Issue 65, 2017, Issue in Progress

One pot flame retardant and weathering resistant coatings for plastics: a novel approach

Abstract

The self-stratifying approach is a one step process allowing the formation of a complex laminated coating structure at the surface of plastics or other substrates, combining optimized surface and adhesion properties. These coatings have already been developed for various application fields but have never been considered for fire retardant purposes, whatever the substrate involved. In this work, the self-layering concept has been used to make polycarbonate fire retardant, using a mixture of epoxy and fluoropolymer resins, and iron oxide as flame retardant additive (10 wt%). Self-stratification was evidenced by microscopic analyses. The flame retardant properties were evaluated according to Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI), UL-94 and Mass Loss Calorimetry (MLC). Weathering resistance by accelerated UV, thermal and humidity exposure was also considered. In the first part, the effect of solvent on the self-layering process was investigated. It was shown that the system diluted in a blend of butylacetate : xylene (1 : 1 ratio) exhibits a perfect stratification and excellent adhesion onto polycarbonate. In such a system, an outstanding improvement of the fire retardant properties (V0 rating at UL-94 and 32 vol% at LOI), unaffected by weathering (both UV and temperature/humidity exposure), was observed when a 200 μm wet thick coating was applied. The coating allows the formation of a protective barrier and the presence of metal particles avoids dripping and promotes a charring effect.

Graphical abstract: One pot flame retardant and weathering resistant coatings for plastics: a novel approach

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
20 Jul 2017
Accepted
11 Aug 2017
First published
21 Aug 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 40682-40694

One pot flame retardant and weathering resistant coatings for plastics: a novel approach

A. Beaugendre, S. Saidi, S. Degoutin, S. Bellayer, C. Pierlot, S. Duquesne, M. Casetta and M. Jimenez, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 40682 DOI: 10.1039/C7RA08028J

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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