STUDIES ON SORPTION BEHAVIOR OF SULFUR MUSTARD AND OXYGEN ANALOG OF SULFUR MUSTARD IN NITRILE AND NATURAL-RUBBER BLENDS

The breakthrough time of sulfur mustard (SM) against blends of natural and nitrile rubbers was determined using the spot disc test (SDT) met hod. The breakthrough time of SM is closely related to the elongation properties of the blended rubbers. Blends containing higher proportion s of nitrile rubber show better protective properties as revealed by h igher breakthrough times. The diffusion of the oxygen analog of sulfur mustard (OA) across these blends follows an anomalous behavior in tha t, initially, they follow a Fickian behavior and later assume a non-Fi ckian mode. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.