engleski

SILICA PRECURSORS IN COTTON FLAME RETARDANCY

The cotton and its blends is the most commonly used textile material in the design and production of protective clothing. However, as the cellulose textiles are the most flammable materials it is necessary to improve its flame retardancy. Since 1953, a lot of flame retardant finishes for cotton were developed, but its impact on the environment is being questioned. The government regulations have been the driving force for developing durable flame retardants finishes for textile, to improve its performance and to reduce the negative impact on the environment. Therefore, this paper investigates the effect of silane precursor (tetraethoxysilane - TEOS) for achieving environmental-friendly cotton flame retardancy. The characterisation of treated fabrics was performed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and flame retardancy by ISO 4589:1996 and ISO 15025:2000, and the finish durability after 3 washing cycles according to ISO 6330:2012. Since the high concentration of flame retardants has negative effects to the fabric handle (AATCC Evaluation Procedure 5), whiteness (ISO 105-J02:1997), yellowing (DIN 6167:1980) and strength (ISO 13934-1:1999 ; EN ISO 13934-1:1999) it were determined according to standard methods. The application of silane precursors in combination with the urea-phosphate resulted in similar flame retardancy, but that the aesthetic appearance and fabric handle was better. As a final conclusion, cotton fabrics show high protective properties even after 3 washing cycles.

cotton; flame retardancy; tetraethoxysilane – TEOS; ureaphosphate; TGA; LOI; fabric handle; yellowing; breaking load.

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