SYNTHESIS OF AROMATIC DIAMINE-BASED BENZOXAZINES AND EFFECT OF THEIR BACKBONE STRUCTURE ON THERMAL AND FLAMMABILITY PROPERTIES OF POLYMERS

Three kinds of novel aromatic diamine-based benzoxazines containing naphthalene, propane-2,2-diyldibenzene and neopentyl groups in the backbone, respectively （designated as BAPNCP, BAPBACP and BAPNPGCP, respectively）, were synthesized and characterized. In addition, the effects of backbone structures on curing behaviors of the monomers and thermal and flammability properties of the resulting polymers were systematically studied. The results indicated that BAPNPGCP displayed the highest enthalpy of the curing reaction associated with the ring-opening of benzoxazine, which was due to the effect of benzoxazine ring content per unit mass. Interestingly, the 5 wt% weight loss temperature and char residue after thermogravimetric test for poly（BAPNPGCP） were 8 ℃ and 7% higher than those of poly（BAPBACP）. Meanwhile, the total heat release of poly（BAPNPGCP） was less than half of that for poly（BAPBACP）, indicating the substantial effect of benzoxazine ring content on flammability and char formation. Furthermore, it was found that poly（BAPNCP） gave the best thermal stability and flame retardancy, which was due to the synergistic effect between naphthalene group and benzoxazine ring content. This study provides new insight into the curing behavior of benzoxazine and further understanding on the high performance of polybenzoxazine.

Flame-retardant Coating by Alternate Assembly of Poly(vinylphosphonic acid) and Polyethylenimine for Ramie Fabrics

A novel intumescent flame retardant coating, consisting of poly（vinylphosphonic acid） （PVPA） as the acid source and branched polyethylenimine （BPEI） as the blowing agent, was constructed on the surface of ramie fabrics by alternate assembly to remarkably improve the flame retardancy of ramie. The PVPA/BPEI coating on the surface of individual fibers of ramie fabric pyrolyzes to form protective char layer upon heating/burning and improves the flame retardancy of ramie. Thermogravimetric analysis reveals that the PVPA/BPEI-coated ramie fabrics left as much as 25.8 wt% residue at 600 ~C, while the control （uncoated） fabric left less than 1.4 wt% residue. Vertical flame test shows that all PVPA/BPEI-coated fabrics have shorter after-flame time, and the residues well preserved the original weave structure and fiber morphology, whereas, the uncoated fabric left only ashes. Microscale combustion calorimetry shows that the PVPA/BPEI coatings greatly reduce the total heat release by as much as 66% and the heat release capacity by 76%, relative to those of the uncoated fabric.