Abstract
This paper initially reviews the strengths of decabromodiphenyl ether in textile back-coating formulations, particularly in terms of its flame retardant efficiency and durability and discusses previously reported attempts, to find effective non-halogen replacements. In addition, we present further research that has investigated means of possibly increasing the flame retardant efficiency of selected non-halogen-containing alternatives.
Firstly we report that the addition of nano-particulate additives such as a functionalised clay or fumed silica has no beneficial effect in improving the flame retardant behaviour of a formulation containing ammonium polyphosphate. In fact, we conclude that some antagonism may be evident. However, if selected volatile phosphorus-containing species are present together with a phosphorus-containing intumescent such as phosphorylated pentaerythritol, then the resulting back-coated fabric shows significant improved flame retardancy. The tendency of the flame retardant to volatilise correlates well with increase in LOI, minimal effect on char formation and an indication that even after water-soaking, these formulations will enable fabrics to achieve passes to the simulated match test BS 8582: Part 1: 1979 required in current UK furnishing regulations.