Establishment of a highly efficient flame-retardant system for rigid polyurethane foams based on bi-phase flame-retardant actions

Rigid polyurethane foam (PU), one of the most promising wall insulation materials, exhibits high flammability and fire risk. In this work, PU/EG/HQ composites with highly effective flame retardancy were fabricated by adding two kinds of flame retardants, expandable graphite (EG) and 10-(2,5-dihydroxyphenyl)-10-hydro-9oxa- 10-phosphorylphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO-HQ), during the synthesis of polyurethane. Thermal stability and flammability were evaluated using the limiting oxygen index (LOI), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), UL-94 vertical flame results, and cone colorimeter tests. The as-synthesized PU/EG/HQ composites showed a high LOI value, a maximum peak heat release rate (PHRR) value which was decreased by 58.5% and an increased char yield at 800 degrees C. They also achieved UL-94 V-0 classification. SEM and Raman spectra indicated that the worm-like intumescent char layer with a graphitized structure and the formed viscous liquid film were vital factors in the enhancement of the flame retardancy of polyurethane foam in the condensed phase. TG-IR results show that the release of toxic volatiles and flammable gases from the PU/EG/HQ samples was remarkably decreased compared with the release from pure PU. This work associates a gas-solid biphase flame retardancy mechanism with the incorporation of two types of flame retardant and presents an effective method for the synthesis of bi-phase flame-retardant polymers.