Permeation of substituted silanes and siloxanes through selected gloves and protective clothing

Testing of the permeation resistance of eight glove and suit barriers against commercially available substituted silanes and siloxanes was performed using the ASTM F739-96 standard test method. In addition to barrier performance to the pure organosilanes, the permeation rates of the hydrolysis product (usually ethanol or methanol) were investigated. The silanes and siloxanes used as the challenge agents were N-2-(aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane; 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane; 3-chloropropyltrimethoxysilane; ethyltriacetoxysilane; 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane; 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane; hexamethyldisiloxane; 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane; methyltriacetoxysilane (50%)/ethyltriacetoxysilane (50%); methyltrimethoxysilane; methyltris(methylethylketoxime)silane; phenyltrimethoxysilane; polydimethyl siloxanes (PS 340); octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4); tetraethoxysilane; tetramethoxysilane; 1,1,3,3-tetramethyl disiloxane; triethoxysilane; trimethoxysilane; vinyltrimethoxysilane; and vinyltris(methylethylketoxime)silane. Protective gloves tested were nitrile rubber, neoprene rubber, butyl rubber, 4H laminate, and polyvinyl chloride. Garments tested included Tyvek/Saranex 23P, CPF 2, and Responder, all made by Kappler Safety Group. In all cases the protective suit materials lasted 8 hours or more. The only glove that lasted 8 hours against all chemicals was the 4H laminate. The polyvinyl chloride glove lasted 10 min to 8 hours or more depending on the chemical. The nitrile, neoprene, and butyl rubber gloves lasted from 53 min to 8 hours or more depending on the chemical. The alcohol permeation was similar to the organosilicon compounds. The suit materials and the butyl glove all lasted more than 8 hours for both methanol and ethanol.