Thermostable, reusable, waterproof, and breathable PTFE coated PAI nanofiber membrane for protective application

Waterproof and breathable membranes (WBMs) have gained widespread application in recent years. However, new demands for high temperature resistance of WBM have arisen from specialized protective clothing. Currently, it remains challenging to achieve both excellent thermal stability and satisfactory waterproof and breathable performance in high temperature resistant WBM materials. In this study, we developed a thermostable and reusable WBM using a combination of electrospinning and dip-coating techniques. The resulting membranes exhibit hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of ≈140°, a robust water resistance of 63.4 kPa, and a high water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of 2.92 kg m⁻² d⁻¹ (right cup method). The polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coated polyamide-imide (PAI) WBM demonstrates excellent high temperature resistance, remaining stable at 300 °C while maintaining good waterproof performance after heat exposure. The PTFE coated PAI membrane shows great promise as an exceptional candidate for high temperature protective applications.