Preparation of flame retardant and antibacterial polyacrylonitrile based on Cu2+ chelated six-armed star-type flame retardant SCCP and chitosan

Abstract

In this work, a six-armed star-type flame retardant (SCCP) contained phosphorus, nitrogen and sulfur contents was developed, which was then combined with chitosan (CS) to chelate Cu2+ (SCCP@CS-Cu) and blend with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) to produce flame retardant and antibacterial PAN composite (PAN/SCCP@CS-Cu). TG showed that the residual char of PAN/SCCP@CS-Cu in air and nitrogen atmosphere was as high as 16.41 % and 48.48 % at 800 °C, respectively, which were greater than that of PAN. The LOI value of PAN/SCCP@CS-Cu improved to 33.0 % and the peak heat release rate (PHRR) and total heat release (THR) of the composite were all greatly reduced. In addition, the total smoke production (TSP) of PAN/SCCP@CS-Cu decreased by 73.6 % compared to the control sample. Interestingly, the antibacterial properties of PAN/SCCP@CS-Cu against E. coli and S. aureus reached 98.45 % and 99.33 %. This work provides an insight into developing an environmentally friendly PAN composite with flame retardancy, smoke suppression and antibacterial properties, greatly expanding its application field.