Quality control of personal protective equipment (PPE) is an incredibly important aspect of the manufacturing process. A lack of quality control can lead to an increase in failures in the products and in turn a loss of revenue for the manufacturer. It is therefore important to have a means to test polymer materials quickly while also obtaining as much information as possible.
Three Material Characterization techniques are examined in this paper: infrared spectroscopy (IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Each of these can provide valuable insight into the physical and chemical properties of the material used to produce PPE, ensuring they can be used to produce products which comply with important ASTM international standards; ASTM D6319 – Nitrile Gloves, ASTM D3578 – Rubber Examination Gloves, ASTM D5250 – PVC Gloves and ASTM D6977 – Polychloroprene Gloves.