Flame retardant and weathering resistant self-layering epoxy-silicone coatings for plastics

Lowering fire hazard raised by combustible materials such as plastics may be achieved by the use of suitable flame retardant treatments, like fire protective coatings. However, exposure to long-term environmental conditions can cause loss of their functional properties, thus reducing their effectiveness over time. This is why two or three different layers with specific properties (e.g. adhesive, fire retardant and hydrophobic) are generally needed to provide durable fire retardancy. Effective and economical self-layering coatings can be developed to reduce the number of layers without compromising the advantages of the actual system. In this work, the efficiency of applying a silicone based coating to fire retard polycarbonate and the modification of the behaviors of the system, using a mixture of epoxy/silicone resins, a curing agent and either iron oxide or calcium carbonate as fire retardant filler is investigated. Self-stratification and fillers dispersion were evidenced by microscopic analyses coupled with chemical detection, the flame retardant properties using Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI), UL-94, Mass Loss Calorimetry (MLC), Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) and a tubular furnace, and aging resistance by accelerated thermal, humidity and UV exposure. It appears that the selected fillers have no negative effect on the layering process when introduced from 2.5 to 10 vol.%: perfect stratification is obtained, with the silicone layer being the top layer. The best improvements in terms of fire retardant properties, adhesion and fillers dispersion were obtained by incorporating 2.5 vol.%: V0 rating at UL-94 and 33 and 35 vol.% at LOI with Fe2O3 and CaCO3 respectively were measured when a 200 inn wet thick coating was applied. The coating containing iron oxide was unaffected by weathering conditions. Finally, the application of those coatings on polycarbonate allows the formation of a protective barrier which limits substrate/flame mass transfers. It therefore results in (i) a delay of the time to ignition, (ii) the inhibition of the flame spread and of dripping when submitted to a flame, and (iii) a reduction of the combustibility of polycarbonate. A modification of the structure of the silica network formed by the particles which enhances the barrier effect of the silicone-based layer would be the most probable assumption to explain these excellent results.