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Abstract: Closed cell foams are widely used as protective garments in extreme environments. This article studied the use of neoprene-based materials in wetsuits by developing a strategy for reducing the thermal conductivity of a flexible, closed cell polychloropene foam. The thermal conductivities of the charged and unmodified neoprene foams were measured using the transient plane source (TPS) method with the TPS thermal conductivity meter. It was found that a wetsuit made of ultra-low thermally conductive neoprene capable of potentially extending dive times to 2–3 hours in water below 10 °C, compared with <1 hour for the state-of-the-art wetsuits.

Reference: Royal Society of Chemistry (2018), 8:21389-21398

DOI: 10.1039/c8ra04037k