Synthesis of nitrogen and phosphorus-doped chitosan derivatives for enhanced flame retardancy, smoke suppression, and mechanical properties in epoxy resin composites.

Biomass-based flame retardants have attracted significant academic interest due to their environmental benefits and sustainability. Nevertheless, devising straightforward, eco-friendly, and mild methodologies to synthesize flame retardants of epoxy resins (EP) remains a formidable challenge. This paper reports the successful synthesis of a novel nitrogen and phosphorus-doped chitosan derivatives flame retardant (MMCA) utilizing phytic acid, chitosan, and melamine cyanurate via electrostatic self-assembly and physical encapsulation in an acidic aqueous solution. The incorporation of 5 wt% MMCA into the EP readily achieved a UL-94 V-0 rating. This improvement can be primarily attributed to the early formation of a continuous, dense, robust, and expanded char layer during combustion, coupled with the synergistic flame retardant mechanisms of radical scavenging and the dilution of non-combustible gases. Compared to pristine EP, EP/5MMCA exhibited significant reductions of 23.7 %, 29.2 %, and 24 % in total smoke production rate, peak heat release rate, and peak smoke production rate, respectively. Moreover, the strategic introduction of MMCA also enhanced the glass transition temperature, storage modulus, and crosslinking density of EP, improving its tensile, compressive and impact properties. This study proposes a simple, viable, and environmentally sustainable strategy for the fabrication of biomass-based flame retardants, resulting in notable improvements the flame retardancy, smoke suppression, fire safety, and mechanical robustness of EP.