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Chao Deng, Yuanqiang Xu, Juliana Martins de Souza e Silva, Hoang Thinh Nguyen, Murilo Izidoro Santos, Yu Song, Holger Schmalz, Rika Schneider, Alina Hering, Markus Langner, Ralf B. Wehrspohn, Andreas Greiner

Advanced Functional Materials, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202511218

The use of air filters to remove particulate matter (PM) is a crucial strategy for protecting public health. However, designing fiber-based filters often requires balancing filtration efficiency and pressure drop, which remains a significant challenge. Inspired by the microstructure of penguin feathers, this study presents a scalable and innovative wet-laid hybrid fibrous network (WHFN) air filter with a biomimetic structure. During the wet-laid process, an amphiphilic diblock copolymer (DBCP) is used to regulate the surface charge and surface energy of hydrophobic electrospun short fibers, effectively mitigating fiber aggregation in water-based processing systems. Simultaneously, electrostatic repulsion ensures that the large pores formed between coarse staple fibers are evenly partitioned by electrospun short fibers, resulting in a hybrid fibrous network structure with a uniform pore distribution. The WHFNs demonstrate excellent performance, including high filtration efficiency (91.91% for PM₁ and 100% for PM_2.5), low pressure drop (92.6 Pa), and robust mechanical strength (7.5 MPa). This work offers a simple and efficient strategy for fabricating high-performance wet-laid filters with promising applications.