Abstract
The compatibility and coating ratio between flame retardant materials and expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam is a major impediment to achieving satisfactory flame retardant performance. In this study, we prepared a water-based intumescent flame retardant system and methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI)-coated expandable polystyrene microspheres by a simple coating approach. We investigated the compatibility, coating ratio, and fire performance of EPS- and MDI-coated EPS foam using a water-based intumescent flame retardant system. The microscopic study revealed that the water-based intumescent flame retardant materials were successfully incorporated with and without MDI-coated EPS microspheres. The cone calorimeter tests (CCTs) of the MDI-coated EPS containing water-based intumescent flame retardant materials exhibited better flame retardant performance with a lower total heat release (THR) 7.3 MJ/m2, peak heat release rate (PHRR) 57.6 kW/m2, fire growth rate (FIGRA) 2027.067 W/m2.s, and total smoke production (TSP) 0.133 m2. Our results demonstrated that the MDI-coated EPS containing water-based intumescent flame retardant materials achieved flame retarding properties as per fire safety standards.
Highlights
Rapid urbanization has negatively affected the existing thermal balance, resulting in the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect
For the methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI)-coated expanded polystyrene (EPS), we observed an additional peak at 2274 cm−1 from the stretching vibration of the -NCO group, which indicates the presence of MDI
It is evident that no chemical reaction occurred or new chemical bond was generated during the preparation of this coating material
Summary
Rapid urbanization has negatively affected the existing thermal balance, resulting in the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. The primary objective of flame retardant formulation is to reduce the filler loading while boosting the fire performance [32,33] To overcome these challenges, it is important to find an effective and eco-friendly mineral flame retardant materials for EPS. Talc and CaCO3 can react with phosphate species, which leads to the formation of thermally stable char resulting in increased flame retardant performance [38,39,40] These intumescent coating materials are bonded together with the help of polymer binders [41,42]. The adopted process containing MDI-coated EPS and a waterborne intumescent flame retardant formulation lead to a synergistic effect on the intumescent flame retardant performance. Ltd., gypsum (purity >96%) was provided by Namhae chemical corporation, South Korea
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