Abstract
A flame retardant surface has been prepared by the layer-by layer assemblies of branched polyethylenimine (BPEI), kaolin, urea, and diammonium phosphate (DAP) on cotton fabrics. Four different kinds of cotton fabrics (print cloth, mercerized print cloth, mercerized twill, and fleece) were prepared using solutions of BPEI, urea, DAP, and kaolin. Layer-by-layer assemblies for flame retardant properties were applied by the pad-dry-cure method and each coating formula was rotated for 10, 20, 30, or 40 bilayers. To assess the effectiveness to resist flame propagation on treated fabrics of different constructions the vertical flammability test (ASTM D 6413-11) was used. In most cases char lengths of fabrics that passed the vertical flammability tests were less than 50% of the original length and after-flame and after-glow times were less than one second. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and limiting oxygen indices (LOI, ASTM D 2863-09) were also used to test for flame retardancy. All untreated fabrics showed LOI values of about 19-21% oxygen in nitrogen. LOI values for the four types of treated fabrics were greater than 35% when add-on wt% values were between 11.1 – 18.6 wt %. In addition, structural characterizations of treated fabrics were studied by SEM methods.
Highlights
Cotton fiber is widely used to produce apparel, home furnishings, and various industrial products, such as medical supplies, industrial thread, and tarpaulins
When the fabrics were treated with an aqueous solution of 20 wt % diammonium phosphate (DAP) and urea, the percent addons ranged from 15.5 to 17.3% depending on the fabric by 40 bilayers processing
Layer-by-layer self-assembly has been successfully used to apply a wide variety of functional nanocoatings to textiles, but the deposition process is often time-consuming and labour-intensive
Summary
Cotton fiber is widely used to produce apparel, home furnishings, and various industrial products, such as medical supplies, industrial thread, and tarpaulins. Unlike the halogen-containing compounds, which generate toxicity or may produce toxic gases, corrosive smoke, or harmful substances [10], the phosphorous-containing flame retardants are known to transform into phosphoric acid during combustion or thermal degradation This further causes the formation of non-volatile polyphosphoric acid that can react with the decomposing polymer by esterification and dehydration to promote the formation of char residue [11, 12]. J. Grunlan and coworkers have extensively studied the LBL deposition of clay and nanoparticles with branched polyethylenimine (BPEI) on cotton fabric to produce flame-retardant multilayer coatings of an environmentally friendly, all-polymer nanocoating capable of extinguishing flame on cotton fabrics [27,28,29]. The nanocoating of textile materials to impart flame retardancy is a relatively new field, and the use of LBL technology to modify the surfaces of textile fabrics and fibers has been widely studied in recent years, the overall process is still not well understood. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements were performed to verify the presence of the deposited nanolayers and study the morphology of the various nanocoatings
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Materials Science and Applications
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
