As part of the work to protect soldiers from biological and chemical threats, the team of scientists from the Livemist National Laboratory in the United States has created a breathable material that can protect against active biological substances. The new material will be the first key component of a futuristic smart uniform, able to protect against the chemical hazards of the environment.
High breathability is a critical requirement for protective clothing, preventing the heat and fatigue of soldiers. The modern military form consists of heavy protective components or permeable adsorption tissues that do not meet the basic requirements of comfort and protection.
Experts made flexible Polymer membranes with integrated channels made of carbon nanotubes (CNT) as pores that are output. The width of these pores (less than 5 nm) is 5,000 times smaller than the width of the human hair.
"We have shown that such membranes provide fast circulation of water vapor, which exceeds other commercial breathable fabrics, although the pore width CNT is only Several nanometers, "said Ngok Bui, lead author of work.
High air permeability in a new composite material is provided by unique moisture-watering properties of carbon nanotubes. The material also protects against biological agents, since the dimensions of bacteria or viruses exceed the width of the nanopor twice. The tests conducted showed that CNT membranes are able to repel the dengue virus in the aquatic environment.
however, the chemical agents are significantly less in size. Therefore, in order to ensure protection against hazardous substances, scientists modified the surface of membranes by special functional groups (structural fragments of the organic molecule). These functional groups will determine and block the threat even before the chemical in the pores.
bbabo.Net