A tetra-DOPO derivative as highly efficient flame retardant for epoxy resins

Synthesis and Characterization of Sodium Lignosulfonate-Based Phosphorus-Containing Intermediates and Its Composite Si-P-C Silicone-Acrylic Emulsion Coating for Flame-Retardant Plywood

Through the substitution reaction between 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) and sodium lignosulfonate (LS), a novel phosphorus-containing sodium lignosulfonate (DAL) was successfully synthesized via the solvothermal method and used as a multifunctional flame retardant to prepare a novel silicone-acrylic emulsion (SAE) composite Si-P-C coating. The structure of DAL was determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (solid-state 13C NMR and 31P NMR). The results demonstrated that incorporating an appropriate dosage of DAL (0.9 g, 1.5 wt %) into SAE-based composite coatings enhances flame retardancy and reduces heat release and smoke production during burning. The peak heat release rate (p-HRR) decreases from 236.7 to 120.3 kW·m-2, total smoke production (TSP) decreases by 71.1%, and the flame-retardant index increases from 1.00 to 4.58. Meanwhile, the coating is transformed into a dense and nonflammable vitreous polyphosphate barrier layer during the firing process to prevent heat or mass transfer. Furthermore, the pyrolysis kinetics identify that the 3D Z-L-T model governs the coatings' pyrolysis, and the appropriate DAL makes the pyrolysis Eα climb from 300.98 to 331.30 kJ·mol-1 at 358-439 °C. Hence, this study presents a new synthesis method of multifunctional flame retardant DAL, studies the excellent properties and cross-linking mechanism of DAL-doped SAE-composite Si-P-C coatings, and explores a halogen-free, low-carbon, and clean eco-technology strategy.

Flame-Retardant and Transparent Unsaturated Polyester Based on P/N Liquid Flame Retardants and Modified Halloysite Nanotubes

Unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) with excellent flame retardant is mainly obtained by adding large amounts of flame retardants, usually at the expense of mechanical properties. In this work, a reactive flame retardant containing phosphorus and nitrogen (DOPO-N) was successfully synthesized and incorporated in UPR as a crosslinker. The mechanical and flame-retardant properties of UPR composites were enhanced. UPR/30DOPO-N passed a UL-94 V-1 rating with a limiting oxygen index (LOI) of 30.8%. The tensile strength of UPR/30DOPO-N increased by 24.4%. On this basis, a small amount of modified HNTs (VHNTs) was added to further improve the flame-retardant properties of the composite. With the introduction of 3 wt% VHNTs, the composite passed the UL-94 V-0 rating. The peak of heat release rate (PHRR) and total heat release (THR) of it decreased by 60.7% and 48.3%, respectively. Moreover, the detailed flame-retarding mechanism of DOPO-N and VHNTs was investigated by thermogravimetric infrared spectroscopy (TG-IR), Raman spectra, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was found that DOPO-N played a role in quenching the flame in the gas phase and cooperated with VHNTs to enhance the barrier effect in the condensed phase.

Construction of hierarchical SiO2 microcapsule towards flame retardation, low toxicity and mechanical enhancement of epoxy resins

A novel approach for improving the flame retardancy, smoke suppression and mechanical properties of epoxy resins (EPs) has been proposed by incorporating functionalized hollow mesoporous silica microcapsules (SHP) loaded with phosphorous silane flame retardants (SCA) and coated with polydopamine (PDA) and transition metals. The proposed approach involves a multi-level structure that combines several mechanisms to enhance the flame-retardant properties of EP. The physical barrier provided by silica serves to impede heat and mass transfer during combustion, while the catalytic carbonization effect of phosphorus and transition metals promotes the formation of a protective char layer, which acts as a barrier to further flame propagation. Incorporating a low loading amount of 3 wt% SHP into the epoxy matrix resulted in EP/SHP-3 composites with significantly improved flame retardancy, as evidenced by a limiting oxygen index of 31.5% and a V-1 rating, in contrast to the values obtained for unmodified EP, which were 23.8% and no rating, respectively. In addition, cone calorimeter test (CCT) results indicated that the total heat release, peak heat release rate and total smoke production of EP/SHP-3 decreased by 18.2%, 25.2% and 18.4%, respectively. Moreover, the improved interfacial compatibility facilitated by polydopamine assists in the dispersion and compatibility of the SHP with the epoxy matrix, leading to better mechanical properties. Herein, the addition of 1 wt% SHP to EP significantly improved its mechanical performance, with a 16.7% increase in tensile strength and a 19.2% increase in impact strength. The design of the multi-level structural approach has the potential to provide new ideas for the simultaneous improvement of fire safety as well as mechanical properties of polymers.

