Construction of a novel B/N/Si synergistic flame retardant system and its application on cotton fabric

In view of the fact that a large number of fire accidents are directly or indirectly caused by cotton fabrics every year, it is extremely urgent to endow cotton fabrics with flame retardant properties. A neotype boron-nitrogen-silicon synergistic flame retardant BTDU-PTMS was successfully synthesized and applied to cotton fabric. The morphology and elemental changes were determined by SEM-EDX, which proved that BTDU-PTMS was successfully finished on cotton fabric. The flame retardancy was assessed by LOI and vertical combustion test, when the weight gain (WG) was 30%, the LOI value of 32.7% with char length of 85 mm can be achieved. The thermal stability of samples was researched by TG analysis, and the char residue can reach 35.85% in the nitrogen atmosphere. The combustion action was evaluated by cone calorimetry test. With the WG was 20%, the TSP decreased by 43.3%, showing excellent smoke suppression ability. Eventually, the possible flame retardant mechanism was discussed, demonstrating BTDU-PTMS was a solid-gas two-phase flame retardant.