Superior fire safety performances of chelates copper(II) salicylaldehyde complexes with intumescent flame retardant TPU

Abstract

To improve the flame retardant of thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer (TPU) is a very important issue in fire hazard fields. In this article, the structure of copper (II) chelate salicylaldehyde (CuSA) was characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The influence of CuSA on the fire safety performances of TPU/APP composites was intensively investigated using cone calorimeter test (CCT), smoke density test (SDT), micro‐scale combustion calorimetry (MCC), thermogravimetric‐Fourier transform infrared spectrum (TG‐FTIR), and other testing methods. The CCT test results showed that the peak heat release rate (pHRR) value of CuSA2 sample was 128.1 kW/m 2 , which was much lower than that of TPU‐APP sample with the pHRR value of 161.9 kW/m 2 . The SDT test results showed that the luminous flux of CuSA4 is much higher than that of TPU‐APP sample. Therefore, an appropriate amount of CuSA had obvious improvement of fire safety performances in TPU composites. This work provides a new idea for the design and manufacture of fire safety materials.