Abstract
Bio-based phytic acid (PA) as a nontoxic naturally occurring compound is a promising prospect for flame-retardant (FR) modifications to polymers. In this work, PA was applied to wool fabric using an exhaustion technique, and the adsorption and FR properties of PA on wool fabric were studied. The flame retardancy of the treated wool fabrics depended greatly on the adsorption quantity of PA, which was related to the pH of treatment solution, immersing temperature and initial PA concentration. The Langmuir adsorption of PA took place due to electrostatic interactions between PA and wool fiber. The limiting oxygen index, vertical burning and pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry tests revealed that the treated wool fabrics exhibited good flame retardancy. The measurements of the phosphorus content of the burned fabric residues and thermogravimetric analyses suggested that a significant condensed-phase FR action was applicable to the PA treated fabrics. PA treatment was found to have little adverse effect on the whiteness and mechanical performance of wool. Additionally, the washing resistance of the FR fabrics should be further improved.
Highlights
As a natural protein fiber, wool is widely used in apparel, interior textiles and industrial clothing for its comfort and a high level of inherent flame resistance
The exhaustion decreased obviously with increasing pH in the range of 1.2–4.1. This indicates that the electrostatic interactions between the positively charged amino groups in wool fiber and the anionic phosphate groups in phytic acid (PA)
These results indicate that the element P participates in the formation of the the formation of the char layer, which hinders the transfer of heat flow and combustible gas and char layer, which hinders the transfer of heat flow and combustible gas and provides good flame provides good flame retardancy
Summary
As a natural protein fiber, wool is widely used in apparel, interior textiles and industrial clothing for its comfort and a high level of inherent flame resistance. Most wool fabrics can pass a horizontal test but cannot pass 45 ̋ or vertical tests Some special products such as seat coverings in cars and buses, aircraft furnishings and blankets, wall coverings in public buildings, protective clothing, and carpets of shag pile construction and low density need additional treatment to impart higher flame resistance [3]. Based on the Zirpro process, many kinds of acids such as formic acid and hydrochloric acid have been applied along with zirconium or titanium complexes to improve the FR properties of wool fabrics [7,8,9,10]. Some intumescent agents such as tetrakis-hydroxymethyl phosphonium condensates (THPC), N-methylol dimethyl phosphonopropionamide derivatives (MDPA) and simple ammonium phosphates have been applied to increase the FR properties of wool fabric by means of the formation of a high thermal
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