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A Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) apparatus was designed and developed for SARS-CoV-2 killing as evaluated by pseudotyped viral infectivity assays. The reactive species generated by the plasma system was fully characterized by using Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) measurement under given conditions such as plasma power, flow rate, and treatment time. A variety of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS) were identified from plasma plume with energies of 15–72 eV in the frequency range between 500–1000 nm. Systematic virus killing experiments were carried out, and the efficacy of CAP treatment in reducing SARS-CoV-2 viral infectivity was significant following treatment for 8 s, with further enhancement of killing upon longer exposures of 15–120 s. We correlated killing efficacy with the reactive species in terms of type, intensity, energy, and frequency. These experimental results demonstrate effective cold plasma virus killing via ROS and RNS under ambient conditions. 

The US highway system features a huge flux of energy transportation in terms of weight, speed, volume, flow density, and noise levels, with accompanying environmental effects. The adverse effects of high-volume traffic cause health concerns for nearby residential areas. Both chronic and acute exposure to PM 2.5 have detrimental effects on respiratory and cardiovascular health, and motor vehicles contribute 25–35% of direct PM 2.5 emissions. In addition to traffic-related pollutants, residing near major roadways is also associated with exposure to increased noise, and both affect the health and quality of life of residents. While regulatory and policy actions may reduce some exposures, engineering means may offer novel and significant methods to address these critical health and environmental issues. The goal of this study was to harvest highway-noise energy to induce surface charge via a piezoelectric material to entrap airborne particles, including PM 2.5. In this study, we experimentally investigated the piezoelectric effect of a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) sheet and ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber foam on the entrapment of copper (II)-2,4 pentanedione powder (Cu II powder). Appreciable voltages were induced on the surfaces of the PMMA via mechanical vibrations, leading to the effective entrapment of the Cu II powder. The EPDM rubber foam was found to attract a large amount of Cu II powder under simulated highway noise in a wide range, of 30–70 dB, and at frequencies of 700–1300 Hz, generated by using a loudspeaker. The amount of Cu II powder entrapped on the EPDM rubber-foam surfaces was found to scale with the SPL, but was independent of frequency. The experimental findings from this research provide a valuable base for the design of a robust piezoelectric system that is self-powered by harvesting the wasted sound energy from highway noise and reduces the amount of airborne particles over highways for effective environmental control.