Application of sodium silicate as a halogen-free flame-retardant and evaluate its effectiveness on the flame-retardancy of polypropylene fabric

Abstract

A halogen-free flame-retardant was synthesized using Silica gel and Sodium hydroxide within the scope of the study. The Polypropylene (PP) fabric was treated with the synthesized Sodium Silicate to investigate its thermal behaviour. The limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of the Polypropylene fabrics dramatically increased after finishing with Sodium silicate and the 50.4% noteworthy LOI value was achieved. The Sodium silicate-treated PP fabrics exhibited a 30.1% LOI value even after washing, compared to the neat PP LOI value which was reported to be 16.4%. The surface modification of the Polypropylene fabric following the plasma treatment was evaluated by elemental mapping, surface topography images, and contact angle measurements and the homogeneity of the Sodium silicate coating was evaluated by Scanning electron microscopy.