Flame retardancy and thermal degradation of halogen-free flame-retardant biobased polyurethane composites based on ammonium polyphosphate and aluminium hypophosphite

In this work, based on castor oil (CO), flame retardant polyurethane sealants (FRPUS) with ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and aluminum hypophosphite (AHP) were prepared. The synergistic flame retardant effects between APP and AHP on flame retardancy, thermal stability, and flame retardant mechanisms of FRPUS were investigated. It was found that when the mass ratio of APP and AHP was 5:1, the limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of FRPUS increased to 35.1%, In addition, at this ratio, the parameters from cone calorimeter testing (CCT) were reduced; these parameters include peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR), smoke production rate (SPR) and total smoke production (TSP). The thermal decomposition behavior of the FRPUS was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that AHP improved the thermal stability of the PUS/APP system and increased char residue at high temperatures. Moreover, the residual carbon was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscope (SEM), gas phase pyrolysis products were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis/infrared spectrometry (TG-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis/mass spectrometry (TG-MS). It was observed that the flame retardant mechanisms of the APP/AHP system was the combination of gas and condensed phase flame retardant mechanisms.