Preparation and characterization of microencapsulated ammonium polyphosphate and its synergistic flame-retarded polyurethane rigid foams with expandable graphite

A facile and effective method for the preparation of microencapsulated ammonium polyphosphate (MAPP) by in situ surface polymerization was introduced. The ‘polyurethane‐like’ shell structure on the surface of MAPP was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The hydrophobicity and thermal behavior of MAPP were studied by using water contact angle tests and thermogravimetric analysis. The foam density and mechanical properties of polyurethane (PU) rigid foams were investigated. The flame retardancy of PU rigid foams formulated with MAPP was evaluated by using limiting oxygen index and cone calorimetry. The results show that MAPP can greatly increase the flame retardancy of PU materials. Also, there is a synergistic effect between MAPP and expandable graphite in flame retarding PU rigid foams. Moreover, the water resistance property of PU/MAPP composites is better than that of PU/ammonium polyphosphate. The morphology and chemical structure of PU/MAPP rigid foams after burning were systematically investigated. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry A potential crosslinking structure forms between polyurethane (PU) foams and microencapsulated ammonium polyphosphate (MAPP), which leads to an improvement in the flame retardancy and water resistance of PU rigid foams.