Synergistic effect between piperazine pyrophosphate and melamine polyphosphate in flame retarded glass fiber reinforced polypropylene

Surface modification of zinc oxide and its application in polypropylene with excellent fire performance and ultra-violet resistance

Despite the advantages of easy moulding and excellent mechanical properties, there are still some shortcomings with polypropylene (PP) such as high flammability and poor ultra-violet (UV) resistance. In this work, modified zinc oxide (mZnO) was prepared by reacting zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) with polysiloxanes, and the effect of mZnO on the effectiveness of intumescent flame-retardant and on the UV aging resistance of polypropylene were investigated. By introducing 16 wt% (intumescent flame-retardant /mZnO) and 0.3 wt% maleic anhydride-grafted PP (MAH-g-PP), the limiting oxygen index increased to 32.7 %, and passed UL-94V-0 rating. In comparison to the controls, the peak heat release rate and the peak smoke release rate were 88.5 % and 80 % lower, respectively. In addition, PP samples showed improved mechanical properties, with a 5 % increase in tensile properties compared to the pure PP sample. After 100 h of UV irradiation, the surface of the samples was relatively flat and smooth, and the carbonyl index decreased from 81.1 of neat PP to 26.7. PP composites with 100 h aging treatment still had excellent flame retardancy and mechanical properties. The results showed that mZnO was effective in improving the flame retardancy, mechanical properties and light aging tolerance of PP. This study provides a novel approach to fabricate long-life flame-retardant PP composites with low additive content.

Green and economic flame retardant prepared by the one-step method for polylactic acid

Resolving the flammability of poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA) while ensuring its environmental friendliness and preserving key flame retardancy and mechanical properties represents a critical challenge. We have successfully developed a highly efficient and environmentally friendly flame retardant called Hexamethylenediamine tetramethylene phosphonic acid amine (HDME). The flame retardancy of PLA/HDME composites was significantly improved, as indicated by the LOI value of 29.1 % and UL-94 V-0 rating for PLA/3.5 HDME with only 3.5 % HDME addition. The results show a 23.4 % reduction in the total heat release (THR), a 40.0 % increase in the time to ignition (TTI), and a 21.2 % increase in the flame propagation index (FPI) compared to original PLA. Flame retardant mechanism of HDME involves the gas phase, condensed phase, and interrupted heat exchange effects. The HDME also preserved the original mechanical properties of PLA, with the elongation at break and tensile strength retention of PLA/3.5 HDME reaching 93.05 % and 89.65 %. This work provides a simple and efficient method for flame retardant modification of PLA, which can expand its application scope.

Highly efficient metal-organic framework based intumescent poly(L-lactic acid) towards fire safety, ignition delay and UV resistance

Developing multifunctional biodegradable PLA with ignition delay, high efficient fire retardancy, and UV resistance properties is a challenging task owing to its high flammability, and mutually exclusive phenomenon between the latter two properties. In this work, we report a superior efficient synergistic action combining piperazine pyrophosphate (PAPP) and a Co based metal-organic framework (ZIF-67). Results illustrated that with merely 0.06 wt% ZIF-67, intumescent PLA containing 4.96 wt% PAPP reached UL-94 V0 rating. The PLA/4.9PAPP/0.1MOF sample possessed a limiting oxygen index (LOI) value at 33 %, exhibited a 28 % reduction in peak heat release rate (pHRR) and a 67 % increase in fire propagation index (FPI). Moreover, the presence MOF delayed the ignition time of PLA by 12 s due to the highly porous structure of MOF and its chemical heat-sink performance. Insightful reaction to fire mechanism in the condensed phase via TG-FTIR and Raman revealed that a crack free protective intumescent char layer with higher graphitization degree was formed, which effectively enhanced the barrier effect and minimize the heat and fuel transfer. In addition, the UV resistance of PLA composites is enhanced, remaining at and below 5 % transmittance in the UVA and UVB areas. This work provides a green production way of multifunctional degradable materials and broadens their application fields.

