Researchers from Texas A&M University have come up with a single-step complex coating that can reduce the extreme flammability of the most commonly used textile—cotton—which could help save property and lives on a large scale.
THE COATING: The process involves a polyelectrolyte complex coating which can be tailored for various textiles, such as clothing or upholstery, and scaled using the common pad-dry coating process, which is suitable for industrial applications.
- Current studies developing flame retardant coatings deposited via polyelectrolyte complexation require two or more steps, increasing the time and cost to coat a material effectively.
- In contrast, this study, recently published in ACS Publications hopes to achieve the same results using only one step by incorporating a volatile base, a molecule that evaporates under ambient conditions.
- Using ammonia as the volatile base, the base evaporates to reduce the pH and induce complexation (a chemical reaction that forms a stable complex) on the cotton’s surface. Until now, this technique has been proposed but never used to prepare a flame-retardant treatment.
- This research can be utilised to deposit polyelectrolyte-based flame-retardant coatings in a scalable and efficient manner.
- Other positive attributes of the technology include that it is aqueous (water-based) and non-toxic, unlike many other flame-retardant treatments.
FUTURE USE: This technology can be optimised to quickly, easily, and safely flame retard many flammable materials, offering vast protection in everyday life, saving money and lives of the general population.
- The researchers will continue evaluating this technology in partnership with companies in hopes of using their findings to protect wood, fabric, foam and other textiles.
THE PEOPLE: Lead Author: Maya D Montemayor, a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M. Other contributors: Texas A&M graduate students Danixa Rodriguez-Melendez, Dallin L Smith, Natalie A Vest and Bethany Palen, and Texas A&M undergraduate students Edward Chang and Alexandra V Moran.
- Funding for this research is administered by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), the official research agency for Texas A&M Engineering.
WHAT THEY SAID:
This cutting-edge research offers Texas A&M recognition as one of the leaders of this technology and the opportunity for further development with external companies. The scope of this research positively impacts our community by improving our safety in an environmentally benign manner. TEES is licensing this and similar technologies to companies for various applications.
— Dr Jaime Grunlan
Chair Professor /Leland T. Jordan ’29 in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering
Texas A&M
