Posted June 13, 2017

 

By Seshadri Ramkumar

 

LUBBOCK, Texas – A team of U.S. scientists has used an improved coating method to develop a chemical warfare protective nonwoven fabric.

 

Collaborators from Edgewood Chemical Biological Center of the U.S. Army and North Carolina State University have deposited zirconium-based metal-organic-framework (MOF) material using a refined method. The technique has resulted in thin coating using atomic layer deposition of the catalytic layer to degrade toxins. Polypropylene nonwoven fabric with the MOF thin coating was able to degrade warfare simulant DMNP effectively and rather quickly.

 

The unique aspect of this research has been the growing use of zirconium-based MOF on the nonwoven fabric at room temperature, unlike earlier research work, which needed elevated temperatures.

 

This work has appeared in a recent issue of the journal Chemistry of Materials.

 

Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar, Ph.D, FTA (honorary), is a professor at the Nonwovens & Advanced Materials Laboratory at Texas Tech.

U.S. scientists develop improved chemical warfare protective fabric