Image courtesy of Swoxid SA
Image courtesy of Swoxid SA - Filter "paper" made from titanium oxide nanowires is capable of trapping pathogens and destroying them with light. This discovery by an EPFL laboratory could be put to use in personal protective equipment, as well as in ventilation and air conditioning systems. As part of attempts to curtail the Covid-19 pandemic, paper masks are increasingly being made mandatory. Their relative effectiveness is no longer in question, but their widespread use has a number of drawbacks. These include the environmental impact of disposable masks made from layers of non-woven polypropylene plastic microfibres. Moreover, they merely trap pathogens instead of destroying them. "In a hospital setting, these masks are placed in special bins and handled appropriately," says László Forró, head of EPFL's Laboratory of Physics of Complex Matter.
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