The comparison of differences in flammability and thermal degradation between cotton fabrics treated with phosphoramidate derivatives

The effectiveness of a phosphoramidate tetraethyl piperazine-1,4-diyldiphosphoramidate (TEPP) as a flame retardant on cotton twill fabrics was compared with that of a previously studied diethyl 4-methylpiperazin-1-ylphosphoramidate (DEPP). TEPP was formed in a reaction between two phosphonates and a piperazine then cotton twill fabrics were treated with TEPP at different levels of add-on (2-19 wt%) and characterized using vertical flammability, limiting oxygen index, microscale combustion calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis methods. The results showed better flame retardancy and thermal behavior for TEPP fabrics when compared with DEPP fabrics. When the morphological structure of the formed char from the burned areas was examined by scanning electron microscopy, the results revealed a fairly insignificant difference in the mode of action between the two types of fabric. Copyright (C) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.