Date of Award
Spring 5-7-2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Chemistry
First Advisor
Dr. Ram Gupta
Second Advisor
Dr. Khamis Siam
Third Advisor
Dr. Timothy Dawsey
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Anuradha Ghosh
Keywords
polyurethane, flame-retardant, carvone, thiol-ene, bio-based, polyol
Abstract
Finding alternative ways to decrease the large consumption of non-renewable resources has been one of the greatest challenges faced by the industry and academia. The trend of using bio-renewable-based materials is an interesting alternative to tackle environmental issues as well as provide economically viable materials. In this work, carvone, an essential oil, was used to synthesize a bio-based polyol through a thiol-ene reaction. The chemical functions were analyzed through Fourier transformed infrared spectrum (FTIR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), viscosity, and hydroxyl number, which confirmed the synthesis of carvone-based polyol. The latter was then physically blended with three different flame-retardants separately: expandable graphite (EG), aluminum trihydroxide (ATH), and aluminum hypophosphite (AHP). This facile method was demonstrated to be efficient as the inherently poor resistance to fire of polyurethane foams (PUF) was decreased due to the self-quenching fire properties. During the testing for the foams, it was observed that all three sets had a closed-cell content of around 95%, density in the range of 28-50 kg/m3, and average compressive strength of 210 kPa. Also, the flame retardancy presented a drastic decrease in the burning time and weight loss as the neat sample burned from 98 s and 40.7% and dropped to 11 s and 3.55 % (EG), 58 s, and 12.23 % (ATH), and 5.2 s and 3.6 % (AHP), respectively. Hence, an effective, and facile route to develop bio-based flame-retardant polyurethane is presented in this thesis, showing promising large-scale applications.
Recommended Citation
Martins de Souza, Felipe, "Environment-Friendly Flame Retardants for Bio-Based Polyurethanes" (2021). Electronic Theses & Dissertations. 364.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/etd/364
