Manufacturing Process for Application of Selectively Permeable Coatings to Textiles

Novel procedures will be developed for fabrication of sulfonated poly(styrene-b-isobutylene-b-styrene) block copolymer coated fabrics. These ionomeric coatings provide barrier protection against a wide range of solvents and organic chemicals including chemical warfare agents (CWA), while allowing a high level of water permeability. Used in the construction of CWA protective garments, this property will greatly alleviate heat stress that typically plague clothing of this type. Coating procedures will be developed in Phase I that permit high volume manufacture of coated fabric while preserving the micro-structuring and double percolation of ionic domains that are essential to the permselectivity of these materials. Methods will also be develop for cost effective, environmentally conscious sulfonation of the polymer and for an improved neutralization/cation exchange process that will provide more mechanically robust and durable coatings.