MECHANICAL AND TRANSPORT-PROPERTIES OF POLY(ETHYLENETEREPHTHALATE) FILMS WITH REFERENCE TO SULFUR MUSTARD

Influence of sulphur mustard (SM), a chemical warfare agent, on mechan ical and transport properties of poly(ethyleneterephthalate) (PET) fil ms was investigated. The objective of the study was to assess the agen t-substrate interaction. SM induces changes in PET in that the elongat ion as well as strength of SM-exposed films decreases considerably. Th e reduction in percentage elongation at break is very significant, per haps because of the antiplasticizing effect of SM on PET. The breakthr ough time (BTT) of SM is higher for the film, which showed greater res istance to amine etching. The critical dissolution time measurement su bstantiates the data on mechanical behaviour of SM-exposed films.