A High-Efficient DOPO-Based Flame Retardant as a Co-Curing Agent for Simultaneously Enhancing the Fire Safety and Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Resin

Simultaneously enhancing the fire safety and mechanical properties of epoxy resin (EP) remains a persistent challenge. Herein, a high-efficient phosphaphenanthrene-based flame retardant (FNP) is synthesized using 3,5-diamino-1,2,4-triazole, 4-formylbenzoic acid, and 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide. Due to the presence of active amine groups, FNP is employed as a co-curing agent for fabricating EP composites with outstanding fire safety and mechanical properties. EP containing 8 wt% FNP (EP/8FNP) achieves a vertical burning (UL-94) V-0 rating with a limiting oxygen index of 31%. Meanwhile, FNP declines the peak heat release rate, total heat release, and total smoke release of EP/8FNP by 41.1%, 31.8%, and 16.0%, respectively, compared to those of unmodified EP. The increased fire safety of EP/FNP composites is because FNP promotes the formation of an intumescent, compact, and cross-linking char layer for EP/FNP composites, and releases P-containing substances and noncombustible gases in the gas phase during combustion. In addition, EP/8FNP exhibits 20.3% and 5.4% increase in the flexural strength and modulus compared with those of pure EP. Furthermore, FNP enhances the glass transition temperature of EP/FNP composites from 141.6 °C for pure EP to 147.3 °C for EP/8FNP. Therefore, this work is conducive to the future development of fabricating fire-safe EP composites with enhanced mechanical properties.

Metal-free highly chemo-selective bisphosphorylation and deoxyphosphorylation of carboxylic acids

Carboxylic acids are readily available in both the natural and synthetic world. Their direct utilization for preparing organophosphorus compounds would greatly benefit the development of organophosphorus chemistry. In this manuscript, we describe a novel and practical phosphorylating reaction under transition metal-free reaction conditions that can selectively convert carboxylic acids into the P-C-O-P motif-containing compounds through bisphosphorylation, and the benzyl phosphorus compounds through deoxyphosphorylation. This strategy provides a new route for carboxylic acid conversion as the alkyl source, enabling highly efficient and practical synthesis of the corresponding value-added organophosphorus compounds with high chemo-selectivity and wide substrate scope, including the late modification of complex APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients). Moreover, this reaction also indicates a new strategy for converting carboxylic acids into alkenes by coupling this work and the subsequent WHE reaction with ketones and aldehydes. We anticipate that this new mode of transforming carboxylic acids will find wide application in chemical synthesis.

Liquid Oxygen Compatibility and Ultra-Low-Temperature Mechanical Properties of Modified epoxy Resin Containing Phosphorus and Nitrogen

Endowing epoxy resin (EP) with prospective liquid oxygen compatibility (LOC) as well as enhanced ultra-low-temperature mechanical properties is urgently required in order to broaden its applications in aerospace engineering. In this study, a reactive phosphorus/nitrogen-containing aromatic ethylenediamine (BSEA) was introduced as a reactive component to enhance the LOC and ultra-low-temperature mechanical properties of an EP/biscitraconimide resin (BCI) system. The resultant EP thermosets showed no sensitivity reactions in the 98J liquid oxygen impact test (LOT) when the BSEA content reached 4 wt% or 5 wt%, indicating that they were compatible with liquid oxygen. Moreover, the bending properties, fracture toughness and impact strength of BSEA-modified EP were greatly enhanced at RT and cryogenic temperatures (77 K) at an appropriate level of BSEA content. The bending strength (251.64 MPa) increased by 113.67%, the fracture toughness (2.97 MPa·m^1/2) increased by 81.10%, and the impact strength (31.85 kJ·m^-2) increased by 128.81% compared with that of pure EP at 77 K. All the above results demonstrate that the BSEA exhibits broad application potential in liquid oxygen tanks and in the cryogenic field.

