Fabrication and performance evaluation of aramid laminated fabrics incorporated with silica composite aerogel for protective clothing

Abstract

In recent years, researchers have made efforts to promote the thermal protection capabilities of firefighting suits in response to frequent fire accidents. In this paper, a novel silica/aramid nonwoven fabric (SiO2/AF) aerogel composite was prepared by combining AF and SiO2 aerogel using the sol-gel method and dip coating technology. Polyimide (PI) and zeolitic imidazolate framework-L (ZIF-L) were used as insulation reinforcement materials to fabricate four types of laminated fabrics, namely, the outer layer + waterproof breathable layer + different insulation layers (AF, SiO2/AF, 0.8 % SiO2/AF/PI and 0.12 % SiO2/AF/ZIF-L, respectively). In addition, the fireman uniform was taken as the control group. The results showed that the insulation performance of the composite fabrics was better than that of the control group, and the outer layer + waterproof breathable layer+0.12 % SiO2/AF/ZIF-L laminated fabric exhibited the lowest thermal conductivity (0.038 W/(m·K)), best thermal radiation protective performance (RPP) (246.04 kW/m2) and excellent wear resistance (mass loss rate 0.46 %). This significant work will open up broad prospects for the applications of SiO2/AF composites in the area of heat-resistant clothing.