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Article

Preparation of a New Type of Expansion Flame Retardant and Application in Polystyrene

by
Meizhu Qin
1,*,
Xinping Hu
1 and
Jingyan Guo
2
1
Department of Management Science and Engineering, Shanxi Institute of Technology, Yangquan 045000, China
2
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanxi Institute of Technology, Yangquan 045000, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Coatings 2023, 13(4), 733; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13040733
Submission received: 6 March 2023 / Revised: 21 March 2023 / Accepted: 21 March 2023 / Published: 4 April 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Self-Healing, Recyclable, and Degradable Fire-Retardant Coatings for Green Buildings and Engineering Constructions)
Browse Figures
Review Reports Versions Notes

Abstract

:
Polystyrene (PS) is a widely used building insulation material with good mechanical strength and strong temperature adaptability. However, PS itself is highly flammable and displays poor flame retardancy. At present, building fires caused by organic external wall thermal insulation materials prepared from PS represent a new fire hazard. In this study, the addition of an intumescent flame retardant (IFR) to reduce the flammability of PS was achieved. Using melamine (MEL), acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA), and phytic acid (PA) as raw materials, a new type of flame retardant (MAP) was prepared by an electrostatic self-assembly method and was introduced to modify PS. Its effect on the flammability of PS composites was also investigated. The flammability of the PS composites was characterized using the limiting oxygen index (LOI) and vertical combustion. The effect of MAP on the morphology of the carbon layer formed from polymer decomposition was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). By adding MAP to a PS/20%N-IFR flame-retardant composite, the flame-retardant property was significantly improved, the limiting oxygen index reached 37, and the vertical combustion reached a V-0 level. The fire performance index (FPI) of the PS/20%N-IFR composite reached 0.0054, which was significantly higher than that of the control PS (0.037) as determined by the cone calorimetry test. The SEM results showed that the introduction of MAP can increase the density of the carbon layer after combustion. The heat release rate for combustion was reduced. In addition, the mechanical properties of the PS/20%N-IFR composites were compared with those with no flame retardant. The tensile strength of the PS/20%N-IFR composite was 26.1 MPa and the elongation of the PS/20%N-IFR composite remained at 2.2%. The PS/20%N-IFR composite displayed better flame retardancy than the untreated material and good mechanical properties. The presence of MAP prevented the heat and oxygen transfer and interrupted the releasing of flammable products, thus protecting the PS from burning. This flame-retardant material may find broad applications in building insulation materials.