Synergistic Effect of 4A Molecular Sieve on Intumescent Ternary H-Bonded Complex in Flame-Retarding of Polypropylene

In this study, a ternary hydrogen (H)-bonded complex intumescent flame retardant (TH-IFR) of melamine (ME) · phosphoric acid (PA)…pentaerythritol (PER) was synthesized through hydrothermal reaction. The combination of the synthesized TH-IFR with 4A molecular sieve as the synergist was used for the first time to improve the flame retardancy of polypropylene (PP). The involved structure, morphology, flame retardancy, flame-retarding mechanism and mechanical properties of the prepared PP composites were systematically investigated. The results show that incorporation of 1 wt% synergist 4A shows the optimum synergistic effect, and the flame retardancy and mechanical properties of the flame-retarded (FR) PP composites are significantly improved. Incorporation of 4A could change the pyrolysis process of the entire system and promote the char-forming chemical interaction, thereby further enhancing the flame retardancy of FR PP composite. The synergistically flame-retarding mechanism of 4A is explained by the significantly improved quality and quantity of the solid-phase char layer, which is formed through generation of SiO₂ and Al₂O₃ substances, and also participation of PP macromolecular chains in the final char layer formation during burning. Furthermore, the improved dispersion and compatibility of TH-IFR in the composite is largely beneficial to the improvement of flame retardancy and mechanical properties.

Synergistic Effect between Piperazine Pyrophosphate and Melamine Polyphosphate in Flame Retardant Coatings for Structural Steel

Piperazine pyrophosphate (PAPP) combined with melamine polyphosphate (MPP) was adopted to prepare a waterborne fire retardant intumescent coating (IC) for structural steel. Silicone acrylic emulsion was used as binder. In the 2-h torch test, PAPP/MPP-IC coating presented excellent fire resistance performance. The equilibrium temperature at the backside of the steel board decreased to 170 °C with protection of MPP/PAPP-IC, compared with 326 °C of APP/PER/MEL-IC. After 72-h water immersion, MPP/PAPP-IC could still provide sufficient thermal isolation, but APP/PER/MEL-IC failed the test. The water absorption of the MPP/PAPP coating was also reduced. The thermogravimetric analysis measured that the PAPP/MPP-IC had unique initial decomposition temperature of 296 °C and higher residue of 33.8 wt%, which demonstrated better thermal stability and fire retardancy in condensed phase. In addition, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images illustrated that the structure of the carbon layer formed by MPP/PAPP-IC was dense, complete and consistent, indicating the improvement of mechanical strength and thermal isolation of the char. The synergistic effect between piperazine and phosphoric acid groups in MPP/PAPP contributed to the superior flame retardancy. Consequently, MPP/PAPP-IC was much more efficient than the traditional APP/PER/MEL-IC. This work provides a novel way for designing flame retardant coatings for structural steel with excellent comprehensive performance.

Research and Statistical Analysis on Impact Resistance of Steel Fiber Expanded Polystyrene Concrete and Expanded Polystyrene Concrete

Steel fiber foamed concrete (SFFC) combines the impact resistance of steel fiber concrete (SFC) and the energy absorption characteristics of foamed concrete (FC), and it has brought attention to the impact field. Using the mechanical properties of SFFC expanded polystyrene concrete, we prepared (EPSC) specimens with 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50% by volume of expanded polystyrene (V_eps), and steel fiber expanded polystyrene concrete (SFEPSC) specimens by adding 1% steel fiber (SF) based on the EPSC in this study. The relationship between compressive strength, the V_eps and apparent density was revealed. The relationship between the first crack and the ultimate failure impact of SFEPSC specimens was obtained by a drop-weight test. The impact resistance of SFEPSC and EPSC and the variation law of V_eps were studied by mathematical statistics. The log-normal and the two-parameter Weibull distributions were used to fit the probability distribution of impact resistance of the SFEPSC and EPSC specimens. Finally, both types of specimens’ destruction modes and mechanisms were analyzed. The mechanism of the EPS particles and the SFs dissipating impact load energy was analyzed from the energy point of view.