Ndibewu Peter P, Lefakane Tina E, Netshiozwi Taki E
Department of Chemistry, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Arcadia Campus, Arcadia, P.O. Box 56208, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
Protechnik Laboratories, P.O. Box 8854, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
Polymers (Basel). 2024 Oct 1;16(19):2788. doi: 10.3390/polym16192788.
Hazardous chemicals are transported on rail and road networks. In the case of accidental spillage or terror attack, civilian and military first responders must approach the scene equipped with appropriate personal protective equipment. The plausible manufacturing of chemical protective polymer material, from photocatalyst anatase titanium dioxide (TiO) doped low-density polyethylene (LDPE), for cost-effective durable lightweight protective garments against toxic chemicals such as 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulphide (CEES) was investigated. The photocatalytic effects on the physico-chemical properties, before and after ultraviolet (UV) light exposure were evaluated. TiO (0, 5, 10, 15% wt) doped LDPE films were extruded and characterized by SEM-EDX, TEM, tensile tester, DSC-TGA and permeation studies before and after exposure to UV light, respectively. Results revealed that tensile strength and thermal analysis showed an increasing shift, whilst CEES permeation times responded oppositely with a significant decrease from 127 min to 84 min due to the degradation of the polymer matrix for neat LDPE, before and after UV exposure. The TiO-doped films showed an increasing shift in results obtained for physical properties as the doping concentration increased, before and after UV exposure. Relating to chemical properties, the trend was the inverse of the physical properties. The 15% TiO-doped film showed improved permeation times only when the photocatalytic TiO was activated. However, 5% TiO-doped film exceptionally maintained better permeation times before and after UV exposure demonstrating better resistance against CEES permeation.
危险化学品通过铁路和公路网络运输。万一发生意外泄漏或恐怖袭击， civilian and military first responders必须配备适当的个人防护装备接近现场。研究了由光催化剂锐钛矿型二氧化钛（TiO₂）掺杂低密度聚乙烯（LDPE）合理制造化学防护聚合物材料，以生产具有成本效益的耐用轻质防护服，抵御诸如2-氯乙基乙硫醚（CEES）等有毒化学品。评估了紫外线（UV）照射前后光催化对物理化学性质的影响。分别对TiO₂（0、5、10、15％重量）掺杂的LDPE薄膜进行挤出，并通过SEM-EDX、TEM、拉伸测试仪、DSC-TGA和渗透研究对紫外线照射前后的薄膜进行表征。结果表明，拉伸强度和热分析显示出增加的变化，而CEES渗透时间则相反，由于纯LDPE聚合物基体在紫外线照射前后的降解，渗透时间从127分钟显著减少到84分钟。TiO₂掺杂的薄膜在紫外线照射前后，随着掺杂浓度的增加，物理性能的结果显示出增加的变化。与化学性质相关，趋势与物理性质相反。仅当光催化TiO₂被激活时，15％TiO₂掺杂的薄膜才显示出改善的渗透时间。然而，5％TiO₂掺杂的薄膜在紫外线照射前后异常地保持了更好的渗透时间，显示出对CEES渗透的更好抗性。
