Mechanical Properties and Flame Retardancy of Rigid Polyurethane Foam Using New Phosphorus Flame Retardant

In this study, we compared and analyzed the flame retardancy and mechanical properties of three different rigid polyurethane foams (RPUF) containing noble non-halogen phosphorus flame retardant (BHP-RPUF) or halogen-phosphorus flame retardant (TCPP-RPUF) or no flame retardant material (Pure-RPUF). The noble phosphorus-based flame retardant, bis(3-(3-hydroxypropoxy)propyl) phenyl phosphate (BHP), was synthesized by the reaction between disodium phenyl phosphate and 3-chloro-1-propanol. Through universal testing machine (UTM) experiments, the compressive strength of BHP-RPUF was similar to that of TCPP-RPUF. From the result of foam morphology analysis, it was confirmed that BHP-RPUF has the lowest thermal conductivity of 0.023W/m⋅K. We also measured the size of air bubbles using reaction velocity and SEM, and analyzed how they affect the thermal conductivity. In addition, the heat-resisting property was investigated through TGA analysis. The limited oxygen index (LOI) test confirmed that BHP had the ability to increase the flame retardancy of RPUF.