Flame retardation of polyurethanes by means of 1,4-bis[(dialkoxyphosphinyl)hydroxymethyl]benzene

New phosphorus-containing homopolyurethanes were synthesized by reacting various diisocyanates such as tolylene diisocyanate, methylenebis(4-phenylisocyanate) and hexamethylene-1,6-diisocyanate with 1,4-bis(dialkoxyphosphinyl)hydroxymethyl]benzene (BDAB). In addition, copolyurethanes containing approximately 3% phosphorus were prepared by copolymerization of these diisocyanates with an equimolar amount of BDAB—hydroquinone mixture. BDAB was less reactive towards diisocyanates than hydroquinone due to the electron-withdrawing inductive effect of the phosphinyl groups. The polymers synthesized were characterized by inherent viscosity measurements as well as by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The spectroscopic examination of polymers did not provide evidence for crosslinking by allophanate groups. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) studies of polymers revealed that the incorporation of BDAB in polyurethanes altered their thermal decomposition mode by increasing the exothermicity due to pyrolysis. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of polymers showed that the phosphorus-containing homopolyurethanes and copolyurethanes were thermally less stable than the corresponding common polyurethanes but afforded higher char yields. Determination of the limiting oxygen index (LOI) values showed that the phosphorus-containing copolyurethanes exhibited a higher fire resistance than that of common polyurethanes.