Interface decoration of exfoliated MXene ultra-thin nanosheets for fire and smoke suppressions of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer

Bin Yu; Benjamin Tawiah; Lin-Qiang Wang; Anthony Chun Yin Yuen; Zhen-Cheng Zhang; Lu-Lu Shen; Bo Lin; Bin Fei; Wei Yang; Ao Li; San-E Zhu; En-Zhu Hu; Hong-Dian Lu; Guan Heng Yeoh

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.04.026

Interface decoration of exfoliated MXene ultra-thin nanosheets for fire and smoke suppressions of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer

J Hazard Mater. 2019 Jul 15:374:110-119. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.04.026. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Authors

Bin Yu¹, Benjamin Tawiah², Lin-Qiang Wang³, Anthony Chun Yin Yuen⁴, Zhen-Cheng Zhang³, Lu-Lu Shen³, Bo Lin⁴, Bin Fei², Wei Yang⁵, Ao Li⁴, San-E Zhu³, En-Zhu Hu³, Hong-Dian Lu³, Guan Heng Yeoh⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Hefei University, 99 Jinxiu Avenue, Hefei, Anhui, 230601, PR China; Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, 88 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
² Institute of Textiles & Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China.
³ Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Hefei University, 99 Jinxiu Avenue, Hefei, Anhui, 230601, PR China.
⁴ School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
⁵ Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Hefei University, 99 Jinxiu Avenue, Hefei, Anhui, 230601, PR China; School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia. Electronic address: yangwei@hfuu.edu.cn.

PMID: 30981952
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.04.026

Abstract

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) has broad applications as lightweight materials due to its multiple advantages and unique properties. Nevertheless, toxicity emission under fire conditions remains a major concern, particularly in building fire scenarios. To circumvent the problem, it is imperative that an effective flame retardant is sought to suppress the flame and release of combustion/smoke products whilst maintaining the favorable material properties of TPU. In the current work, a simple method is proposed for the preparation and utilization of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and tetrabutyl phosphine chloride (TBPC) modified Ti₃C₂ (MXene) ultra-thin nanosheets. During the cone calorimeter tests, significant reduction in peak heat release rate (51.2% and 52.2%), peak smoke production rate (57.1% and 57.4%), peak CO production (39.4% and 41.6%) and peak CO₂ production (49.7% and 51.7%) were recorded by the mere introduction of 2 wt.% CTAB-Ti₃C₂ and TBPC-Ti₃C₂ to TPU. These superior fire safety properties resulting from the significant reduction of the fire, smoke and toxicity hazards are attributed to the excellent dispersion, catalytic and barrier effect of Ti₃C₂ ultra-thin nanosheets in TPU. Future applications of exfoliated MXene nanosheets as flame retardant appear to be very promising.

Keywords: Flame retardant; Interface decoration; MXene; Polymer nanocomposites; Smoke suppression.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't