Graphene is a new, advanced material with many possible applications in basic and clinical medicine, electronics and automation. Graphene compounds can be successfully used as an integral part of drug delivery systems, in the construction of transistors, polar processors, touch screens, solar cells and in the production of materials for the manufacture of personal protective equipment, i.e. products and equipment intended to protect the health and life of users. The literature review presented in this paper concerns physical and mechanical properties of composites containing graphene or its structure as well as methods of obtaining polymer, metallic and ceramic composites doped with graphene structures. Data analysis of the potential use of graphene and its composites in personal protective equipment such as monitoring sensors, clothing and security equipment such as ballistic armor, helmets and protective clothing were also reviewed and summarized.

The elastomeric anti-trauma pad (EA-TP) based on shear thickening fluid (STF) has been developed. Dynamic oscillatory shear experiment was conducted at constant strain amplitude of 5%. STF composed of 25% of volume fraction of 7 nm Fumed Silica, dispersed in polypropylene glycol with molar mass 400 gmol−1shows elastic properties in entire investigated range of the frequency. Ballistic tests of EA-TP with 7.62 mm × 39 mm PS bullets were performed according to the PN-V-87000:2011 standard. The studies revealed about 60% reduction of the average backface signature depth (BSD) for the EA-TP, when compared to the nowadays commonly used soft insert. The ATR-FTIR analysis confirmed slight impact of the elevated temperature and air (oxygen) on the chemical degradation of the EA-TP surface. The UV-VIS spectroscopy has allowed to notice colour deviation of the aged samples towards green and yellow, as well as lack of dye resistance to accelerated aging process. Thermographic analysis has shown no visible changes of the EA-TP surface and sub-surface during accelerated aging process. The aforementioned small changes on the surface of EA-TP did not affect the ballistic properties of composite armour. EA-TP insert maintains ballistic properties after accelerated aging process which was simulating the period of 6 years according to ASTM F1980 – 07:2002 standard.

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This article presents the method of preparation a new type of ballistic armor based on hybrid silicone-ceramic (HSC) composites with considerable flexibility. An experimental study on the ballistic behavior of HSC composites connected with soft body armor is presented against FSP.22 fragments. The effect of Al2O3 ceramics on the ballistic performance of HSC composite was investigated, and the fragmentation resistance process of the composite armor combining the HSC composite and soft aramid insert is clarified. Furthermore, impact resistance tests made with a drop tower which allows for a gravity drop of a mass along vertical guides onto a sample placed with an energy of 5 J were performed. The results presented in this paper show that the HSC composites can be successfully used as a hard body armor. However, they do not exhibit the properties of absorbing the impact energy generated during the drop tower tests. The test results show that the ballistic performance of composite armors is influenced by the hardness and Young modulus of ceramics and soft body armor panel. Additionally, in the article, the results of mechanical properties of silicones used for preparation of composites were presented and compiled to determine their role in the performance of impact protection.

This article outlines how the rapid evolution of the ICT sector in highly-developed economies has resulted in digital inequality between the EU-15 and countries that joined the EU in the first and second decades of the 21st century. The main hypothesis of the study is that digital inequality be-tween the economies of EU member states weakens the competitiveness of the EU in the area of EU economy 4.0 in the global market and could threaten European digital sovereignty, including the issue of access to public and private data and digital identity protection. The results of the an-alysis show that the currently existing digital inequality widens the digital gap between the EU and the US and China, and further bolsters the digital dominance of non-European countries. The main challenge lies in providing national economies of Central and Eastern Europe with appropriate instruments that would allow them to make up for these digital deficiencies . The study used critical literature analysis and data contained in the reports of the OECD, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, UNCTAD, WTO and European Commission materials.