Durable flame-retardant and antidroplet finishing of polyester fabrics with flexible polysiloxane and phytic acid through layer-by-layer assembly and sol-gel process

A three-layer functional coating was prepared through layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly and a sol-gel process. The multilayered coating was composed of a phytic acid (PA) coating dipped between two layers of flexible polysiloxane coatings and was deposited on the polyester fabric by LbL assembly. Flammability tests indicated that the multilayer coating prevented droplet generation during combustion. The PA also absorbed the reactive free radicals to reduce the flame-burning rate. After being soaked for only 20min in PA solution, the fabric exhibited self-extinguishing properties and antidroplet effect during the vertical flame test, while cone calorimetry confirmed that the coated fabric exhibited a 65% decrease in the peak heat release rate and reduced the total amount of smoke released by 72%. After washing the coated fabric 45 times, there was no significant decrease in the phosphorus content and the limiting oxygen index of coated fabrics. Thus, the coating synthesized in this study is an effective method of constructing durable, functional coatings on the surface of fabrics. (c) 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46414.