Reactions of CW Agents HD And GD with the Polymer Fabrics PVAM and CHEMCAT 41

Abstract : Reactive fabrics were studied for the Integrated Protective Fabric System (IPFS) project. The goal of the project was to develop a protective garment that has a lower thermal burden on the wearer by allowing heat and moisture transport. The garment prevents exposure to outside chemical weapons agents (CWAs) by a combination of absorption and reaction. New methods were developed to study the reactions of CWAs with solids based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Headspace Gas Chromatography (GC). Reactive fabrics made of poly(vinylamine) (PVAM) and commercial ChemCAT 41 materials were tested by comparing several different methods to determine their reactivity. The CWAs that were used included bis(2-chloroethyl) sulfide (HD) and pinacolyl methylphosphonofluoridate (GD). At an exposure of 10 g/m2, 90% of a CWA was destroyed by the fabrics for HD and GD. The kinetics of GD reaction were studied using Solids (HRMAS) NMR, because both reactants and products could be detected with the method. For HD, the studies were more complex because the reactions appeared to form additional products with the polymers so the products were nonvolatile and nonextractable. Methods such as Headspace GC and solvent extraction with GC-Mass Spectrometry gave consistent results regarding the destruction of HD on the fabrics.