Terminal group effects of DOPO-conjugated flame retardant on polyamide 6: Thermal stability, flame retardancy and mechanical performances

Two DOPO-conjugated flame retardants with or without amino terminal groups (DOPO-NH₂ and DIDOPO, respectively) were synthesized and incorporated into polyamide 6 (PA6). Results demonstrated the DOPO-NH₂ endowed superior thermal, flame retardant and mechanical performances to PA6 composites. With the same loading of 15 wt%, DOPO-NH₂ can catalyze the PA6 matrix more effectively and result in more residues at high temperature. The PA6 composites containing DOPO-NH₂ exhibited higher LOI (28.0%) compared to 25.0% for the sample containing DIDOPO, and the lower heat release capacity and peak heat release rate. Furthermore, the overall mechanical properties of PA6 composites containing DOPO-NH₂ outperformed the samples containing DIDOPO, even superior to that for PA6. Such a significant difference can be mainly attributed to the existence of amino-terminal group, which can interact with carboxyl group in PA6 as confirmed by dynamic mechanical analysis, improving the compatibility between the flame retardant and PA6 matrix.

A Phosphorous-Based Bi-Functional Flame Retardant Based on Phosphaphenanthrene and Aluminum Hypophosphite for an Epoxy Thermoset

A phosphorous-based bi-functional compound HPDAl was used as a reactive-type flame retardant (FR) in an epoxy thermoset (EP) aiming to improve the flame retardant efficiency of phosphorus-based compounds. HPDAl, consisting of two different P-groups of aluminum phosphinate (AHP) and phosphophenanthrene (DOPO) with different phosphorous chemical environments and thus exerting different FR actions, exhibited an intramolecular P-P groups synergy and possessed superior flame-retardant efficiency compared with DOPO or AHP alone or the physical combination of DOPO/AHP in EP. Adding 2 wt.% HPDAl made EP composites acquire a LOI value of 32.3%, pass a UL94 V-0 rating with a blowing-out effect, and exhibit a decrease in the heat/smoke release. The flame retardant modes of action of HPDAl were confirmed by the experiments of the scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and thermogravimetry–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy–gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (TG-FTIR-GC/MS). The results indicate that the phosphorous-based FRs show different influences on the flame retardancy of composites, mainly depending on their chemical structures. HPDAl had a flame inhibition effect in the gas phase and a charring effect in the condensed phase, with a well-balanced distribution of P content in the gas/condensed phase. Furthermore, the addition of HPDAl hardly impaired the mechanical properties of the matrix due to the link by chemical bonds between them.

Bisphosphorylation of anhydrides - convenient access to bisphosphonates with a P-O-C-P motif

A novel strategy of bisphosphorylation of anhydrides with P(O)-H reagents via a DMAP-catalyzed and DBU-promoted process has been developed. These one-step transformations proceed efficiently to provide convenient access to a variety of P-O-C-P motif containing organophosphorus compounds. In addition, the gram-scale synthesis and the efficient recovery of the by-product highlight the sustainability and applicability of this method.

The P/Si synergistic effect enduing epoxy resin with improved flame retardancy and outstanding mechanical properties