1. Introduction

Industry, construction, and transportation consume large amounts of energy. In recent years, building energy consumption as a proportion of total energy consumption has been around 25%, and this proportion is still on the rise [1,2]. Therefore, building energy savings is an important part of energy constitution. This is mainly achieved through thermal insulation materials [3]. High polymers have the advantages of being lightweight, easy to process, low in thermal conductivity, and low cost, and are often used as building insulation materials [4]. However, the molecular chains of most polymer materials contain a large number of hydrocarbon repeating units. As a consequence, this limits the application of these materials in some fields [5]. In addition, many polymer materials such as polystyrene (PS) used in the exterior insulation materials of buildings may provide a very good energy-saving effect. However, the process of combustion will produce a lot of smoke and toxic gas, which will cause great harm to people and affect their lives and safety [6,7,8,9]. In addition, PS combustion is accompanied by the evidently serious melt dripping phenomenon, which leads to the rapid spread of the fire [10]. In order to eliminate the hidden danger of the ignition of polystyrene insulation material in building exterior walls, it is necessary to make flame-retardant additives to reduce flammability [11]. Huntite and hydromagnesite (HH) were used as flame-retardant additives in linear low-density polystyrene (LLDPS), improving the flame-retardant performance of PS [12]. Among the various flame retardants, halogenated flame retardants are ideal fillers for PS [13]. The biobased organophosphorus flame retardants were prepared from isosorbide, a renewable biomaterial that was copolymerized with the flame retardants, with styrene generating a polymer with substantially diminished flammability compared to that of the styrene homopolymer [14]. However, the use of most halogenated flame retardants has been banned or restricted due to serious environmental and health concerns [15,16,17]. Meanwhile, with the continuous increase in environmental awareness, halogen-free flame retardants have been rapidly developed in recent decades [18].
It is well known that intumescent flame retardants (IFRs) are widely used as polymer additives due to their advantages of generating less smoke and having lower toxicity [19,20,21]. A single-component IFR is a flame retardant that contains an acid source, a carbon source, and an air source in the same component, also known as a “three-source all-in-one” flame retardant [22]. When heated, different groups within the group acting as acid sources, carbon sources, and air sources will react with each other, thus causing an expansive flame-retardant effect [23]. A carbonizing agent and ammonium polyphosphate have been used to compound flame-retardant polystyrene [24]. When the contents of ammonium polyphosphate and a new carbonizing agent were 22.5 wt.% and 7.5 wt.%, respectively, the performance of the PS/IFR composite material was the best, which could greatly inhibit the generation of smoke during combustion. A composite flame retardant was prepared with expandable graphite and refractory resin, and a P-N flame retardant was used for a special flame-retardant structure using coating technology [25]. The limiting oxygen index (LOI) was 38%, the bulk density was 27.6 kg/m3, and the compressive strength was 0.1 MPa. The addition of flame retardants can indeed reduce the combustion of materials and improve fire performance.
A novel intumescent flame retardant, phosphorylated histidine-amino triazine-diaminopropane (PHTD), was synthesized and utilized as both a flame retardant and a binder addition. In addition, flame-retardant expanded polystyrene (EPS) foams containing PHTD were successfully prepared by the coating method [26]. The apparent flame-retardant effect could be obtained with up to a 28.8% LOI value and UL-94 V-0 rating when 41.9 wt.% PHTD was added, and the treated EPS sample showed a significantly depressed peak heat release rate (pHRR) of 74.9% and peak smoke production rate (pSPR) of 77.3%.
Improving the flame retardancy efficiency of IFRs by adding flame retardants, among which is zinc borate (ZB), has become more popular because of its effects of inhibiting melt dripping and enhancing the strength of the residual carbon layer [27].
A new type of ZB whisker was successfully prepared and used as a flame-retardant agent in PP/IFR blends [28]. The LOI value for PP/20%IFR/1%ZB composites increased to 31.2. Compared with PP/20%IFR, its pHRR, THR, and total smoke emissions (TSP) were reduced by 35.3%, 18.8%, and 29.6%, respectively. ZB can interact with the IFR and cause the inflammation of the dense graphitized expanded carbon layers, which greatly hinders heat diffusion and oxygen transport. The appearance of ZB also reduces the generation of combustible volatiles, and the addition of ZB also improves the yield strength, elastic modulus, and impact strength of PP blends [29]. Xu et al. prepared intumescent flame retardants (IFRs) with neopentyl glycol (NPG), melamine (MEL), and ZB [30]. The linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) material was added to the IFRs, obtaining excellent flame-retardant properties.
Melamine (MEL) can effectively inhibit combustion by producing non-flammable gases (such as NH3) to dilute the concentration of combustible volatiles and oxygen [31]. The high phosphorus content of phytic acid (PA) can effectively catalyze the formation of coke and trap free radicals to prevent combustion [32]. MEL, ASA, and PA can be self-assembled into large molecules containing P, N, and S elements by electrostatic action, which can show high flame-retardant efficiency against PS.
In this work, acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate (ASA) as the crosslinking agent, and MEL and PA as raw materials, were used in the formation of a new flame-retardant composition. The new flame retardant (MAP) was prepared using an electrostatic self-assembly method. The MAP has a new P-N-S structure to ensure better flame retardancy. A new type of expansive flame retardant (N-IFR) composed of MAP-APP-PER was synthesized. The flammability of N-IFR/PS was assessed.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Materials

The expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads, ammonium polyphosphate (APP, purity > 98%), pentaerythritol (PER), MEL, and ASA were purchased from Aladdin Reagent Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China. The PA and expandable graphite (EG; purity: 99%, size: 270 µm) were purchased from Beijing Yanshan Xintianze Chemical Co., Ltd., Beijing, China.

2.2. Preparation of a New Type of Expansive Flame-Retardant MAP

Figure 1a shows the composite path of the MAP. Firstly, 0.05 mol of MEL and 100 mL of deionized water were added into a 150 mL beaker. After stirring at 90 °C for 25 min, HCl was slowly added to make the solution’s pH = 5. Then, 0.15 mol of ASA was slowly added into the reaction solution, and after a 4 h reaction, 5 mL of PA solution was added and continuously stirred for 2 h. The brown solution was cooled and crystallized in the ice bath for 8 h. After the sample was filtered, washed, and dried, the light-yellow solid product was the MAP.

