Abstract
Polyester forms a major constituent among the synthetic
fiber industry. It is the most popular synthetic fiber because of its high
strength and esthetic appeal. Polyester being highly crystalline, hydrophobic
and devoid of reactive groups, it is difficult to introduce reactive phosphorus
into the fiber structure through chemical reactions with the phosphorus
compounds. Fairly large quantities of the FR chemicals have to be incorporated
to achieve self-extinguishing behavior. Although not all Flame Retardant (FR)
chemicals are hazardous, it is advisable from an ecological point of view to
introduce minimum quantities of FR substances in the fiber structure.
The present Paper tries to address the said problems in a
small way, so that the PET fiber could be better acceptable. Therefore, graft
co-polymerization of nitrogenous vinyl monomers has been carried out on the
fiber followed by its reaction with phosphorus chemicals, thereby incorporating
reactive phosphorus in the grafted substrate. It has been shown that a very
small amount of the FR chemical could impart fire resistance of very high order
to polyester. Self-extinguishing characteristic was achieved for poly (ethylene
terephthalate) fibers with acrylamide-grafted-phosphorylated (AM-g-P) PET fibers
containing just 0.189% phosphorus on-weight-of-fiber (owf). Similar results
were obtained for methacrylamide-grafted-phosphorylated (MAm-g-P) polyester
fibers at the 0.77% phosphorus content level. Efficiency of phosphorus in
presence of nitrogen that was achieved was at 263% for acrylamide (AM) system,
while it was -12% for acrylonitrile (AN-phosphorus combination). This is
attributed to P-N synergism in case of the FR polyester system when the
nitrogen is in the amido form present in AM and MAm monomers.
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About the Authors
The authors are associated with Polygel Technologies India
Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai and University of Mumbai, Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India, respectively.
About the Source
Reproduced
courtesy of Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics (JEFF), 3, 4, 2008, P.O. Box 1288, Cary, North Carolina 27512-1288, USA. Tel: (919) 233-1210 Fax: (919) 233-1282 Internet:
www.jeffjournal.org
