Microwave-enabled air filtration published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Leveraging the NJIT’s Technology Innovation Translation and Acceleration (TITA) Program Funding in 2022 for developing high-efficient inactivation of airborne viruses using a microwave-enabled air filtration system, Dr. Zhang group recently published a new paper on “Self-Cleaning Microwave-Responsive MXene-Coated Filtration System for Enhanced Airborne Virus Disinfection” in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. This study introduces a microwave-enabled catalytic air filtration system using Ti₃C₂T_x MXene-coated polypropylene filters to enhance air disinfection. With only 0.05 mg·cm^–2 of MXene coating, the filter surface temperature rapidly reached 104 °C within 3 s under 125 W microwave irradiation. Such surface heating led to a significantly higher log removal value (LRV) (1.86 ± 0.47) of the MS2 bacteriophage in the synthetic bioaerosol with an initial concentration of 10⁵ PFU·mL^–1, compared to 0.24–0.38 achieved by the pristine filter or the MXene-coated filter without microwave irradiation. Additionally, the filter surface exhibited promising self-cleaning behavior, as indicated by the stable viral inactivation and removal efficiency even in high-humidity environments. This innovative air filtration technology shows promising potential for preventing airborne pathogen transmission and protecting public health across diverse environmental conditions and has been applied in the field (e.g., classrooms and gymnastics rooms) as shown in the photos below.

Full paper: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsami.5c02969

The COVID-19 pandemic sparked public health concerns and urgent demands for technologies to combat transmission of the airborne viruses. The widely accepted, existing methods that have success in preventing infection via airborne transmission include physical filtration to capture and trap the air pollutants, which usually do not inactivate microbial agents such as bacteria or viruses. Moreover, most air filters for residential, commercial, and industrial buildings are designed to only capture large airborne particles, e.g., dusts, mold spores, and bacteria, but not to target viral aerosols that are sub-micrometers in size

Dr. Zhang’s group develops innovative microwave-responsive catalysts that have been incorporated into the air filtration process to inactivate the captured microbial agents. Microwave responsive catalysts coated on commercial HVAC filters can absorb microwave energy and produce “hotpots” and reactive species on filter surface. The high temperature “hotpots” and reactive radical species enhance pathogen disinfection. The preliminary results show that the removal of bacteriophage MS2, a surrogate virus that mimics pathogenic viral properties, could be removed by up to 100% on catalyst coated filters under microwave irradiation. This reactive air filtration system could be used in hospitals, commercial or residential buildings and transportation systems (e.g., train/airplane/ship or stations). Besides viral species, a broad range of pathogens such as mold spores and bacteria in bioaerosols could also be inactivated.

The demand for innovative air purifiers with antibacterial and antiviral capabilities has surged due to the pandemic, especially in hospitals, commercial buildings, and transportation systems. The successful commercialization of this technology has meaningful impacts on the efficient removal of airborne pathogens to reduce the spread of infectious diseases and thus reduce the risk of public health. This new concept or design of microwave-enabled reactive air filtration could foster new business innovation and opportunities for commercialization and economic growth. This program aims to increase the number of new homes, including multi-unit and affordable housing built with ventilation and filtration improvements that reduce the risk of infectious disease transmission indoors. A novel microwave-catalytic air filtration system promises significant improvements in pathogen disinfection, achieving up to 99% viral removal. This technology can help mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, potentially reducing U.S. healthcare expenses by 25% or more. Additionally, it opens up opportunities for business innovation and economic growth. 

Selected Funding Sources for this research:

1. 2023-2024 NJIT Technology Innovation Translation and Acceleration (TITA) Seed Grant
2. 2022 NJEDA CSIT Clean Tech Seed Grant RD2
3. 2023-2024 High-efficient inactivation of airborne viruses using a microwave-enabled air filtration system. NJ Health Foundation. Award#: PC 27-23.
4. 2021-2024 EPA P3 Phase I and II grants (SU84015001 and SV84041901)
5. 2021-2023 NJIT’s Undergraduate Research and Innovation (URI) Seed Grant
6. 2020-2024 NSF Molecular Separation (Award number: 2025374)
7. 2020-2021 The U.S. Department of the Interior via Bureau of Reclamation. Agreement number: R19AC00106. 

Selected References:

1. Liu, Fangzhou, Qingquan Ma, Jiahe Zhang, Jian Wang, Dheeban Govindan, Mengqiang Zhao, Cuiling Gao, Yang Li, and Wen Zhang. “Self-Cleaning Microwave-Responsive MXene-Coated Filtration System for Enhanced Airborne Virus Disinfection.” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2025). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c02969
2. Liu, Fangzhou, Qingquan Ma, Md Mohidul Alam Sabuj, Shih-Hsiang Yen, Dheeban Govindan, Jianan Gao, Mengqiang Zhao, Menachem Elimelech, and Wen Zhang. “Revolutionizing Airborne Virus Defense: Electromagnetic MXene-Coated Air Filtration for Superior Aerosol Viral Removal.” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2024). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.3c18227
3. Liu, Fangzhou, Bruce Rittmann, Saachi Kuthari, and Wen Zhang. “Viral inactivation using microwave-enhanced membrane filtration.” Journal of Hazardous Materials 458 (2023): 131966.
4. Fangzhou Liu, Qingquan Ma, Makid Maskawat Marjub, Ashley Kate Suthammanont, Shaobin Sun, Hong Yao, Yi Tao, Wen Zhang. Reactive Air Disinfection Technologies: Principles and Applications in Bioaerosol Removal. ACS ES&T Engineering, 3.5 (2023): 602-615.

5. Fangzhou Liu, Likun Hua, Wen Zhang, Influences of microwave irradiation on performances of membrane filtration and catalytic degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), Environment International, Volume 143, 2020, 105969
6. Wanyi Fu, Wen Zhang. Microwave-enhanced Membrane Filtration for Water Treatment. Journal of Membrane Science. 2018. DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2018.09.064

Honors and Awards

2023 Grand Prize-University Research from American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES)

2022 43rd Edison Patent Award from Research & Development Council of New Jersey