Preparation and properties of PA@PANI conductive and flame retardant functional polyester fabric without droplet

Abstract Polyester fiber is the most widely used synthetic fiber with the largest output at present. However, to some extent, its application is limited by the disadvantages of poor hygroscopicity, static electricity and burning droplets. In this paper, a bifunctional polyester fabric with electrical conductivity and flame retardancy was prepared by in-situ polymerization of aniline with phytic acid (PA) as the dopant, which improved the drawbacks of polyester fabric and broaden its industrial application field. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) demonstrated that PA@PANI was successfully synthesized and uniformly distributed on the surface of polyester fabric. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that the treated fabric has higher thermal stability and more residual chars compared to the control fabric. The anti-dripping and flame retardancy properties of fabric were evaluated by vertical flaming test (VFT) and limiting oxygen index (LOI), and the analysis of residues by a ultra depth-of-field three-dimensional microscope showed that the PA@PANI treated fabric belongs to the intumescent flame retardant mechanism. The electrical conductivity of the fabric was measured by a four-point probes resistance tester. The results showed that when the molar ratio of aniline monomer to ammonium persulfate was 3:1 and phytic acid concentration was 0.3 mol/L, the prepared fabric has the best performance with the electrical conductivity of 12.27 S/m and the LOI value of 33.5%. Most importantly, the dripping property of polyester fabric was completely eliminated.