High Temperature Resistance Pre-Oxidized Polyacrylonitrile Nanofiber Membrane for Air Filtration

Abstract To obtain low cost, high efficiency and thermal stable fiber filter, pre-oxidized PAN (OPAN) nanofiber membrane was prepared based on PAN nanofiber membrane through thermal stabilization treatment. The morphology, air permeability, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, thermogravimetric and filtration performance of the nanofiber membrane were characterized. The results showed that reactions such as dehydrogenation, cyclization and pyrolysis occurred during the thermal stabilization of PAN, which reduced the average diameter of the nanofiber, the thickness and air permeability of the nanofiber membrane. In the same time, a trapezoidal molecular structure with excellent heat resistance was formed, which made OPAN fiber having the property of high temperature resistant. When the mass loss of the OPAN nanofiber was 5%, the corresponding temperature was as high as 398 oC. In addition, the OPAN nanofiber filter had an excellent filtration performance. For the particles with a median particle size of 0.26 µm, the filtration efficiency was up to 89.2% and the filtration resistance was only 87.4 Pa.