UV Crosslinking Reduces Self-Adhesion and Improves Fabric Bonding of SBS/PVDF Nanofibrous Membranes

Cold flow and self-adhesion can destabilize elastomeric nanofibrous membranes and hinder their handling and lamination with textiles. Here, electrospun styrene–butadiene–styrene (SBS)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes were prepared by combining PVDF reinforcement with UV crosslinking. The same UV treatment reduced membrane self-adhesion under the tested contact conditions while increasing the peel strength of polyester fabric laminates bonded with a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) adhesive web. Structural characterization supported preferential SBS network formation while largely preserving PVDF’s crystalline characteristics. At an SBS: PVDF mass ratio of 6:4, blending reduced the average fiber diameter from 1.25 μm in neat SBS to 780 nm. Crosslinking increased tensile strength from 2.52 to 2.98 MPa while retaining an elongation at break of 178%. Laminates incorporating crosslinked membranes with 10–40 wt% PVDF maintained filtration efficiencies of approximately 99.9% for the tested 1 μm NaCl aerosol. Across this composition range, pressure drop decreased from approximately 964 to 690 Pa as PVDF content increased, although it remained higher than that of the freestanding membranes. These results show that reduced membrane self-adhesion and stronger textile bonding can be achieved together, providing a route to integrate stretchable, particle-retaining nanofibrous layers into protective clothing.