Supramolecular intermediates in the synthesis of polymeric carbon nitride from melamine cyanurate

Synergetic Effect of α-ZrP Nanosheets and Nitrogen-Based Flame Retardants on Thermoplastic Polyurethane

A supramolecular self-assembly method was used to prepare melamine cyanurate/α-ZrP nanosheets (MCA@α-ZrP) as a novel hybrid flame retardant for thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). Microstructure characterization showed a uniform dispersion with strong interfacial strength of the MCA@α-ZrP hybrid within the TPU matrix, leading to simultaneous enhancements in both mechanical and fire-safety properties. The TPU/MCA@α-ZrP nanocomposite exhibited 43.1 and 47.0% increments in tensile strength and fracture energy, respectively. Thanks to the platelike structure of α-ZrP coupled with the dilution effect of MCA (releasing nonflammable gases), the hybrid MCA@α-ZrP reduced the peak heat release rate of TPU by 49.7% in comparison with 15.8 and 35.4% for TPU/MCA and TPU/ α-ZrP composites, respectively. The fire performance index of TPU is significantly promoted by 90% upon adding the MCA@α-ZrP hybrid. Additionally, LOI and UL-94 tests showed high flame-retarding characteristics for the MCA@α-ZrP hybrid. For example, LOI increased from 20.0% for neat TPU to 25.5% for the MCA@α-ZrP hybrid system, and it was rated V-1 from the UL-94 test. Furthermore, the smoke production and pyrolysis products were significantly suppressed by adding the MCA@α-ZrP hybrid into TPU. Interfacial hydrogen bonding, the dilution effect of MCA, forming a "labyrinth" layer, and catalytic action of α-ZrP nanosheets synergistically improved both the mechanical performance and flame retardancy of TPU nanocomposites. This work provides a new example of integrating traditional flame retardants with functional nanosheets to develop polymeric nanocomposites with high mechanical and fire-safety properties.

Task-Specific Synthesis of 3D Porous Carbon Nitrides from the Cycloaddition Reaction and Sequential Self-Assembly Strategy toward Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Carbon nitride has drawn widespread attention as a low-cost alternative to metal-based materials in the field of photocatalysis. However, the traditionally synthesized carbon nitrides always suffer a bulky architecture, which limits their intrinsic activities. Here, a cycloaddition reaction is proposed to synthesize a triazine-based precursor with implanted sodium and cyano groups, which are mostly retained in the resulting carbon nitride after the following polymerization. Incorporated sodium and cyano defects can not only tune the band structure of the carbon nitride but also provide more additive active sites. The optimized properties enable it an adorable photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 1070 μmol h^-1 g^-1, varying by almost an order of magnitude from the pristine carbon nitride (79 μmol h^-1 g^-1). Moreover, a sequential self-assembly strategy has been adopted to further improve its architecture. As a consequence, a three-dimensional (3D) porous carbon nitride microtube cluster is constructed, indicating abundant exposed active sites and the faster separation of charge carriers. The corresponding photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate is 1681 μmol h^-1 g^-1, which is very competitive compared with the reported pure carbon nitride photocatalysts. Briefly, this new approach may offer opportunities to fabricate task-specific carbon- and nitrogen-based materials from the molecular level.

Suppression mechanism of Al dust explosion by melamine polyphosphate and melamine cyanurate

The suppression mechanism of melamine polyphosphate (MPP) and melamine cyanurate (MCA) for Al dust explosions is investigated experimentally and computationally. Results show that depending on the concentration of suppressants, the addition of MCA and MPP promotes or suppresses Al dust explosion. For high additive concentration, large agglomerated residues are generated, and condensed phase residues may contain Al particles, MCA or MPP. The chemical composition of condensed phase residues of Al/MCA mixture explosion is mainly Al₂O₃ and the high boiling products of MEL decomposition (mainly C‒ and N‒containing species). The explosion residues of Al/MPP mixture are composed of Al₂O₃, high boiling products of MEL decomposition and condensed phosphates. To understand the reasons for pressure enhancement and explosion suppression, a kinetic model considering both gas and surface chemistry of Al particles combustion is developed. The simulations indicate that the high pressure rise is caused by the extra heat released from the exothermic reactions of suppressants and the increase of gas phase products. MPP and MCA can suppress surface reaction by decreasing Al(L) site fraction. Additionally, the vaporization rate of Al particles and the diffusion rate of oxidizers close to the droplet surface are reduced by MPP and MCA addition.

Synthesis of g-C3 N4 Nanosheets by Using a Highly Condensed Lamellar Crystalline Melamine-Cyanuric Acid Supramolecular Complex for Enhanced Solar Hydrogen Generation

A highly condensed lamellar melamine-cyanuric acid supramolecular (MCS) complex was synthesized in an autoclave at high pressure as a precursor for preparing g-C₃ N₄ nanosheets. Given the distinctive properties of the prepared MCS complex, an efficient g-C₃ N₄ nanosheet photocatalyst can be obtained by heat treatment of this MCS complex under Ar followed by calcination in air at 400 °C. The resulting nanosheets with in-plane nanoholes showed an extremely high specific surface area (≈270 m²  g^-1 ) and significantly enhanced light absorption in the visible region. This phenomenon is observed for the first time in carbon nitride nanosheets. The enhanced light absorption results from the sizeable conjugated system of tri-striazine units in the carbon nitride framework, coupled with the structural defects arising from the presence of oxygen-containing groups induced during the synthesis. Consequently, the obtained carbon nitride nanosheets exhibited excellent performance for hydrogen generation under sunlight and especially under visible light. Its quantum efficiency (QE) of 20.9 % at 420 nm is one of the highest reported values for carbon nitride materials. A QE of 3.5 % could be observed even at 590 nm. The integrated QE of this material in the visible region (420-600 nm) is approximately 1 %. To the best of our knowledge this is the highest value compared to all other the carbon nitride nanosheet materials reported previously.

Integrated effect of supramolecular self-assembled sandwich-like melamine cyanurate/MoS2 hybrid sheets on reducing fire hazards of polyamide 6 composites

A novel strategy of using supramolecular self-assembly for preparing sandwich-like melamine cyanurate/MoS₂ sheets as the hybrid flame retardants for polyamide 6 (PA6) is reported for the first time. The introduction of MoS₂ sheets function not only as a template to induce the formation of two-dimensional melamine cyanurate capping layers but also as a synergist to generate integrated flame-retarding effect of hybrid sheets, as well as a high-performance smoke suppressor to reduce fire hazards of PA6 materials. Once incorporating this well-designed structures (4wt%) into PA6 matrix, there resulted in a remarkable drop (40%) in the peak heat release rate and a 25% reduction in total heat release. Moreover, the smoke production and pyrolysis gaseous products were efficiently suppressed by the addition of sandwich-like hybrid sheets. The integrated functions consisting of inherent flame retarding effect, physical barrier performance and catalytic activity are believed to the crucial guarantee for the reduced fire hazards of PA6 nanocomposites. Furthermore, this novel strategy with facile and scalable features may provide reference for developing various kinds of MoS₂ based hybrid sheets for diverse applications.