Flame retardancy effect of melamine cyanurate in combination with aluminum diethylphosphinate in a fully waterborne epoxy system

A water-soluble sorbitol polyglycidyl ether (SPE) epoxy monomer was cured with a waterborne polyamine hardener to prepare a fully waterborne epoxy system. Aluminum diethyl phosphinate (AlPi) and melamine cyanurate (MC) flame retardants (FRs) were utilized to develop the flame retardancy of this epoxy matrix. The effect of loading different weights of MC with only 1%P-content from AlPi was discussed to investigate the possible cooperative effect of these two FRs. The best results were obtained at 5% MC loading with 1%P of AlPi as the self-extinguishing behavior was observed with a good limiting oxygen index (LOI). Furthermore, under forced flaming conditions in cone calorimetry measurements, the peak of heat release rate (pHRR) decreased by 27.4%, and the total heat release (THR) decreased by 14.5% compared to the reference epoxy system. This enhancement of flame retardant properties might indicate the synergistic effect between MC and AlPi in a waterborne system.