Graphene oxide is designed to trap pathogens through absorption

In this article Graphene Composites’ CEO and co-founder, Sandy Chen, explains how coating air filters with a novel graphene oxide silver nanoparticle formulation can upcycle a HVAC’s anti-pathogen performance by protecting against viruses, bacteria and mould

The story starts March of 2020 at the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. The country was locked down and everybody was looking for ways to help. At the time, Graphene Composites was working with Brown University on a formulation of graphene oxide to stop mosquito bites by treating nets.

That work triggered a thought: with modifications to the formulation, could graphene oxide help kill Corona virus? Amid supplier and supply chain restrictions, work started on developing and testing formulations and, after 12-months work, the company had confirmation that a formulation was close to 100 per cent effective.

The next question was how would the technology be deployed. The answer was to replace standard HVAC air filters with augmented versions incorporating the graphene oxide formulation. GC Halo was born.

Graphene Composites spent the following period developing and testing the technology to ensure it was safe, effective and capable of  accommodating the lengthy and detailed regulatory approvals processes which apply in different regions of the world.

Coronavirus airflow tests conducted by leading California-based Innovative Bioanalysis showed that a GC Halo coated air filter achieved a significant amount of reduction after a single air pass and in their words “the decline of SARS-CoV-2 in the air was consistent with the manufacturer’s claims that the air filter can decrease the concentration of active pathogens in the air”. The GC Halo coated air filter reduced viable airborne SARS-CoV-2 by 77 per cent  in a single pass in a ventilation duct airflow. This is expected to increase with additional passes.

An important discovery during testing was that GC Halo is a broadband antipathogen which is effective against most viruses, bacteria and fungus. This means the technology can deliver a broad improvement in air quality, simply by swapping a filter.

In separate tests conducted by global laboratories SGS against mould (Aspergillus brasiliensis), the GC Halo coated air filter achieved 99.99 per cent fungicidal efficacy, or as SGS reported 10x more effective than an ‘excellent’ rating.

Read the full article here https://sustainable.engineering/Magazine/sustainable-engineering/august-2024

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