Development and Evaluation of a Water-Based Flame Retardant Spray Coating for Cotton Fabrics

Abstract

In this Research Article, we report on the development of water-based flame retardant coating based on phospho-nitrogen combination for cotton fabrics. A one-step spray-on process was employed to coat the fabrics by taking advantage of the spontaneous reaction between para-phenylenediamine (PDA) and tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride (THPC) resulting in an instantaneous precipitation of poly[1,4-diaminophenylene-tris(dimethyl hydroxymethyl)phosphine] (PApP) on the fabric surface. The effectiveness of PApP in improving the flame retardant properties like ignition resistance and lateral flame spread were evaluated in accordance with ASTM D6413 and BS EN ISO 15025 flammability tests. Despite the early (thermal) decomposition onset for coated fabrics under both oxidative and pyrolytic conditions, remarkably, self-extinguishing behavior (<3 s) without any lateral flame spread was observed. Possible reaction scheme was also proposed to correlate flame retardant mechanism of the coated fabrics with the observations. Additional analysis via pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry and vertical flame testing before and after washing showed that flame retardant efficiency did decrease with washing, but the overall performance was still promising.

Improving the flame retardant properties of polyester‐cotton blend fabrics by introducing an intumescent coating via layer by layer assembly

“…The influence of the water absorbed by hydrophilic coatings within assemblies should be also taken into account, which can promote the hydrolytic degradation of polyester. [31] The presence of MEL has less effect on the thermal decomposition of cotton, but further accelerate the decomposition of polyester and increases the char residue from 19.4 wt% of (PAH/APP) 10 sample to 23.4 wt% of (PAH-MEL/APP) 10 sample. The char residue can act as heat shielding and transport barrier of flammable volatiles, which is responsible for the enhanced flame retardancy.…”

Flammability testing of wool/cellulosic and wool/synthetic fiber blends: Vertical flame spread and heat release results

“…The MCC test method measures heat release of milligram sized samples via oxygen consumption calorimetry as a function of temperature, 21 and has proven useful in measuring the heat release of fibers, 1,2 fabrics, and flame retardant textiles. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Table 3 includes a polystyrene standard for internal control/comparison as per the ASTM D7309 method. From the results in Table 2, there do appear to be some notable differences between the samples.…”

“…Heat release testing of fabrics can be easily conducted with the micro combustion calorimeter (MCC-ASTM D7309), and this has been done in many studies for developing new flame retardants as well as quickly assessing the inherent heat release properties of the fabrics. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] There are some correlations between this technique and larger scale methods which suggests that the technique has some value above and beyond screening for fire safety, assuming care is taken in interpreting the data. [21][22][23][24][25] Another heat release method which can be used is the cone calorimeter (ASTM E1354), which has also been used to conduct flammability measurements of textiles.…”

Fabrication of Cotton Fabric with Superoleophilic/Superhydrophobic Characteristic on the Modified Surface by Using Fluoroalkylated Oligomeric Silica/Triazine Derivative Nanocomposites

“…Most textile fabrics including cotton are in general likely to absorb significant amounts of water and numerous oils [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. From this point of view, the modified textile fabrics with surface treated water-and oil-repellent properties have been among the most intensively studied subjects in order to create additional functionalities, such as fire retardancy, antibacterial activity, and UV protection [8][9][10][11]. There has heretofore been a considerable interest in the fabrication of superhydrophobic textile fabrics from the developmental point of view of novel practical applications such as self-cleaning, anti-corrosion, friction reduction, and anti-icing characteristics [2][3][4][5][6][7].…”