Carreiras-Suárez, S.; Domínguez-Ramos, L.; Lazzari, M. Study of the Long-Term Aging of Polypropylene-Made Disposable Surgical Masks and Filtering Facepiece Respirators. Polymers2023, 15, 1001.
Carreiras-Suárez, S.; Domínguez-Ramos, L.; Lazzari, M. Study of the Long-Term Aging of Polypropylene-Made Disposable Surgical Masks and Filtering Facepiece Respirators. Polymers 2023, 15, 1001.
Carreiras-Suárez, S.; Domínguez-Ramos, L.; Lazzari, M. Study of the Long-Term Aging of Polypropylene-Made Disposable Surgical Masks and Filtering Facepiece Respirators. Polymers2023, 15, 1001.
Carreiras-Suárez, S.; Domínguez-Ramos, L.; Lazzari, M. Study of the Long-Term Aging of Polypropylene-Made Disposable Surgical Masks and Filtering Facepiece Respirators. Polymers 2023, 15, 1001.
Abstract
The main purpose of this work is to contribute to understanding the mechanism of oxidation of the polymeric components of common disposable masks used during the COVID-19 pandemic to offer the chemical basis to predict their long-term behaviour under typical environmental conditions. Artificial ageing of representative mask layers under isothermal conditions (110℃) or accelerated photoageing showed that all the PP-made components underwent a fast oxidation process, following the typical hydrocarbon oxidation mechanism. In particular, yellowing and the melting temperature drop are early indicators of their diffusion-limited oxidation. Morphology changes also induced a loss of mechanical properties, observable as embrittlement of the fabric fibres. Results were validated through preliminary outdoor ageing of masks, which allows us to predict they will suffer fast and extensive oxidation only in the case of contemporary exposure to sunlight and relatively high environmental temperature, leading to their extensive breakdown in the form of microfiber fragments, i.e., microplastics.
Chemistry and Materials Science, Polymers and Plastics
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
