Recyclable flame retardant phosphonated epoxy based thermosets enabled via a reactive approach
Wenyu Wu, Valentin Rougier, Zhenyu Huang, Dambarudhar Parida, Sandro Lehner, Andri Casutt, Daniel Rentsch, Karin Brändli Hedlund, Gion Andrea Barandun, Véronique Michaud, Sabyasachi Gaan
Abstract
The development of reusable fire-safe polymers with a prolonged lifetime heralds the switch for a transition towards circular economy. In this framework, we report a novel phosphonated thermoset which is composed of networked phosphonate esters containing both PC and PO bonds. Employing a simple one-pot, two-step synthetic methodology, oxirane groups of the epoxy resin were partially reacted with various amounts of reactive bis H-phosphonate monomer, and cured with a cycloaliphatic hardener to obtain multifunctional thermosets with up to 8% phosphorus (P) content. Though 2.5% P was adequate to achieve good flame retardancy, a concentration > 5% P was necessary for accomplishing material reprocessability and recyclability. These phosphonated thermosets exhibited high Tg (94 °C – 140 °C) and good thermal stability. Fire performance of the thermoset with 2.5% P via cone calorimetry showed effective reduction in the peak heat release rate (pHRR, 75%) and significant inhibition of total smoke production (TSP, 72.5%), which was attributed to the gas and condense phase actions of the phosphonate moieties. This thermoset was explored as a transparent fire-safe coating on wood where an intumescent flame retardant mechanism was observed. The phosphonated thermoset with higher P content (6%) demonstrated excellent damage reparability and thermomechanical reprocessability driven by transesterification induced network rearrangement. This thermoset was used for manufacturing flax fiber reinforced composite, to demonstrate its future application as a polymer matrix for composite materials.