Biomacromolecules as novel green flame retardant systems for textiles: an overview

Abstract

The field of flame retardancy for polymeric materials (i.e. plastics, foams and in particular textiles) is currently facing several changes and challenges because some of the current halogenated or phosphorus-based flame retardants (FRs) have proven to be persistent, bioaccumulative, carcinogenic and/or toxic for animals and humans. Thus, the search for highly efficient green flame retardant products, which are exploitable by using simple and environmentally-friendly techniques (i.e. impregnation/exhaustion, layerby-layer), is driving the researchers towards the development of worthy alternatives. In this context, very recently, biomacromolecules (in particular proteins and deoxyribonucleic acid) have been thoroughly investigated because they exhibit significant potentials as novel green FRs for selected fabrics (cotton, polyester and their blends), as well as for bulk polymers (ethylene vinyl-acetate copolymers) and foamed polyurethane substrates. This work aims to review our recent results related to the "unconventional" use of these biomacromolecules as FRs with low-environmental impact for fabric substrates, as well as the challenges and the perspectives that these products may offer in the forthcoming years in the field of flame retardancy for textiles. To provide the basic knowledge necessary for understanding the role of biomacromolecules as FRs for textiles to the readers, first of all the description of the structure, main properties and conventional applications of proteins and deoxyribonucleic acid is provided; the thermal and thermo-oxidative stability, the reaction to a flame exposure or to an irradiative heat source of the selected fabricscotton, polyester and their blendswill be discussed, as well.

Polymer-grafted modification of cotton fabrics by SI-ARGET ATRP

“…This inexpensive, biodegradable, and renewable resource has been widely studied during the past decades. Efforts to improve the wrinkle recovery properties and handle of cotton fabrics have never stopped [1][2][3], and many attempts have been made to enhance functionalities of cotton fabrics such as antimicrobial ability [4][5][6], superhydrophobicity or/and superoleophilicity [7,8], self-cleaning property [9,10], UV radiation protection ability [11], flame retardancy [12,13], electrical conductivity or capacitive performance [14,15]. Textile products with multiple functionalities or stimuli-responsive (smart) property have generated great interest in recent years [16][17][18].…”

Recent Advances for Flame Retardancy of Textiles Based on Phosphorus Chemistry

“…Several advantages can be conferred from the exploitation of proteins and DNA in providing FR features to textiles [67]: in particular, their ease of manipulation, the possibility of exploiting application techniques that are already designed and optimized for fabric finishing (like impregnation/exhaustion, spray, or even the layer-by-layer deposition [69]) and the set-up of low impact/sustainable finishing recipes (thanks to the use of water-based solutions/dispersions).…”

“…The design of environmentally friendly flame retardant systems for textiles involves another possible strategy, recently studied [66][67][68], which is based on the use of some biomacromolecules (in particular proteins like caseins, hydrophobins and whey proteins, and DNA-deoxyribonucleic acid). Indeed, the chemical structure of some of these products shows the presence of phosphorus and other elements (like nitrogen and/or sulphur), which can confer flame retardant features to different fibers and fabrics.…”

Influence of expandable graphite on flame retardancy and mechanical properties of organic–inorganic hybrid material based on sodium silicate and polyisocyanate

“…are the general flame-retardant additives for polymer materials. But these common additives cannot meet the demand for low emission of toxic gas, good flame-retardant property [12,13]. In recent years, kaolinite [14], glass fibers [15], montmorillonite [16] and other fillers have been widely used to improve the properties of polymer materials.…”