2.3. Preparation of Expanded Flame-Retardant Polystyrene

Before the experiment, the required materials were dried in a constant-temperature oven at 70 °C for more than 12 h. PS particles were weighed and crushed in a multifunctional mill for 5 min with the speed set at 80 r/min and the temperature at 150 °C. The PS powder was screened by a 40-target quasi-screen to obtain the PS powder of the size required for the experiment. Then, according to the formula table given in Table 1, the required APP, PER, ZB, and MAP were weighed in proportion, then fused and blended in the mixer with pre-heated PS for 20 min, and the mixture was taken out after shutdown. Finally, the mixed composite powder was placed in the mold of 10 mm × 10 mm × 3 mm; under 180 °C and 15 MPa, the plate vulcanizing press was run for 5 min, and PS/IFR and PS/N-IFR composite materials were obtained. Table 1 shows the composition ratio of PS/IFR and PS/N-IFR composite materials. According to the preliminary experimental results, the ratio of APP and PER was fixed at 1:1, and the IFR was obtained by combining them. The schematic diagram of the expanded flame-retardant polystyrene preparation process is shown in Figure 1b.

2.4. Characterizations

Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) were recorded with the Nicolet IS5 from Thermo Fisher Co., Ltd., USA, and its specifications are 32 scans by KBr disk under the resolution of 1 cm−1 with wavenumbers from 4000 to 500 cm−1.
The HC-2 oxygen index tester was used to test the LOI of PS/IFR composites. The LOI is an expression method to evaluate the relative combustibility of polymer materials. It is very effective to judge the combustibility of materials when they are in contact with flames in the air. The LOI values of PS/IFR composites were collected according to the ASTMD2863 standard.
The vertical combustion performance of PS/IFR composites was tested with the CZF-3 vertical combustion tester. The difficulty of obtaining PS/IFR composites that self-extinguish after being ignited from the bottom in a vertical state was shown. The test was carried out according to the UL-94 standard for PS/IFR composite materials.
A scanning electron microscope (SEM), manufactured by Hitachi, Japan, model (S-3400; working voltage of 20 kV), was used to characterize the morphology of the carbon layer on the surface of the PS/IFR.
A cone calorimeter (CONE) was used to burn the sample under the thermal radiation of the cone electric heater and calculate the heat release rate (HRR) of the material in the combustion process according to the changes in the oxygen consumption of the material during combustion.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Chemical Structure Analysis

The FT-IR spectra of the control PS, PS/20%IFR, and PS/20%N-IFR are shown in Figure 2. In the case of the control PS spectrum, the typical strong peaks at 3298 cm−1 are ascribed to the C–H stretching vibration and the peak at 1650 cm−1 corresponds to the skeleton vibration of the benzene ring. The PS/20%IFR and PS/20%N-IFR samples exhibited strong peaks between 2936 cm−1 that are ascribed to the C-H stretching vibration on the saturated carbon. The peaks at 1065 cm−1 are associated with the C-O stretching vibration of the PS/20%IFR and PS/20%N-IFR samples.

3.2. Flame Retardancy Analysis of PS/IFR Composites

Figure 3 shows the limiting oxygen index (LOI) of PS/IFR composites prepared with different amounts of the IFR. It can be seen from Figure 3 that the LOI of PS without adding IFR is 19%. The LOI of PS/20IFR composites is 33%. At this time, the fire-retardant effect of the PS/IFR composite is relatively weak and still belongs to the combustible level. When the amount of IFR added is 16 wt.% and MAP is 4 wt.%, the LOI of the PS/20%N-IFR composite shows an increasing trend, reaching 37. At this time, the combustion level of the PS/20%N-IFR composite reaches the B1 level, making it a refractory material. The results show that the N-IFR can significantly improve the flame-retardant effect of PS.
Table 2 shows the UL-94 vertical combustion grade of the control PS and PS/20%IFR and PS/20%N-IFR composites. PS burns violently after igniting, meaning that the flame cannot be extinguished by itself and the droplet phenomenon is serious; thus, UL-94 has no grade. The PS/20%IFR sample could not self-extinguish in the UL-94 test and there were still more droplets, and thus the flame-retardant efficiency was low. Meanwhile, the PS/20%N-IFR composite combusted without melting droplets, and its UL-94 grade increased to V-0.

