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Thermal performance and thermal decomposition kinetics of a novel lignin-based epoxy resin containing phosphorus and nitrogen elements

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Abstract

Lignin-based epoxy resins containing phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) elements were prepared by blending the epoxy resin (EP) with different amounts of lignin-based flame retardant additive (Lig-F). The thermal performance of EP thermosets was performed via thermogravimetric analysis coupled with Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR). The results showed that the presence of Lig-F had significant influence on thermal stability (tested by TG) and flame retardancy (determined by limited oxygen index, vertical burning and cone calorimeter) of EP thermosets. 1H NMR and FTIR analyses confirmed the successful synthesis of flame retardant (DOPO-PA) and modification of lignin, and the evolution of gas produced by thermal decomposition was different with different quantities of Lig-F added. Finally, the activation energy (E) of cured 10% Lig-F/EP was measured by two different methods, namely Flynn–Wall–Ozawa and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunoe, which was obviously higher than that of neat EP.

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Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21774059), the Priority Academic Program Development (PAPD) of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions, the opening funding of Jiangsu Key Lab of Biomass based Green Fuels and Chemicals, and College Students’ Practice and Innovation Training Project (201910298011Z).

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The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Co-Innovation Center for Efficient Processing and Utilization of Forest Products, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Xinyu Lu, Xiaojun Zhu, Hossain Mahmud Robin, Haoquan Guo, Han Que, Dandan Wang, Dingxiang Liang, Tao He, Chaozhong Xu & Xiaoli Gu

  2. College of Science, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Peng Dai & Zhenyang Luo

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  1. Xinyu Lu
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  2. Xiaojun Zhu
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  3. Peng Dai
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  4. Hossain Mahmud Robin
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  5. Haoquan Guo
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  6. Han Que
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  9. Tao He
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  11. Zhenyang Luo
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  12. Xiaoli Gu
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Contributions

XL, XZ, PD, HMR, HG, HQ, DW, DL, TH and CX performed experiments. XL, ZL and XG conceived research, analyzed data and wrote the manuscript with help from all the others.

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Correspondence to Zhenyang Luo or Xiaoli Gu.

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Lu, X., Zhu, X., Dai, P. et al. Thermal performance and thermal decomposition kinetics of a novel lignin-based epoxy resin containing phosphorus and nitrogen elements. J Therm Anal Calorim 147, 5237–5253 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-021-10950-9

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