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Cupric ion decorated ammonium polyphosphate as an effective flame retardant for thermoplastic polyurethane

  • Polymers & biopolymers
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Abstract

Inspired by the significant synergistic charring effect and catalytic graphitizing effect of metal ion, cupric ion decorated ammonium polyphosphate (APP@Cu) was prepared to improve the fire safety of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The characterization on micromorphology, chemical composition and structure of APP@Cu confirmed that copper hydroxide was decorated on the surface of APP. Comparing for TPU/APP, TPU/APP@Cu achieved a higher LOI value of 28.2% and reached UL-94 V-0 rating. What’s more, the peak of heat release rate, total smoke production and the fire growth rate significantly reduced by 72%, 36% and 76%, respectively, in comparison with that of TPU. These results demonstrated that APP@Cu preferably magnified the flame-retardant efficiency of APP for TPU due to the synergistic charring effect of phosphorus and cupric ion, and the catalytic graphitizing effect of copper species. Therefore, the enhancing char-forming mechanism would provide a strategy for improving the fire safety of TPU.

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Acknowledgements

The research was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (22205028), Natural Science Foundation Project of Chongqing, Chongqing Science and Technology Commission (cstc2021jcyj-msxmX0370), the Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (KJQN202200711), National College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program (202210618001), The Key Laboratory of Flame Retardancy Finishing of Textile Materials, CNTAC (kf2022-003), and International Science and Technology Cooperation and Exchange Program of Sichuan Science and Technology Department (211552).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. China-Spain Collaborative Research Center for Advanced Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing Jiaotong University, Chongqing, 400074, China

    Xiao-Hui Shi, Shi-Jie Wu, Wei-Min Xie, Qing-Yun Liu & Si-Yi Yang

  2. China National Textile and Apparel Council Key Laboratory of Flame Retardancy Finishing of Textile Materials, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Xiao-Hui Shi

  3. IMDEA Materials Institute, C/Eric Kandel 2, Getafe, 28906, Madrid, Spain

    Jose Hobson & De-Yi Wang

  4. Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Ctra. Pozuelo-Majadahonda Km 1, 800, Pozuelo de Alarcón, 28223, Madrid, Spain

    De-Yi Wang

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Contributions

XHS Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Data analysis; Draft writing; Manuscript revision; Project administration. SJW Sample preparation; Data curation; Formal analysis; Data analysis. WMX Sample preparation; Data curation; Formal analysis; Data analysis. QYL Sample preparation; Data curation; Formal analysis; Data analysis. SYY Data curation; Formal analysis. JH Sample testing; Data analysis. DYW Conceptualization; Formal analysis; Supervision; Manuscript revision.

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Shi, XH., Wu, SJ., Xie, WM. et al. Cupric ion decorated ammonium polyphosphate as an effective flame retardant for thermoplastic polyurethane. J Mater Sci 58, 9060–9072 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-08554-9

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