The researchers of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, have contrived a ‘Nanometer Thick Super hydrophobic Coating’ material in order to secure the populace from the existing COVID-19 disease.
What will the Coating do?
The Coating will provide extra security by adapting the simple material of cloth or fabric and will provide better defence from the aerosol-driven infections like coronavirus along with providing a non-suffocating experience.
According to the guidelines by the World Health Organization (WHO), the N95 or double masking is a necessity for better protection against the deadly Coronavirus.
How feasible is the initiative?
A lot of people often complain about being suffocated while wearing the mask whereas there are a section of people who are not that privileged to afford different masks.
Therefore, keeping these things in vision and to introduce a safer and pocket friendly alternative, the researchers of the IIT Guwahati have come up with this blessed invention.
About the mask:
The mask will be developed by a coating material to modify the easily-available cloth mask into a hydrophobic mask to repel virus-laden droplets and avoid breathing difficulties even when worn for a longer period of time.
According to the researchers, the mask will be versatile and can be used with other additives such as antibacterial nanomaterial for additional protection against viruses.
Statements:
Prof. Arun Chattopadhyay, Department of Chemistry and Centre for Nanotechnology, IIT Guwahati, said, “A cloth mask is largely porous to aerosol and thus cannot effectively prevent COVID-19 type infection. Although they are still better than wearing no mask, an improved version that would prevent the entry or exit of the aerosol from the modified cloth mask was needed. We have worked on that based on the principle of repulsion of the aerosol by the modified cloth while allowing the air to flow through the mask. A simple coating of the hydrophobic molecule on the silk cloth worked well here.”
