Abstract
Cellulosic paper (from wood fibers) is a highly flammable material that is used in corrugated carboard, packaging, printing, and construction. While there is significant work focused on depositing a flame retardant coating onto the individual wood pulp fibers, there are very few studies that apply flame retardant coatings to already-cast paper. In an effort to improve the flame retardant properties of paper, a polymer-dense coacervate composed of polyethylenimine (PEI) and poly(sodium phosphate) (PSP) was deposited in a single step and subsequently crosslinked with glutaraldehyde. In a vertical flame test, the crosslinked PEI/PSP coacervate-coated paper achieves self-extinguishing behavior, and an average char length of 3.4 in, with only a 35% weight gain. Additionally, the crosslinked coating retains its flame retardant properties after water immersion and conditioning tests. This coacervate system is the first polymeric coating to be successfully deposited onto commercially available cellulosic paper for the purpose of flame retardancy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chaitoglou S, Spachis L, Zisis G, Raptis I, Papanikolaou N, Vavouliotis A, Penedo R, Fernandes N, Dimoulas A (2021) Layer-by-layer assembled graphene coatings on polyurethane films as He permeation barrier. Prog Org Coat 150:105984. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.porgcoat.2020.105984
Chen MJ, Lazar S, Kolibaba TJ, Shen R, Quan Y, Wang Q, Chiang HC, Palen B, Grunlan JC (2020) Environmentally benign and self-extinguishing multilayer nanocoating for protection of flammable foam. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 12:49130–49137. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.0c15329
Chiang HC, Kolibaba TJ, Eberle B, Grunlan JC (2021) Super gas barrier of a polyelectrolyte/clay coacervate thin film. Macromol Rapid Commun 42:2000540. https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202000540
Demirbağ S, Aksoy SA (2016) Encapsulation of phase change materials by complex coacervation to improve thermal performances and flame retardant properties of the cotton fabrics. Fibers Polym 17:408–417. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12221-016-5113-z
Ek M, Gellerstedt G, Henriksson G (2009) Volume 1 wood chemistry and wood biotechnology. De Gruyter, New York. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110213409
Gliko-Kabir I, Penhasi A, Rubinstein A (1999) Characterization of crosslinked guar by thermal analysis. Carbohydr Res 316:6–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0008-6215(99)00025-7
Haile M, Sarwar O, Henderson R, Smith R, Grunlan JC (2017) Polyelectrolyte coacervates deposited as high gas barrier thin films. Macromol Rapid Commun 38:1600594. https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.201600594
Holder KM, Smith RJ, Grunlan JC (2017) A review of flame retardant nanocoatings prepared using layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolytes. J Mater Sci 52:12923–12959. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1390-1
Köklükaya O, Carosio F, Grunlan JC, Wågberg L (2015) Flame-retardant paper from wood fibers functionalized via layer-by-layer assembly. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 7:23750–23759. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5b08105
Lawrence K (2018) Archives recalls fire that claimed millions of military personnel files. National Archives News
Lazar ST, Kolibaba TJ, Grunlan JC (2020) Flame-retardant surface treatments. Nat Rev Mater 5:259–275. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41578-019-0164-6
Leistner M, Haile M, Rohmer S, Abu-Odeh A, Grunlan JC (2015) Water-soluble polyelectrolyte complex nanocoating for flame retardant nylon-cotton fabric. Polym Degrad Stab 122:1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2015.10.008
Lewin M, Basch A (1978) Structure, pyrolysis, and flammability of cellulose. In: Menachem Lewin SM, Atlas E, Pearce M (eds) Flame—retardant polymeric materials. Springer US, Boston, pp 1–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-6973-8_1
Li J, van Ewijk G, van Dijken DJ, van der Gucht J, de Vos WM (2021) Single-step application of polyelectrolyte complex films as oxygen barrier coatings. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 13:21844–21853. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c05031
