Flammability and thermal properties of cotton fabrics modified with a novel flame retardant containing triazine and phosphorus components

A novel formaldehyde-free flame retardant containing phosphorus and dichlorotriazine components (CTAP) for cotton fabrics was synthesized. As an active group, the dichlorotriazine could react with cotton fabric via covalent reaction. The addition of 20.7 wt% CTAP into the cotton fabric obtained a high limiting oxygen index value of 31.5%, which was 13.5% higher than the pure cotton fabric. The results of heat release rate, total heat release and effective heat combustion indicated that CTAP effectively imparted flame retardancy to cotton fabric by the cone calorimetry test. With respect to the untreated cotton fabrics, the treated cotton fabrics degraded at lower decomposition temperature and form a consistent and compact char layer, which could be observed by thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Compared to the untreated cotton fabrics, CTAP performed an effective role in flame retardancy for treated cotton fabrics. Meanwhile, it stimulated the formation of char and promoted the thermal stability of treated cotton fabrics during combustion.