Focus:

• Our main interest is the study of protection efficacy of various types of protection gear (such as personal hoods and chemical protective clothing) against transdermal poisoning by chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial contaminants and environmental pollutants. This multidisciplinary effort includes: 
  
  

  - Studying transport phenomena of chemical agents through polymeric and carbon-based barriers. 

  - Studying aging mechanisms and their effect on protective equipment.

  - Developing post-exposure decontamination treatments for protective personal equipment.

  - ​Developing reactive nano-based sorbents and catalysts for imparting self-decontamination properties to collective and personal protective equipment.

  - Designing and constructing tailor-made instrumentation and methods for testing protective equipment.

  - Scientific and technological consulting for projects concerning development and procurement of protective gear.

Facilities

• A national​ laboratory and supportive services for the use of highly-toxic chemicals as test agents. 
• Technologies for surface characterizati​on including thermal analysis, adsorption/desorption isotherms and spectroscopy. 
• Optimized flow systems (developed in-house) for dynamic adsorption and permeation of hazardous and highly-toxic vapors and gases on porous adsorbent beds and permeative textile materials.
• Climatic chamber for static permeation tests under a wide range of experimental conditions. 

 

Climatic chamber for dynamic adsorption and permeation of hazardous vapors on Protective clothing and polymeric material​

​