Graphene enhanced face mask in resealable plastic pouch

Prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, in the UK, facemasks were rarely seen in public or outside medical settings.

During 2020, face masks were widely adopted in many countries as it became known that the virus was spread by airborne transmission. In England, mask wearing, where social distancing was not possible, was made mandatory from July 2020 and ended a year and a half later in January 2022 (Wales and Scotland mandated different timeframes).

To preserve supplies for healthcare staff, the government stressed that the face coverings to be worn by the public should not be surgical masks. This prompted engineers, scientists, and manufacturers to design and produce face masks for the public.

Many employers made resources, such as facemasks, sanitisers and testing kits, available with the aim of keeping their workforce safe at work. The University of Manchester distributed, for free, these branded masks to its staff and students. The masks include a layer of Polygrene, with the addition of an advanced graphene-based material, Nanene. In lab studies, graphene has been shown to incapacitate fungi, viruses and bacteria. Polygrene was developed by 2D-Tech, part of Versarien PLC, which is a spin-out company of the University of Manchester. They were manufactured by Varsarien and Qingdao Mejinene Carbon New Material Technology Co Ltd in China.

Graphene, the one-atom-thick, two-dimensional carbon crystal of graphite, was first isolated at the University of Manchester by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov in 2004. As well as its ability to incapacitate viruses, other properties of graphene that make it useful in textiles such as these face masks are that it is stronger than steel yet lightweight and flexible, conducts heat and is transparent.

Prior to the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, in the UK, facemasks were rarely seen in public or outside medical settings.

During 2020, face masks were widely adopted in many countries as it became known that the virus was spread by airborne transmission. In England, mask wearing, where social distancing was not possible, was made mandatory from July 2020 and ended a year and a half later in January 2022 (Wales and Scotland mandated different timeframes).

To preserve supplies for healthcare staff, the government stressed that the face coverings to be worn by the public should not be surgical masks. This prompted engineers, scientists, and manufacturers to design and produce face masks for the public.

Many employers made resources, such as facemasks, sanitisers and testing kits, available with the aim of keeping their workforce safe at work. The University of Manchester distributed, for free, these branded masks to its staff and students. The masks include a layer of Polygrene, with the addition of an advanced graphene-based material, Nanene. In lab studies, graphene has been shown to incapacitate fungi, viruses and bacteria. Polygrene was developed by 2D-Tech, part of Versarien PLC, which is a spin-out company of the University of Manchester. They were manufactured by Varsarien and Qingdao Mejinene Carbon New Material Technology Co Ltd in China.

Graphene, the one-atom-thick, two-dimensional carbon crystal of graphite, was first isolated at the University of Manchester by Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov in 2004. As well as its ability to incapacitate viruses, other properties of graphene that make it useful in textiles such as these face masks are that it is stronger than steel yet lightweight and flexible, conducts heat and is transparent.