Flame retardant and bioactive polymer for the finishing of cotton and polyester: synthesis, characterization and application

Abstract

Novel environmental friendly flame retardant was synthesized for treating cotton and polyester textiles to impart fire resistant and antimicrobial properties. The synthesized flame retardant (polyvinyl phosphate urea (PVPU)) was based on a chemical modification of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) without using the solvent that water only used. The chemical structures of the prepared PVPU polymer were investigated using FTIR. The ATR-FTIR spectra were examined to investigate the chemical composition of both untreated and treated cotton as well as polyester fabrics some properties such as fire resistance for untreated and treated fabrics were studied through carrying flammability test, limited oxygen index test (LOI) and tensile strength test. The surfaces of fabrics before and after treatment with PVPU were reported through Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Thermal behaviors of untreated and treated fabrics were reported by thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). From all studies, the results showed a good fire resistance of the prepared PVPU when used for treating cotton and polyester fabrics. The antimicrobial resistance for cotton and polyester fabrics before and after treatment was investigated against some of the microorganisms. The results showed that the treated cotton and polyester textiles give the highest efficiency against fungi and bacteria compared to the untreated ones.