Ana Claudia Bortolassi

Dr. Ana Claudia Bortolassi


Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

8Years (2019-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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6 December 2019 in Nanomaterials
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
ABAna Claudia Bortolassi
Ana Claudia Bortolassi
VGVadila Guerra
Vadila Guerra
MAMonica Lopes Aguiar
Monica Lopes Aguiar
LSLaurence Soussan
Laurence Soussan
DCDavid Cornu
David Cornu
Mikhael BECHELANYMikhael BECHELANY
Mikhael BECHELANY
Often, solid matter is separated from particle-laden flow streams using electrospun filters due to their high specific surface area, good ability to capture aerial particulate matter, and low material costs. Moreover, electrospinning allows incorporating nanoparticles to improve the filter’s air filtration efficiency and bacterial removal. Therefore, a new, improved polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers membrane that could be used to remove air pollutants and also with antibacterial activity was developed. We engineered three different filters that are characterized by the different particles embedded in the PAN nanofibers: titanium dioxide (TiO2), zinc oxide (ZnO), and silver (Ag). Then, their filtration performance was assessed by quantifying the filtration of sodium chloride (NaCl) aerosol particles of 9 to 300 nm in diameter using a scanning mobility particle sizer. The TiO2_F filter displayed the smallest fiber diameter and the highest filtration efficiency (≈100%). Conversely, the Ag_F filter showed the highest quality factor (≈0.06 Pa−1) because of the lower air pressure drop. The resulting Ag_F nanofibers displayed a very good antibacterial activity using an Escherichia coli suspension (108 CFU/mL). Moreover, the quality factor of these membranes was higher than that of the commercially available nanofiber membrane for air filtration.