High Stretch, Environmentally Robust HybridSil Perfluoroelastomer Barrier Composites For CBRN Protective Ensembles

Through Phase I CBD SBIR funding, NanoSonic has designed and empirically optimized a low modulus, high stretch HybridSil perfluoropolyether elastomer that may be integrated within next-generation CBRN protective ensembles that are thinner, lighter, and more flexible than current state-of-the-art materials. CBRN protective ensembles equipped with NanoSonic’s HybridSil perfluoropolyether stretch barrier elastomers will provide a previously unavailable combination of biaxial isotropic stretch (> 20% along each linear dimension) for wearer comfort and freedom of movement, as well as retained barrier protection against vapor and liquid chemical agent challenges. During the Phase I CBD SBIR program, NanoSonic designed, synthesized, and characterized over 30 unique HybridSil fluoropolymers molecularly engineered to serve as next-generation, chemical resistant stretch barriers for next-generation CBRN protective ensembles. Through these efforts, NanoSonic successfully down-selected a HybridSil fluoropolymer composition that demonstrated NFPA 1994 Class 1 liquid and gas permeation resistance against Natick specified simulants before and after 1) 100 cycles of ASTM F392 flex cycling; 10 cycles of ASTM D4157 abrasion with 600 grit sandpaper; and 3) 200 strain cycles from 0 to 20% elongation.