Kanpur: A team of  IIT Kanpur alumni have created a super-activated carbon N-95 mask, which will not only protect a person from coronavirus infection and external pollution, but also from their own respiratory odour and bacteria.


COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

The first of its kind in India, this mask is claimed to be based on odourless technology. The mask is developed by a team of four members - Dr. Sandeep Patil, Nitin Charate, Ankit Shukla and Mahesh Kumar.


Team leader Dr. Patil said that in the normal masks, the problem of bad odour often arises due to the presence of foul smells and bacteria in our breath. Keeping this problem mind, his team has developed this multipurpose mask. The testing of this mask is completed in a private laboratory and now it's ready for production.


The e-spin nanotech startup company set up at the Innovation and Incubation Center at IIT Kanpur will produce the mask. However, the price of this mask will be slightly higher than the N-95 mask and it will soon be made available in the market.


Giving more details about the mask, Dr. Patil said that the process of molding the carbon into nano-sized holes inside it is called activated carbon technology. He further explained that with the use of super-activated carbon, the pores are finer which helps in preventing harmful particles from entering into our nose. The newly developed mask has super-activated carbon particle coated in it.


These carbon particles hold the odorous particles that produce odor and absorb them under chemical process. When carbon is charged and prepared, its property changes, so it is not harmful to the body.


At the same time, the outer layer of the mask is coated with a coating of electrocharged nanoparticles, upon which the virus becomes ineffective when exposed.