X-Ray Spotlight on Composites to Build a Better Gas Mask
In research that could lead to better gas mask filters, Berkeley Lab scientists have been putting the X-ray spotlight on composite materials in respirators used by the military, police, and first responders. The scientists are learning about the effectiveness of current filters in protecting people from lethal compounds such as VX and sarin, and are also providing fundamental information that could lead to more advanced gas masks as well as protective gear for civilian applications. Studying how metal oxides interact with small organophosphates could be relevant beyond the gas masks used by the military and emergency responders. Applications could also include sensing technologies and, since less potent forms of organophosphates are widely used as pesticides and herbicides, the findings could help the agricultural industry.
Transcript
00:00:01 [Music] this project that we're working on is focused on materials that can be used for sensing decontamination and personal protection against chemical warfare agents so this project is funded in part by the Department of Defense and we are focused on looking at materials that are currently used in filtration materials for gas masks and we're trying to
00:00:31 understand better how the materials that are currently used work the current gas mask filtration material is a porous carbon kind of like a water filter that you would have at home and inside this black powdery carbon there are different metal oxides and the metal oxides are thought to be the really key absorption material we use something called x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy we shine
00:01:00 x-rays on metal oxides and then electrons come out and these electrons hold information about the atoms that they came from whether it was carbon a metal oxygen and then it also tells about the chemical state and this in turn gives us information on how the chemical warfare agents and we went decomposed [Music]
00:01:26 there are three different applications for these kinds of materials you want to be able to sense agents you want to be able to protect people against the agents and you want to be able to decontaminate places that have already been exposed to the agents if we find a material that's really great at any one of these particular aims then that could be applied in the real world to help
00:01:48 protect either soldiers in the field or first responders in emergency situations who need to go in and provide medical care to civilians or other people who have been exposed my sister-in-law is in the Air Force and when she gets deployed she gets a gas mask and the technology in the gas mask was developed during World War one when people were using mustard gas and chlorine gas and this is
00:02:20 a different type of chemical compound than what people are using as chemical warfare agents today and while the gas masks do work they weren't built for that and maybe there's something better I want to be able to tell my sister-in-law how well her gas mask works when she's deployed and under what conditions [Music]
00:02:54 [Music]