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ARS Home » Southeast Area » New Orleans, Louisiana » Southern Regional Research Center » Cotton Chemistry and Utilization Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #303641
Title: Application of a phosphazene derivative as a flame retardant for cotton fabric using conventional method and supercritical CO2

Author
item Fontenot, Krystal
item Easson, Michael
item Smith, Jade
item Madison, Crista
item Nam, Sunghyun
item Nguyen, Monique
item Chang, Sechin
item Condon, Brian

Submitted to: American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists Journal of Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/27/2014
Publication Date: 11/1/2014
Citation: Fontenot, K.R., Easson, M.W., Smith, J.N., Madison, C.A., Nam, S., Nguyen, M.M., Chang, S., Condon, B.D. 2014. Application of a phosphazene derivative as a flame retardant for cotton fabric using conventional method and supercritical CO2. American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists Journal of Research. 1(6):16-26.

Interpretive Summary: The purpose of the present research is to produce a novel flame retardant, demonstrate its efficacy through multiple flame retardant tests, and examine its durability after application of the flame retardant onto cotton fabric via conventional pad-dry cure (non-scCO2) and supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) methods. Flame retardant finishes for cotton textiles must be durable to repeated home launderings if they are to be successful in the marketplace. Besides durability, flame retardants need to be easily synthesized in high yield from readily available starting materials and without the need for extensive purification involving both time and labor. The phosphazene derivative, 1,1',4,5-tetrahydrotrispiro[1,3,2-diazaphosphole-2,2'-[1,3,5,2,4,6]triazatriphosphinine-4',6''-dibenzo [d,f][1,3,2]dioxaphosphepine-6',6'''-dibenzo[d,f][1,3,2]dioxaphosphepine](2), was easily synthesized in high yield in two steps without the need for chromatography. Its flame retardant properties were demonstrated in 45 degree angle flammability testing, limiting oxygen index (LOI), microscale combustion calorimetry (MCC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). A side-by-side comparison of conventional pad-dry cure (non-scCO2) and supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) application methods determined that fabrics treated using the conventional pad-dry cure (non-scCO2) method were more durable to repeated home launderings. While the sc-CO2 application method is preferred over conventional non-scCO2 method for environmental reasons, the data indicate the conventional non-scCO2 method is more durable. Whether this finding has a broader impact for other flame retardants has yet to be determined and will be examined and reported at a later date.

Technical Abstract: Conventional pad-dry-cure (non-scCO2) and supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) application methods were investigated to study the effectiveness of a phosphazene derivative as a flame retardant on cotton fabric. 1,1',4,5-tetrahydrotrispiro[1,3,2-diazaphosphole-2,2'-[1,3,5,2,4,6]triazatriphosphinine-4',6''-dibenzo[d,f][1,3,2]dioxaphosphepine-6',6'''-dibenzo [d,f][1,3,2]dioxaphosphepine](2), was synthesized in two steps in high yield and applied onto cotton fabric. The flame retardant properties of the treated fabrics were examined by 45 degree angle flammability test, limiting oxygen index (LOI), microscale combustion calorimetry (MCC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicate the treated fabrics are flame resistant and non-scCO2 fabrics performed better than scCO2 fabrics in a preliminary study of durability.