3.3. Cone Calorimetry Test

The heat release rate (HRR), total heat release rate (THR), and total smoke release (TSP) are important parameters for evaluating the thermal hazard of materials, while the peak heat release rate (PHRR) is of great significance for predicting the flammability of materials in real fire scenes [33,34]. Figure 4a shows the heat release rate curve of PS and of the PS/20%IFR and PS/20%N-IFR composites, and Figure 4b shows the total smoke release (TSP) of PS and the PS/20%IFR and PS/20%N-IFR composites. It can be observed from Figure 4a that the control PS burns quickly after ignition, the HRR rises sharply, and the PHRR value reaches 1000 kW/m2, which is the highest. When flame retardants were added to PS, the HRR curves of PS/20%IFR and PS/20%N-IFR were significantly reduced, the PHRR was significantly decreased, and the total combustion time was extended. This indicates that the introduction of the N-IFR and ZB changes the combustion behavior of PS and reduces the heat release of PS.
It can be found from Table 3 that the PHRR of the control PS without any added flame retardants is 1046 kW/m2, which is higher than that of other samples. The PHRR of PS/20%IFR is reduced to 473 kW/m2 when the IFR is added and the PHRR of PS/20%N-IFR is reduced to 448 kW/m2 when the N-IFR is added. This result shows that the PHRR of PS is reduced by 54.8% and 57.2% by adding the IFR and N-IFR. The results show that the heat release characteristics of PS composites are significantly improved, which is related to the fire-retardant effect of the IFR when it is heated and dehydrated, catalyzed into carbon, and well dispersed. With the addition of MAP, the PHHR of the PS composites was further reduced. It can be seen that MAP and the IFR have a coeffect in the process of flame retarding PS, which can inhibit the degradation process of the matrix, reduce heat release, play a better role in flame retarding, and further improve the heat release characteristics of the sample.
The fire performance index of FPI = TTI/PHRR can well characterize the potential risk of materials in fire [35]. In general, materials with a high safety rating need to meet a high fire growth index. The calculated FPI value of the sample is shown in Table 3. We found that the minimum FGI value of the control PS is 0.037, and the maximum FGI value of the PS/20%N-IFR with NFIR is increased to 0.054. Again, this shows that the MAP and IFR can play a good synergistic flame-retardant role in the PS matrix.

3.4. Cone Calorimetric Residual Carbon Analysis

The SEM results of the PS and PS composites’ internal carbon residue are shown in Figure 5a–c. It can be observed from Figure 5a that the carbon layer of the internal and external residual carbon of the control PS is broken and has a large area of holes. The residual carbon of the PS-20%IFR sample is relatively intact, but there are still many small holes in the residual carbon. The holes are likely to have been formed when gases were released due to polymer decomposition during combustion. We can observe from Figure 5c that the residual carbon after PS-20%N-IFR combustion is relatively complete and has few holes. The introduction of MAP can significantly improve the expansion flame retardancy and the compactness of the carbon layer formed during PS-20%N-IFR combustion. The densification degree of the carbon layer has a better barrier effect on oxygen and heat transfer, which is reflected in the improvement in the flame-retardant property of PS-20%N-IFR composites.

3.5. Mechanics Performance Testing

The addition of expansive flame retardants inevitably affects the mechanical properties of the polymer matrix; thus, we tested the tensile strength and fracture elongation of PS, PS/20%IFR, and PS/20%N-IFR, as shown in Figure 6. It can be seen from Figure 6 that the control PS is a brittle material with a tensile strength of 27.6 MPa and low elongation at break and impact strength. When the 20%IFR was added, the tensile strength of the sample decreased to 26.3 MPa, and the decrease rate reached 11.9%. The tensile strength of the PS/20%N-IFR composite was 26.1 MPa, which also decreased. In addition, the elongation at the break of the sample decreased from 2.5% to 2.1% due to the addition of the IFR. The mechanical properties of the samples deteriorated obviously because of poor compatibility between the inorganic IFR and PS. However, the elongation of the PS/20%N-IFR composite remained at 2.2%. This indicates that MAP has good compatibility with PS, which can absorb and dissipate part of the impact energy and alleviate the deterioration of mechanical properties caused by IFR introduction.

