Nanotechnology-Enhanced Face Masks: Future Scopes and Perspectives

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has shown that a disposable surgical face mask is a good protective wall against infection due to its ability to prevent virus transmission from sick to healthy people. Nevertheless, these surgical masks are disposable, not ecofriendly, and are single-use items. The use and disposal of traditional masks lead to high secondary risks such as environmental pollution, pathogen transmission, overload demands, and user discomfort. Nanotechnology is one of the most investigated strategies to safely and economically reuse masks in the 21st century. These strategies are based on four key elements as follows: (1) super mechanical properties that give masks flexibility, durability, and good lifetime storage; (2) high thermal properties that give masks heat self-sterilization; (3) an electric charge controller that gives masks triboelectric (TE) filtration; and (4) response to the antimicrobial effect that stays in the mask before, during, and after safe use. These properties give new-generation masks the ability to remove the drawbacks of traditional surgical masks, such as microbial growth and low filtration efficiency. The graphene family has introduced the self-sterilization and TE effects of surgical masks. Silver nanoparticles have supported antimicrobial effects. Nanofiber membranes are fabricated to have a high surface area that improves the fiber diameter and porosity ratio. A traditional mask could only block a maximum of 50% of the exhaled viruses, but a nanofiber-based mask has been tested to intercept 90% to 99% of particle viruses while breathing during use. Complex nanocomposite materials have succeeded in collecting all these advantages.