General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Making Masks Active with Soap to Protect Against Coronavirus [View all]ProfessorGAC
(65,000 posts)As surfactants get much above 75% activity, the transition to S2 phase which is close to a hydrated salt. The water (low %) now acts more a hydrogen bonding aid to crystallize the surfactant. Not the exact mechanism, but keeping it simple.
So, we don't have surfactants in water, we have water in surfactant. It's non-fluid, so air wouldn't pass through, making the mask useless.
Surfactants have their highest ionic strength in full solution.
Depending on the surfactant, that's no more than 35%.
So, to get down to 20, 10, 5, 1% it would take quite a lot of water vapor from exhaling.
Last point: I have mass transfer concerns, because the surfactant molecules aren't mobile. So even if the surfactant could defat the virus on a spot, that point of contact is spent. Any surfactant below that molecular layer is now useless, because there is no micellization to carry away the ruined virus components.
I hope I'm wrong and this works, but I doubt it.