Experimental and numerical perspective on the fire performance of MXene/Chitosan/Phytic acid coated flexible polyurethane foam

Abstract

Recent discoveries of two-dimensional transitional metal based materials have emerged as an excellent candidate for fabricating nanostructured flame-retardants. Herein, we report an eco-friendly flame-retardant for flexible polyurethane foam (PUF), which is synthesised by hybridising MXene (Ti3C 2) with biomass materials including phytic acid (PA), casein, pectin, and chitosan (CH). Results show that coating PUFs with 3 layers of CH/PA/Ti3C 2 via layer-by-layer approach reduces the peak heat release and total smoke release by 51.1% and 84.8%, respectively. These exceptional improvements exceed those achieved by a CH/Ti3C 2 coating. To further understand the fundamental flame and smoke reduction phenomena, a pyrolysis model with surface regression was developed to simulate the flame propagation and char layer. A genetic algorithm was utilised to determine optimum parameters describing the thermal degradation rate. The superior flame-retardancy of CH/PA/Ti3C 2 was originated from the shielding and charring effects of the hybrid MXene with biomass materials containing aromatic rings, phenolic and phosphorous compounds.