Flame‐retardant finishing of cotton fleece fabric: part I. The use of a hydroxy‐functional organophosphorus oligomer and dimethyloldihydroxylethyleneurea

Cotton fleece has become a popular fashion in recent years. However, most of the 100% cotton fleece fabric is not able to meet the federal flammability standard (‘16 CFR Part 1610: Standard for the Flammability of Clothing Textiles’) without chemical treatment. In this research, we investigated the use of the combination of a hydroxy‐functional organophosphorus oligomer (HFPO) as the flame‐retarding agent and dimethyloldihydroxylethyleneurea (DMDHEU) as the binder to reduce the flammability of cotton fleece. We found that HFPO is effective in reducing the flammability of the cotton fleece whereas DMDHEU enhances the effectiveness of HFPO due to phosphorus–nitrogen synergism. The flammability as well as other properties of the treated cotton fleece is affected by both the concentration of HFPO and that of DMDHEU. The cotton fleece treated with HFPO/DMDHEU passes the federal flammability standard and shows high strength retention with little change in fabric whiteness and hand. We also found that the flame‐retardant finishing system is durable to multiple home launderings. The combination of HFPO and DMDHEU has the potential to become a practical flame‐retardant finishing system to reduce the flammability of cotton fleeces. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.