Using Graphene Oxide to Efficiently Filter Particulate Matter at High Concentrations

Air pollution is currently one of the biggest environmental challenges around the world. Air pollution not only causes detrimental effects to the human body but also endangers the natural environment. Many have proposed and created various methods to solve this problem, but none of them have worked very effectively. Following the discovery of graphene, scientists began to apply the use of this carbon material to address different kinds of problems. Using graphene oxide to combat air pollution, we prepared graphene oxide, which we then spread onto a commercial air filter, and used this air filter to purify air polluted with particulate matter (PM) of various diameters (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, or PM_1.0). We observed that filters with the addition of graphene oxide were able to purify polluted air containing PM at concentrations above 3000\ \mu g/m³, a concentration above which commercially available filters cannot. The efficiency of graphene oxide-treated filters was much greater than commercially available filters. Based on our data, we proposed a mechanism by which graphene oxide can effectively diminish the amount of PM in the air.