Photochemical aging of an e-PTFE/NOMEX® membrane used in firefighter protective clothing

The moisture barrier membrane is an important protective layer of fire protective clothing. This membrane usually consists of a coating of expanded polytetrafluorethylene (e-PTFE) laminated to a Nomex® fabric. In this study, the effects of accelerated photochemical aging on morphology, structure and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymer degradation and stability 2013-07, Vol.98 (7), p.1300-1310
Main Authors: El Aidani, Rachid, Nguyen-Tri, Phuong, Malajati, Yassine, Lara, Jaime, Vu-Khanh, Toan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Application fields
Applied sciences
atomic force microscopy
coatings
Degradation
differential scanning calorimetry
Exact sciences and technology
Fibers and threads
fire fighters
Forms of application and semi-finished materials
Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
manufacturing
mechanical properties
Nomex® membrane
permeability
Photochemical aging
physicochemical properties
Polymer industry, paints, wood
Protective clothing
scanning electron microscopy
Technology of polymers
transpiration
vapors
X-ray diffraction
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Summary:The moisture barrier membrane is an important protective layer of fire protective clothing. This membrane usually consists of a coating of expanded polytetrafluorethylene (e-PTFE) laminated to a Nomex® fabric. In this study, the effects of accelerated photochemical aging on morphology, structure and performance of ePTFE/Nomex® membrane were investigated. The mechanical properties and chemical structural changes during the photochemical aging process were studied by using appropriate techniques including infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and permeability measurements. The results showed a significant reduction of mechanical properties of the membrane after photochemical aging due to the degradation of the Nomex® fibers. The dramatic decrease of vapor permeability after photochemical aging was involved the closing of transpiration pores on the aged membrane surface. These results provide useful information to better understand phenomena occurring during photochemical aging of high-performance microporous laminates and may help to improve the manufacturing process for fire protective clothing.
ISSN:0141-3910
1873-2321
DOI:10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2013.04.002