Graphene-based end-of-life sensors for fire protective fabrics

在过去的50年里，高性能纤维已经被开发用于制造防火服。这些纤维具有很高的机械性能，耐化学品、防火和高温。然而，材料在其寿命期间暴露于各种条件下，随着时间的推移降低其性能。此外，破坏性测试表明，在肉眼可见的任何退化迹象之前，性能就会有相当大的损失。目前，没有非破坏性技术可用于评估在役材料的剩余性能。因此，处于高温和火焰暴露风险中的工人无法知道他们的衣服是否仍然能够保护他们免受与他们的任务相关的危险。 在这种情况下，石墨烯为制造织物的寿命终止传感器开辟了新的可能性。该项目选择的途径依赖于通过将石墨烯与对高性能纤维的老化条件（即热、紫外线和水分）敏感的化合物相结合而产生的导电轨道。在达到足以导致防火织物进入不安全范围的这些老化剂之一的一定水平时，化合物降解，导致石墨烯导电轨道破裂。对应于不同老化剂的防火服上的传感器轨迹的电导率的测量将作为处于热和火焰暴露风险的工人被要求对其防护设备进行的定期评估的一部分来进行。 这个创新项目借鉴了PI在保护材料老化方面的互补专业知识，以及基于纳米技术的功能聚合物材料和设备设计方面的共同PI。在沿着价值链分布的四家纺织品制造商以及一家石墨烯生产商的支持下，它将在潜在暴露于高温和火焰的工人的安全方面取得重大突破，并为加拿大纺织品制造商提供新产品开发机会。它还将在非常多学科的环境中为总部合格人员提供培训。

High performance fibers have been developed over the last fifty years for the manufacture of fire protective clothing. These fibres display high mechanical performance and are resistant to chemicals, fire, and high temperatures. However, the various conditions the materials are exposed to during their lifetime reduce their performance over time. In addition, destructive testing has shown considerable loss in performance before any sign of deterioration is visible to the naked eye. Currently, no non-destructive technique is available to assess the residual performance of the materials in service. Thus, workers at risk of heat and flame exposure have no way of knowing if their clothing is still able to protect them from the hazards associated with their tasks. In that context, graphene is opening a new range of possibilities for the manufacture of end-of-life sensors for fabrics. The avenue selected for this project relies on conductive tracks produced by combining graphene with compounds that are sensitive to aging conditions of high performance fibers, i.e. heat, UV, and moisture. Upon reaching a certain level of exposure to one of these aging agents sufficient to cause the fire protective fabric to enter an unsafe range, the compound degrades, causing a rupture in the graphene conductive track. The measurement of the electrical conductivity of the sensor tracks on the fire protective clothing corresponding to the different aging agents would be conducted as part of the regular assessment that workers at risk of heat and flame exposure are required to do of their protective equipment. This innovative project draws on the complementary expertise of the PI on the aging of protective materials and co-PI on the design of nanotechnology-based functional polymer materials and devices. With the support of four textile manufacturers distributed along the value chain as well as a graphene producer, it will lead to a major breakthrough in terms of safety for workers potentially exposed to heat and flame as well as to new product development opportunities for Canadian textile manufacturers. It will also provide training of HQPs in a very multidisciplinary environment.