Flame retardant finishing of the polyester/cotton blend fabric using a cross-linkable hydroxy-functional organophosphorus oligomer

Blend fabrics of cotton and polyester are widely used in apparel, but high flammability becomes a major obstacle for applications of those fabrics in fire protective clothing. The objective of this research was to investigate the flame retardant finishing of a 50/50 polyester/cotton blend fabric. It was discovered previously that N,N '-dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) was able to bond a hydroxy-functional organophosphorus oligomer (HFPO) onto 50/50 nylon/cotton blend fabrics. In this research, the HFPO/DMDHEU system was applied to a 50/50 polyester/cotton twill fabric. The polyester/cotton fabric treated with 36% HFPO and 10% DMDHEU achieved char length of 165 mm after 20 laundering cycles. The laundering durability of the treated fabric was attributed to the formation of polymeric cross-linked networks. The HFPO/DMDHEU system significantly reduced peak heat release rate (PHRR) of cotton on the treated polyester/cotton blend fabric, but its effects on polyester were marginal. HFPO/DMDHEU reduced PHRR of both nylon and cotton on the treated nylon/cotton fabric. It was also discovered that the nitrogen of DMDHEU was synergistic to enhance the flame retardant performance of HFPO on the polyester/cotton fabric.