Egg White Protein-Hypophosphorous Acid Based Fire Retardant Single Bilayer Coating Assembly for Cotton Fabric

Egg white proteins (W) in combination with hypophosphorous acid (HA) were investigated for making flame retardant coating over cotton fabric adopting layer by layer (LbL) assembly technique. A novel phosphorous-nitrogen based non-inflammatory pathway was produced due to strong electrostatic interactions between egg white protein and HA. The coated cotton fabric was characterized using FESEM, ATR-FTIR, TGA and flame tests. Vertical flame test (VFT) and BS EN ISO 15025 tests were performed to understand the combustion pattern of coated fabric. The cotton fabric coated with egg white protein followed by HA (CT W+HA ) showed self-extinguish properties with fragile char structure, whereas uncoated fabric was completely burnt with ash residue. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that initial decomposition temperature of coated fabric got lowered but raised the char residue at 800 ℃. Moreover, surface morphology after VFT of CT W+HA showed swollen char structure that prevented the interaction of combustible products with oxygen and heat. Thus, the developed coating could serve as excellent fire retardant due to the synergistic effect of HA and egg white protein.