Copper coating on 3-D-printed plastic filters proposed as a pandemic fighterIn the ongoing fight aga

Copper coating on 3-D-printed plastic filters proposed as a pandemic fighter

In the ongoing fight against COVID-19, experts on microbiology and copper are recommending an expanded use of the metal to reduce the virus’s spread. So might copper be incorporated into the construction of masks, the universally accepted virus-fighting personal item?
That’s what Jing Zhang of the School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI and a team of researchers are doing, using a copper coating on 3-D-printed plastic filters to create more-efficient masks and respirators.
“One study in 2015, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, said that a copper alloy can kill 58 percent of infections,” said Zhang, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering. “We can use copper plating to cover some frequently touched surfaces such as doorknobs and elevator buttons; that inspired me to see how we could combine what looks like almost a magic metal into a mask design.”