Preparation and Chemical Protective Clothing Application of Sulfonated Poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenyleneoxide)

The preparation of chemical protective clothing (CPC) materials with excellent protective performance and physiological comfort have always been a global challenge. The selective permeability of organic matter and water shown by polyelectrolyte membranes in fuel cells and other applications provides ideas for solving this problem. This research focused on sulfonated poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (SPPO), a polyelectrolyte membrane material with excellent performance, and carried out different counter-ion substitutions to prepare a series of membrane materials, and their mechanical properties, contact angle, permeability, and selectivity. The performance was tested and compared with Nafion, a typical commercial membrane. The results show that the SPPO membrane has the potential of CPC application and the performance of the membranes can be controlled by the simple method of adjusting the counter-ion exchange of the membrane material.

Comparison of standards for chemical protective clothing on performance requirements and measurements

Chemical protective clothing is widely used by emergency teams in certain industries and such as fire-fighting and medical protection fields. Due to the differences of assessment, specific requirements for target products, and test methods, the relevant standards for such clothing vary greatly. By analyzing standards on chemical protective clothing, this study summarized their differences in assessment items and test methods for basic performances such as seam strength, leak tightness, permeability by liquid/gas chemicals, resistance to ignition, liquid repellency and penetration by liquids.

Study on the Application of New Materials in Chemical Protective Clothing

It is necessary to protect the safety of people in certain occupations where they might be exposed to hazardous chemicals. This review provided an overview of chemical protective clothing, along with its necessity during industrial and military operations as well as in response to acts of terror. Moreover, chemical protection or barrier suits are illustrated and explained including their types, selection processes based on chemical hazards, working environments, and various materials available for the fabrication of effective barrier clothing. Additionally, the current research gaps were elucidated in this review, so as the challenges facing recently developed chemical protective clothing, and relevant research are compiled onto a single platform. Moreover, the future development trend of chemical protective equipment based on new materials and technologies was also explored and analyzed.

Tunable Wettability of Biodegradable Multilayer Sandwich-Structured Electrospun Nanofibrous Membranes

This research aims to develop multilayer sandwich-structured electrospun nanofiber (ENF) membranes using biodegradable polymers. Hydrophilic regenerated cellulose (RC) and hydrophobic poly (lactic acid) (PLA)-based novel multilayer sandwich-structures were created by electrospinning on various copper collectors, including copper foil and 30-mesh copper gauzes, to modify the surface roughness for tunable wettability. Different collectors yielded various sizes and morphologies of the fabricated ENFs with different levels of surface roughness. Bead-free thicker fibers were collected on foil collectors. The surface roughness of the fine fibers collected on mesh collectors contributed to an increase in hydrophobicity. An RC-based triple-layered structure showed a contact angle of 48.2°, which is comparable to the contact angle of the single-layer cellulosic fabrics (47.0°). The polar shift of RC membranes on the wetting envelope is indicative of the possibility of tuning the wetting behavior by creating multilayer structures. Wettability can be tuned by creating multilayer sandwich structures consisting of RC and PLA. This study provides an important insight into the manipulation of the wetting behavior of polymeric ENFs in multilayer structures for applications including chemical protective clothing.

Preparation and Chemical Protective Clothing Application of PVDF Based Sodium Sulfonate Membrane

Chemical protective clothing (CPC) is major equipment to protect human skin from hazardous chemical warfare agents (CWAs), especially nerve agents and blister agents. CPC performance is mainly dominated by the chemical protective material, which needs to meet various requirements, such as mechanical robustness, protective properties, physiological comfort, cost-effectiveness, and dimensional stability. In this study, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based sodium sulfonate membranes with different ion exchange capacities (IECs) are prepared simply from low-cost materials. Their mechanical properties, contact angles, permeations, and selectivities have been tested and compared with each other. Results show that membranes with IEC in the range of 1.5–2 mmol g−1 have high selectivities of water vapor permeation over CWA simulant vapor permeation and good mechanical properties. Therefore, PVDF-based sodium sulfonate membranes are potential materials for CPC applications.

Wearing Acceptability of Chemical Protective Clothing during Fire Training

The aim of this study was to investigate the wearing acceptability of chemical protective clothing during fires and to provide basic data for the safety of firefighters. The results of the study were as follows: Wearer acceptabilities of chemical protective clothing under static movement (e.g., looking at the ceiling with maximum head bending, wrapping one’s arms around oneself, sitting obliquely on the floor, and maintaining a crouching position) were 21.7%–47.8% lower than those of general uniforms. When wearing chemical protective suits, the acceptability under static movement was statistically low (p < .001). Wearer acceptabilities of chemical protective clothing under dynamic movement (e.g., running, lifting a heavy object (20 kg) up to the waist, lifting and moving a heavy object (20 kg) by 1 m, lifting a stretcher and walking forward, and lifting a stretcher and walking backward) were 19.2%–47.8% lower than those of general uniforms. When wearing chemical protective suits, the acceptability under dynamic movement was also statistically low (p < .001).