A Furan-based Phosphaphenanthrene-containing Derivative as a Highly Efficient Flame-retardant Agent for Epoxy Thermosets without Deteriorating Thermomechanical Performances

In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, developing flame retardants from bio-based resources has aroused extensive interest in recent years. In this work, we utilized furfural (biomass) and 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) to synthesize a bio-based co-curing agent (FGD) to combine with 4,4’-diaminodiphenyl methane (DDM) for obtaining a low-phosphorus loading flame-retardant epoxy thermosets. The introduction of FGD decreased the activation energy of the curing progress, enhanced the mechanical properties of the epoxy thermosets, and did not affect the glass transition temperature of the epoxy thermosets. EP-5.0 had a lower thermal degradation rate and a doubled char yield compared with EP-0. The phosphorus content of EP-5.0 was only 0.45 wt%, while EP-5.0 reached the UL-94 V-0 rating with a high LOI value of 32%. Compared with EP-0, the PHRR of EP-2.5 and EP-5.0 decreased by 22.3% and 31.3%, respectively. The SEM results showed that the addition of FGD made the char residues more uniform and denser, which could effectively prevent combustible volatiles from escaping from the degradation area to the flame area and isolate the heat transfer so that the epoxy thermosets had an excellent flame-retardant performance.