Polyacrylates in Flame Retardant Treatments of Textile Fabrics

Durable phosphorus-based flame retardants containing polyacrylate emul sions were applied to cotton, cotton-polyester, and cotton-wool twill fabrics to study the effect of the added polyacrylates on the physical properties and flame retardancy. The Thps-urea-TMM flame retardant with added polyacrylate im parted better overall physical properties to 100% cotton fabric than to cotton blend fabrics. Treatments containing polyacrylates with low glass transition temperatures produced fabrics with the highest abrasion resistance, tearing strength and wrinkle recovery. The flame retardancy of treated fabrics was not adversely affected by the addition of polyacrylates to the flame retardant treatments.