate/polyvinyl alcohol hybrid nanofiber membranes as multi-functional eco-friendly filtration materials

Highlights: • Biodegradable filtration membranes were prepared. • Polar groups in the membrane surface helped capture fine particles. • Loading filtration efficiency can reach 99.99% in the case of small pressure drop. • Filtration membrane showed antimicrobial activity to Escherichia coli. - Abstract: A biodegradable and multifunctional air filtration membrane was prepared by electrospinning of soy protein isolate (SPI)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) system in this paper. The optimized SPI/PVA proportion in the spinning solution was determined according to the analyses of microstructure, surface chemical characteristic and mechanical property of the hybrid nanofiber membranes. Under the preferred preparation condition, two kinds of polymer materials displayed a good compatibility in the hybrid nanofibers, and a large number of polar groups existed in the membrane surface. The loading filtration efficiency of the nanofiber membrane with optimal material ratio and areal density can reach 99.99% after test of 30 min for fine particles smaller than 2.5 μm in the case of small pressure drop. Besides, this kind of filtration membrane showed an antimicrobial activity to Escherichia coli in the study. The SPI/PVA hybrid nanofiber membrane with proper material composition and microstructure can be used as a new type of high performance eco-friendly filtration materials.