Facile preparation of uniform polydopamine particles and its application as an environmentally friendly flame retardant for biodegradable polylactic acid

Abstract

The demand for environmentally benign flame retardants for biodegradable polymers has become particularly necessary due to their inherently “green” nature. This work reports intrinsically non-toxic polydopamine (PDA) particles as an efficient and environmentally friendly flame retardant for polylactic acid (PLA). 5 wt% PDA loading resulted in a 22% reduction in the peak heat release rate, 34.7% increase in the fire performance index, and lower CO2 production compared to neat PLA. A limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of 27.5% and a V-2 rating was achieved in the UL-94 vertical burning test. Highly aggregated amorphous particulate char was formed with the increasing content of PDA, and a significant reduction in evolved pyrolysis gaseous products was achieved for the PLA/PDA composites as compared with control PLA. This work provides important insight into the potential commercial application of PDA alone as an efficiently green, environmentally benign flame retardant for bioplastic PLA.

Kinetic study of polydopamine sphere synthesis using TRIS: relationship between synthesis conditions and final properties

“…Finally, with a final average mass retention of 56.2%, the last step from 420 to 700 °C matches with aromatic compounds like catechol or the o -benzoquinone moieties that decompose in this temperature range. 54 …”

“…Finally, with a nal average mass retention of 56.2%, the last step from 420 to 700 °C matches with aromatic compounds like catechol or the o-benzoquinone moieties that decompose in this temperature range. 54 Table 4 summarizes the loss in weight of PDA computed for each material at the nal temperature of the four-step degradation process. The weight loss at 100 °C oscillates between 6.30 and 7.12%, with differences of 0.31%; this was the highest difference value of the four steps losses associated with the high material hygroscopicity.…”

“…The literature about natural and synthetic melanin postulates that these materials do not have a dened structure, considering them amorphous materials. [54][55][56][57] On the other hand, E. Coy et al 58 have reported contradictory results for synthesized PDA characterized by Raman spectroscopy without any thermal treatment, which shows characteristics related to carbonized PDA particles; this material displays regular zones that indicate nanocrystalline graphite-like structure. 59 In addition, according to polymers science, 60,61 characteristic endothermic peaks observed by DSC are associated with the fusion of crystalline regions present in the microstructure of polymers.…”

An overview of the recent advances in flame retarded poly(lactic acid)

“…However, bio-based FR has low flame-retardant efficiency and cannot meet the flame-retardant requirements when used alone. Generally, the flame-retardant performance can be improved by introducing flame-retardant elements such as P/N 33,[155][156][157][158][159][160][161][162][165][166][167][168][169] or used as a carbon source combined with APP. 152,[170][171][172][173][174][175][176][177] Table 5 and F I G U R E 4 Nanoscale flame retardants (FRs).…”

“…However, bio‐based FR has low flame‐retardant efficiency and cannot meet the flame‐retardant requirements when used alone. Generally, the flame‐retardant performance can be improved by introducing flame‐retardant elements such as P/N 33,155–162,165–169 or used as a carbon source combined with APP 152,170–177 . Table 5 and Figure 5 show the types of bio‐based FRs for PLA and the synthetic route of bio‐based FRs, respectively.…”