4. Conclusions

In conclusion, MAP was synthesized by an electrostatic self-assembly method, and an N-IFR composed of Map-APP-PER and ZB was used as a flame retardant for PS. The N-IFR and ZB have good synergistic flame-retardant effects. The LOI of the PS-20%N-IFR samples was 37 and vertical combustion reached the V-0 level. The PHRR and TSP of PS-20%N-IFR decreased by 57.2% and 21.5%, respectively, compared with those of PS. The SEM results of CONE residual carbon show that the cooperative effect of ZB and the N-IFR is conducive to the formation of a carbon layer with fewer defects and a higher density. This shows that the rapid rise in temperature and large amount of flue gas release can be effectively controlled by adding expansion flame retardant. This kind of building insulation can reduce the risk of fire at the scene of a fire. In addition, the results of the mechanical properties test show that the tensile strength and elongation of the PS-20%N-IFR composite is excellent, and it can meet the requirements for mechanical properties of building thermal insulation materials. Thus, the introduction of this new type of flame retardancy should be widely applicable to PS.

Author Contributions

Formal analysis, M.Q. and J.G.; Writing—original draft, X.H. and M.Q.; Writing—review & editing, M.Q. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration.

Informed Consent Statement

The authors informed consent statement.

Data Availability Statement

Data openly available in a public repository.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Coatings 13 00733 g001 550
Figure 1. The synthetic route of MAP (a) and schematic diagram of expanded flame-retardant polystyrene preparation process (b).
Figure 1. The synthetic route of MAP (a) and schematic diagram of expanded flame-retardant polystyrene preparation process (b).
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Figure 2. FT-IR spectra of control PS, PS/20%IFR, and PS/20%N-IFR.
Figure 2. FT-IR spectra of control PS, PS/20%IFR, and PS/20%N-IFR.
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Figure 3. The LOI of control PS, PS/20%IFR, and PS/20%N-IFR.
Figure 3. The LOI of control PS, PS/20%IFR, and PS/20%N-IFR.
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Figure 4. PS and PS composite CONE test curves. (a) the heat release rate curve and (b) the TSP.
Figure 4. PS and PS composite CONE test curves. (a) the heat release rate curve and (b) the TSP.
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Figure 5. SEM morphology of carbon layer after combustion: (a) control PS, (b) PS-20%IFR, (c) PS-20%N-IFR.
Figure 5. SEM morphology of carbon layer after combustion: (a) control PS, (b) PS-20%IFR, (c) PS-20%N-IFR.
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Figure 6. Tensile strength test diagram (a) and elongation test diagram (b).
Figure 6. Tensile strength test diagram (a) and elongation test diagram (b).
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Table
Table 1. Formulations of PS composites.
Table 1. Formulations of PS composites.
SamplePS (wt.%)APP (wt.%)PRE (wt.%)MAP (wt.%)ZB (wt.%)
Control PS1000000
PS/20%IFR78101002
PS/20%N-IFR788842
Table
Table 2. The UL-94 results for PS composites.
Table 2. The UL-94 results for PS composites.
SampleDrippingIgnition of CottonUL-94
Control PSYesYesNR
PS/20%IFRYesYesV-2
PS/20%N-IFRNoNoV-0
Table
Table 3. The cone calorimeter tests results of control PS and PS composites.
Table 3. The cone calorimeter tests results of control PS and PS composites.
SampleTTI (s)pHRR (kW/m2)THR (MJ/m2)TSP (m2)FPI
Control PS39104611231.20.037
PS/20%IFR254738728.30.053
PS/20%N-IFR244488424.50.054
TTI: Sample ignition time.
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Qin, M.; Hu, X.; Guo, J. Preparation of a New Type of Expansion Flame Retardant and Application in Polystyrene. Coatings 2023, 13, 733. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13040733

AMA Style

Qin M, Hu X, Guo J. Preparation of a New Type of Expansion Flame Retardant and Application in Polystyrene. Coatings. 2023; 13(4):733. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13040733

Chicago/Turabian Style

Qin, Meizhu, Xinping Hu, and Jingyan Guo. 2023. "Preparation of a New Type of Expansion Flame Retardant and Application in Polystyrene" Coatings 13, no. 4: 733. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13040733

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