Researchers from the City University of Hong Kong have developed a mask made of graphene that has an anti-bacterial efficiency of 80 per cent, a study published in the journal American Chemical Society Nano said.

They said that the efficiency can reach full capacity when the mask is exposed to sunlight for 10 minutes.

Researchers stated that their initial tests on the mask showed promising results against the two coronavirus species.

Researchers said in their report that the graphene masks are easily produced at low cost, and can help resolve the problems of sourcing raw materials and disposing non-biodegradable masks.

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For the mask, the researchers developed a laser-induced form of graphene and tested it on Escherichia coli, a pathogen that causes bacterial infection.

Researchers found that graphene’s anti-bacterial efficiency stands at 82 per cent. Most of the E Coli deposited on the surface of graphene were dead after eight hours.

Initial tests on two human coronavirus species showed the graphene inactivated over 90 per cent of the virus in five minutes and almost 100 per cent in 10 minutes under sunlight.

Now, the team is all set to test graphene’s efficiency against coronavirus.

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