New halogen-free and environmentally-friendly flame retardant finishing for polyester fabrics

In this study, a bifunctional 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTMS) precursor, containing methoxysilyl groups and an epoxy group, has been used to synthesize a hybrid organic-inorganic coating for textile finishing. It has been chosen because it combines excellent properties like the possibility to immobilize specific molecules (through the reactive epoxy group) and the binding capacity with the textile surface (through the hydrolyzed Si-OH groups). This immobilization technique has been studied previously [1, 2] and here it has been employed in order to prepare thin films in the presence of Boehmite nanoparticles (AlOOH). The thermal properties and flame retardancy of the so-treated polyester fabrics (PET) have been assessed by using thermo gravimetric analysis and vertical flame spread test, respectively. In addition, the morphology and surface composition of untreated and treated samples have been evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) coupled with elemental analyses by EDX (Energy Dispersive X-ray).