Preparation and properties of an efficient smoke suppressant and flame‐retardant agent for thermoplastic polyurethane

APP@ETA, as a new type of flame retardant, was prepared by chemically modifying ammonium polyphosphate (APP) with ethanolamine (ETA) and applied to thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) in this study. Then, the smoke suppression properties and flame‐retardant effects of APP@ETA in TPU composites were evaluated using smoke density test, cone calorimeter test, etc. And, the thermal degradation properties of flame‐retardant TPU composites were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis/infrared spectrometry. The smoke density test results indicated that APP@ETA could obviously improve the luminous flux of TPU composites in the test with or without flame. The cone calorimeter test results showed that total smoke release, smoke production rate and smoke factor of the composites with APP@ETA were significantly decreased than those of the composites with APP. For example, when the loading of APP@ETA or APP was 12.5 wt%, the total smoke release of the sample with APP@ETA decreased to 3.5 m²/m² from 6.0 m²/m², which was much lower than that of the sample with APP, reduced by 41.7%. The thermogravimetric analysis results demonstrated that APP@ETA could decrease the initial decomposition temperature and improve the thermal stability at high temperature for TPU composites. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.