Quantification of nanoparticle release from polymer nanocomposite coatings due to environmental stressing

ABSTRACT

Certain engineered nanoparticles (ENP) reduce the flammability of components used in soft furnishings (mattresses and upholstered furniture). However, because of the ENP's small size and ability to interact with biological molecules, these fire retardant ENPs may pose a health and environmental risks, if they are released sometime during the life cycle of the soft furnishing. Quantifying the released amount of these ENPs under normal end-use circumstances provides a basis for assessing their potential health and environmental impact. In this article, we report on efforts to identify suitable methodologies for quantifying the release of carbon nanofibers, carbon nanotubes, and sodium montmorillonites from coatings applied to the surfaces of barrier fabric and polyurethane foam. The ENPs released in simulated chewing and mechanical stressing experiments were collected in aqueous solution and quantified using Ultraviolet-Visible and inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy. The microstructures of the released ENPs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy. The reported methodology and results provide important milestones to estimate the impact and toxicity of the ENP release during the life cycle of the nanocomposites. To our knowledge, this is the first study of ENP release from the soft furnishing coating, something that can be important application area for fire safety.

KEYWORDS:

• Engineered nanoparticle
• ICP-OES
• layer-by-layer assembly
• simulated chewing
• simulated wear and tear
• UV-Vis

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Jeffrey Fagan for consulting and helping with UV-Vis measurement. Dr. Uddin personally thanks for National Research Council Research Associateship Program.

Funding

This work was partially supported by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Disclaimer

Certain commercial equipment, instruments, or materials are identified in this article in order to specify the experimental procedure adequately. Such identification is not intended to imply recommendation or endorsement by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, nor is it intended to imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for this purpose.

The policy of NIST is to use metric units of measurement in all its publications, and to provide statements of uncertainty for all original measurements. In this document, however, data from organizations outside NIST are shown, which may include measurements in nonmetric units or measurements without uncertainty statements.