Preparation of Porous <Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis>-aramid/cellulose Blend Membranes with High Moisture and Air Permeability by an Enzymatic Degradation Method

Enzyme degradation method was adopted to prepare porous m-aramid/cellulose blend membranes with high air permeability, water absorbency and moisture permeability. This facile preparation process started by casting a blend membrane from a DMAc/LiCl solution containing m-aramid and cellulose. An enzyme was then used to degrade the cellulose in the blend membrane, resulting in porous structures. Five enzymes including cellulase, chitosanase, papain, lipase, and glucose oxidase, were evaluated and cellulase was found to be optimal. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the miscibility and the morphology of the m-aramid/cellulose blend membranes before and after degradation, respectively. The thermal stability of the blend membranes were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The properties including air permeability, water absorbency and moisture permeability of the m-aramid/cellulose blend membranes greatly improved after degradation as compared to those of the pure m-aramid. This paper provided a new approach to preparing novel textile materials with high comfortability.