Preparation and performance evaluation of phosphorus-nitrogen synergism flame-retardant water-borne coatings for cotton and polyester fabrics

Three phosphorus-nitrogen content effective synergist flame-retardant water-borne coatings have been synthesized, and their structures were characterized by infrared spectroscopy. Cotton and polyester fabrics have been treated by coatings to improve their flame retardancy. The thermal performances and flame retardant properties of treated samples were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), horizontal flame test, vertical burning test, limiting oxygen index (LOI), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively. The combustion performances of cotton and polyester fabrics have proven to be strongly affected by flame-retardant coatings and HFD-coating performed the best. As a result, the LOI value of treated cotton increased to 22.5, and the UL-94 value of treated polyester achieved V-0. In addition, the antistatic behavior, hydrostatic pressure, tearing strength and wrinkle recovery angle of samples were studied carefully, and the results showed that all of these performances were improved.