Flame Retardant Fabric Design

The use of flame retardant fabrics can effectively delay the spread of fire, especially in public places, and the use of flame retardant fabrics can avoid more casualties. Alfa Chemistry provides innovative flame retardant fabric design and development services, including flame retardant treatment of fibers and fabrics.

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What Can We Do?

The flame retardant of textiles can be roughly divided into two categories, including flame retardant treatment of fibers and flame retardant treatment of fabrics according to the production process and the introduction method of flame retardants. Alfa Chemistry can carry out flame retardant modification of flammable fibers or fabrics using suitable flame retardants through various methods. Our service capabilities include but are not limited to the following aspects.

Fiber Flame Retardant Modification

• Copolymerization

In the synthesis process of fiber-forming high polymer, compounds containing phosphorus, halogen, sulfur and other flame retardant elements are introduced into the macromolecular chain as comonomers (reactive flame retardants). The flame-retardant substance is then added to fibers.

• Blending method

Same as the copolymerization method, this method belongs to the modification of raw silk, which is a method of adding flame retardant to spinning melt or spinning flame retardant fiber.

• Graft modification

The use of chemical initiators to graft fibers (or fabrics) with vinyl-type flame-retardant monomers is an effective and durable flame-retardant modification method. The flame retardancy of the grafted flame retardant modified fiber is related to the type of flame retardant elements in the graft monomer and the graft position. The order of the effect of grafting position on the flame retardant effect is: core grafting > uniform grafting > surface grafting.

Flame Retardant Treatment of Fabrics

• Pad baking method

It is the most widely used process in the flame retardant finishing process. The technological process includes padding, pre-baking, baking and post-treatment. Padding liquid is generally composed of flame retardant, catalyst, resin, wetting agent and softener, and is formulated into an aqueous solution or emulsion for finishing.

• Dipping-drying method

This method is to soak the fabric in the flame retardant liquid for a certain period of time. After drying and baking, the flame retardant liquid is absorbed by the fiber polymer.

• Organic solvent method

This method uses a water-insoluble flame retardant, which has the advantage of low energy consumption during flame retardant finishing. However, in actual operation, attention should be paid to the toxicity and flammability of the solvent.

• Coating method

The flame retardant is mixed into the resin, and the flame retardant is fixed on the fabric by the bonding effect of the resin. According to the different equipment, it is divided into blade coating method and casting coating method.

Why Choose Alfa Chemistry?

Experienced team of materials chemists

Leading flame retardant technology

Reliable quality and standards

Fast turnaround times and great prices

Comprehensive and systematic testing and analysis services

Research Information

Development of Flame Retardant Coatings for Fabrics

Two main approaches, sol-gel derived coating and layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly, have been extensively studied by researchers in recent years. The sol-gel and LbL strategies exhibit potential in designing new, scalable and cost-effective flame-retardant structures, as well as the possibility to utilize low environmental impact sol-gel precursors and LbL components. For example, the figure below shows the LbL impregnation process scheme on cotton fabric using two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes/suspensions. [1]

Schematic diagram of LbL impregnation process scheme [1]

Reference

1. Giulio Malucelli, et al. (2020). "Sol-Gel and Layer-by-Layer Coatings for Flame-Retardant Cotton Fabrics: Recent Advances," Coatings 10(4), 333.