With the use of polymeric materials in a wide range of applications, from electrical insulation to paneling for transportation, the issue of inherent flammability must be addressed. However, many flame retardant additives have come under scrutiny due to the carcinogenic or endocrine disrupting properties, forcing legislation to be created ruling out many classes of these highly necessary polymer additives. To combat this, a new class of nontoxic and environmentally friendly flame retardant additives is needed, and while many have researched the use of biocompatible additives, we believe the future lies in metal organic salts. Similar to their less effective metal hydroxide counterparts, we hypothesize that metal organic salts form a continuous metal oxide char layer, which is highly effective at cutting off oxygen from the polymeric fuel source. Specifically for epoxy-amines, a class of metal organic salts based on (dibutylamino)propionates has been synthesized. The mechanism of flame retardant action for these salts was investigated via TGA and XPS, where it was found that these salts thermally degrade to their metal oxide, requiring no oxygen to be present for successful flammability prevention. The efficacy of various metals was tested against an industry standard brominated additive and magnesium hydroxide via cone calorimetry. There is a strong dependence on metal choice for the reduction of heat release rate and smoke production, with the zinc additive reducing smoke production and heat release rate most effectively.

Understanding the mechanism and efficacy of metal 3-(dibutylamino) propionates as flame retardant additives for epoxy-amine networks

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.