Citation

Guan JP, Chen GQ. Fire Mater. 2006; 30(6): 415-424.

Affiliation

School of Material Engineering, Soochow University, Soochow, Jiangsu Province 215021, People's Republic of China

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/fam.920

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The paper mainly deals with flame retardancy of silk fabrics treated with a commercial organophosphorus flame retardant [N-hydroxymethyl (3-dimethyl phosphono) propionamide (HDPP), also known as Pyrovatex CP], using the pad-dry-cure-wash method. The structures and properties of the treated and control sample are discussed. The Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) value of the modified sample is above 30%. After 50 laundry cycles, it still has some flame retardancy left.HDPP and a cross-linking agent (HMM) were bound to silk fabrics which is confirmed by FT-IR spectra and amino analysis. The reaction degree of the flame retardant with silk is also high; almost all the tyrosine units have reacted, which can be confirmed by amino acid analysis. The reaction between flame retardant and silk only occurs in the amorphous region of silk fibre, which is confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis and amino acid analysis. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis show that the flame retardant causes silk fabrics to decompose below its ignition temperature (600°C) and formed carbonaceous residue or char when exposed to fire. The char behaves as a thermal barrier to fire, so silk fabrics show good flame retardancy.The treatment has a little effect on the whiteness of the silk fabrics and the tensile strength of treated silk fabrics slightly decreased; both effects are negligible.