Superelastic, Breathable, and High-Barrier Nanofibrous Membranes with Biomimetic ECM Structure for Toxic Chemical Protection

As the last line of protection for humans, chemical protective suits provided safe and effective protection where chemical warfare agents (CWAs) or chemical reagents leaked; however, the existing chemical protective clothing had poor wearing pressure comfort due to the limitation of inherent materials. Herein, we reported a scalable strategy to fabricate chemical protective fabric (CPF) with a biomimetic extracellular matrix (ECM) barrier layer composed of an elastic fiber framework based on the cross-linked nanofiber membrane and the styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer (SBS)/acticarbon matrix. The construction of the reliable and strategical biomimetic ECM structure succeeded in fulfilling hazardous chemical barrier properties, recoverable deformation, and thermal comfort improvement. The resulting CPF exhibited waterproofness with exceeding 200 kPa hydrostatic pressure and exceptional WVT of 550.96 g m(-2) d(-1), rapid elastic recovery from a strain of 80%, high-cycle fatigue resistance, superior barrier performance against toxic chemicals, and keeping CEES resistance after 100 tensile loading cycles. The successful preparation of the fascinating biomimetic nanofibrous membrane may provide a particular research foundation for developing chemical protective clothing in the future.

Automated summary

A scalable strategy was reported to fabricate chemical protective fabric (CPF) with a biomimetic extracellular matrix (ECM) barrier layer. The resulting CPF exhibited superior waterproofness, breathability, recoverable deformation, high-cycle fatigue resistance, and superior barrier performance. This research provides an important foundation for developing chemical protective clothing in the future.