Copper Nanowire Infused Facemasks*

The COVID 19 pandemic has created high demand for face masks. The goal is to develop a method for reusing or recycling old masks into new masks for continued use without pathogens they collect. Most masks are made of a type of polypropylene that can be melted to a temperature that would kill bacteria. Ideally, hospitals could take the melted plastic and make their own masks. One method includes electrospinning, which is placing a high voltage on a metal plate and as the plastic polarizes it will attract to the metal plate as a thin string, creating a woven mesh for use as a mask again.
Copper has shown to be extremely effective as an antibacterial material. Most metals and common surfaces allow viruses similar to COVID 19 to last for several days and copper kills all virus and bacteria within 4 hours¹. Allowing copper nanowires to be mixed into the polypropylene for distribution in the masks helps improve the masks. Needing to melt the masks repetitively would be more effort than leaving the mask to sanitize.