Long CT, Wang R, Shoalmire C, Antao DS, Shamberger PJ, Grunlan JC (2021) Efficient heat shielding of steel with multilayer nanocomposite thin film. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 13:19369–19376. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c03781
Lyon RE, Walters RN, Stoliarov SI, Safronava N (2013) Principles and practice of microscale combustion calorimetry. DOT/FAA/TC-12/53, Federal Aviation Administration
Lyon RE, Walters RN (2004) Pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry. J Anal Appl Pyrolysis 71:27–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-2370(03)00096-2
Nakamura C, Manabe K, Tenjimbayashi M, Tokura Y, Kyung KH, Shiratori S (2018) Heat-shielding and self-cleaning smart windows: Near-infrared reflective photonic crystals with self-healing omniphobicity via layer-by-layer self-assembly. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces 10:22731–22738. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b05887
Pan Y, Liu L, Zhao H (2018) Recyclable flame retardant paper made from layer-by-layer assembly of zinc coordinated multi-layered coatings. Cellulose 25:5309–5321. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-018-1922-0
Priolo MA, Holder KM, Guin T, Grunlan JC (2015) Recent advances in gas barrier thin films via layer-by-layer assembly of polymers and platelets. Macromol Rapid Commun 36:866–879. https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.201500055
Sing C, Perry S (2020) Recent progress in the science of complex coacervation. Soft Matter 16:2885–2914. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0SM00001A
Tsurko ES, Feicht P, Nehm F, Ament K, Rosenfeldt S, Pietsch I, Roschmann K, Kalo H, Breu J (2017) Large scale self-assembly of smectic nanocomposite films by doctor blading versus spray coating: Impact of crystal quality on barrier properties. Macromolecules 50:4344–4350. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.7b00701
Vartiainen J, Harlin A (2011) Crosslinking as an efficient tool for decreasing moisture sensitivity of biobased nanocomposite films. Mater Sci Appl 02:346–354. https://doi.org/10.4236/msa.2011.25045
Wang Q, Schlenoff JB (2014) The polyelectrolyte complex/coacervate continuum. Macromolecules 47:3108–3116. https://doi.org/10.1021/ma500500q
Wang N, Liu Y, Liu Y, Wang Q (2017) Properties and mechanisms of different guanidine flame retardant wood pulp paper. J Anal Appl Pyrolysis 128:224–231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaap.2017.10.007
Yang YH, Haile M, Park YT, Malek FA, Grunlan JC (2011) Super gas barrier of all-polymer multilayer thin films. Macromolecules 44:1450–1459. https://doi.org/10.1021/ma1026127
Yang YH, Bolling L, Haile M, Grunlan JC (2012) Improving oxygen barrier and reducing moisture sensitivity of weak polyelectrolyte multilayer thin films with crosslinking. RSC Adv 2:12355–12363. https://doi.org/10.1039/C2RA21845C
Zhan Y, Meng Y, Li Y, Zhang C, Xie Q, Wei S, Lavorgna M, Chen Z (2021) Poly(vinyl alcohol)/reduced graphene oxide multilayered coatings: The effect of filler content on gas barrier and surface resistivity properties. Compos Commun 24:100670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coco.2021.100670
Zhang T, Wu M, Kuga S, Ewulonu CM, Huang Y (2020) Cellulose nanofibril-based flame retardant and its application to paper. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 8:10222–10229. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c02892
Zilke O, Plohl D, Opwis K, Mayer-Gall T, Gutmann JS (2020) A flame-retardant phytic-acid-based LbL-coating for cotton using polyvinylamine. Polymers 12:1202. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12051202
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the Texas A&M Materials Characterization Facility (MCF) for infrastructural support and the University of Dayton Research Institute for microcombustion calorimetry (MCC) measurements.
Funding
The authors declare no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the study conception and data collection. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Palen, B., Rabaey, M.G., Rodriguez-Melendez, D. et al. Polymeric coacervate coating for flame retardant paper. Cellulose 29, 4589–4597 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-022-04594-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-022-04594-7