The bisphenol F epoxy resin (DGEBF) reacted with 10-(2,5-Dihydroxyphenyl)-10H-9-oxa-10-phospha-phenantbrene-10-oxide (ODOPB) and phenyltrimethoxysilane (PTMS) to obtain a novel epoxy resin containing both phosphorus and silicon (EP-P/Si). EP-P/Si exhibited evidently improved flame retardancy, with a limited oxygen index value of 33.4% and UL-94 V-1 rating acquired. In cone calorimeter test, its peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR), average effective heat of combustion (av-EHC), and total smoke production (TSP) were reduced by 36.0%, 19.5%,11.5%, and 7.2% compared with neat epoxy resin (EP), respectively, indicating that the P/Si synergistic effect not only improved the flame retardancy but also inhibited the smoke release. The flame retardancy mechanism was studied by analysis of char residue and pyrolysis behavior in gas phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results exhibited that EP-P/Si formed a dense and compact carbon layer acting as a barrier to inhibit further combustion. And the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, laser Raman spectroscopy (LRS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicated that it had good thermal stability. In addition, the pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) results suggested that the phosphorus-containing radicals (·PO2) that had quenching effect existed in the gas phase. While the flame retardancy got improved, EP-P/Si also exhibited excellent mechanical properties, with an improvement of 31.8%, 6.2%, and 369.7% in tensile strength, flexural strength, and impact strength compared with EP, respectively.

Fabrication of a bi-hydroxyl-bi-DOPO compound with excellent quenching and charring capacities for lignin-based epoxy resin

In this study, lignin-based epoxy resins (EP) were fabricated using lignin, phenol and glyoxal as crosslinking reagents. For improving the flame retardancy, a bi-DOPO compound with bi-hydroxyl structure was successfully synthesized, containing excellent quenching and charring capacities. Good pyrolysis behaviors of as-synthesized flame retardant resulted in significant quenching effect via structure decomposition to release PO and PO₂ free radicals for capturing reactive H and OH radicals produced from epoxy combustion. With addition of 0.18 wt% phosphorus, epoxy composite (10% LPG-ER-4) passed V-0 rating with high limited oxygen index (LOI) value of 35.2%. Cone calorimeter tests showed that heat release (including heat release rate (HRR) and total heat release (THR)) from combustion was reduced with assistance of flame retardant. Char residue analyses illustrated that bi-hydroxyl structure in DOPO-based flame retardant benefited the formation of char layer with higher compactness and integrity to serve as a protective shell of interior epoxy matrix. Furthermore, exterior pore size of char residue was narrowed or blocked to avoid the release of heat and volatiles generated from combustion. This study provided a feasible method to improve flame retardancy of lignin-based EP and proposed flame-retardant mechanism both in gaseous and solid phases.

Controllable fabrication of a hybrid containing dodecyl dihydrogen phosphate modified magnesium borate whisker/hydrated alumina for enhancing the fire safety and mechanical properties of epoxy resin

A composite particle with hydrated alumina deposited on the surface of magnesium borate whisker (MBW@HA) was prepared following a chemical liquid deposition method. Subsequently, dodecyl dihydrogen phosphate (DDP) was grafted onto the surface of the composite particles to synthesize an inorganic–organic hybrid (MBW@HA–DDP). The structure, morphology, and composition of MBW@HA–DDP were well characterized. The results revealed the hybrid of MBW@HA–DDP was successfully synthesized characterized by a hydrophobic surface. Subsequently, the obtained MBW@HA–DDP was incorporated into epoxy resin (EP) to fabricate flame retardant composites. The results revealed that the incorporation of MBW@HA–DDP significantly improved the fire safety of EP, for instance, the total heat release (THR) and peak heat release rate (PHRR) of the EP composite with 10-phr MBW@HA–DDP added were reduced by 28.1% and 32.0%, respectively, accompanied with lower total smoke production (TSP) and smoke production rate (SPR). The improved fire safety was due to the barrier function of MBW and HA, and the dilution effect of water vapor generated from HA. Meanwhile, the phosphorus oxoacids generated from DDP could function as catalysts and increase the degree of graphitization of the char residues, thus protecting the matrix effectively. In relation to mechanical properties, the incorporation of MBW@HA–DDP did not deteriorate the mechanical properties of EP but improved them to some extent. The results presented herein help develop a novel strategy for developing flame retardants characterized by good flame-retardant behavior and improved mechanical properties.

A novel hybrid containing dodecyl dihydrogen phosphate modified magnesium borate whisker/hydrated alumina (MBW@HA–DDP) was fabricated with good flame retardant and reinforcing properties for epoxy resin (EP).