Influences of silicone emulsion on fire protection of waterborne intumescent fire-resistive coating

The combination of self-crosslinking polyacrylate emulsion and silicone emulsion was used as a binder for the preparation of waterborne intumescent fire-resistive coatings. The influences of silicone emulsion on fire protection and char formation of the coatings were investigated in detail by means of TGA, SEM, energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis, rheological measurement, and fire protection tests. The results showed that using silicone emulsion improved thermal stability and antioxidation ability of the coating and increased the residue weights of the char layer at high temperature. Furthermore, an appropriate amount of silicone emulsion could improve the rheological property of the mixed binders and be conducive to the increase of the intumescent factor of the coatings, thus improving the fire protection of the coating significantly. However, an excess amount of silicone emulsion can lead to uneven dispersion of silicone emulsion in the mixed binder and cause an uneven distribution of cell size of the char layer.