Fig. 4: Contribution of the macro-mesh negative electrode.

a Schematics of the circuits for the charge-model (with the macro-mesh electrode; top) and no-charge-model (without the macro-mesh electrode; bottom) to investigate the contribution of the macro-mesh electrode in the RV-disinfection system. b Disinfection performance of the charge-model and the no-charge-model RV-disinfection systems for E. coli, B. subtilis, and MS2. Dashed lines indicate that all microbes are inactivated, and no live microbes can be detected. c Simulation of the contact efficiency (percentages of particles with various diameters from 10⁻² to 10 μm that come into contact with the electrode) after flowing through the mesh electrode with various numbers of layers (from 1 to 4 layers). Dashed lines indicate 100% contact efficiency. d Disinfection performance of the RV-disinfection system using a macro-mesh negative electrode with various numbers of layers (from 1 to 4 layers). Dashed lines indicate that no live microbes can be detected. e Quantitative measurement of the charges carried by each E. coli and MS2 after flowing through the macro-mesh negative electrode. In (b–e), the airflow rate was fixed at 2 m/s, and the V-TENG was operated at a constant amplitude (500 μm) and vibration frequency (30 Hz). f Pressure drops in airflows after passing through the RV-disinfection system with the macro-mesh electrode or with the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter at various airflow rates (from 0.5 to 2 m/s). Dashed lines indicate the detection limit (200 Pa). g Simulation of the airflow field before and after flowing through the RV-disinfection system with the macro-mesh electrode at an airflow rate of 2 m/s. The error bars represent the standard deviation of three replicate measurements.