Flame retardance of wood treated with guanidine compounds characterized by thermal degradation behavior

Wood was treated with guanidine phosphate, guanidine carbonate and guanidine nitrate to impart flame retardance. For a study of flame retardance from the standpoint of thermal degradation, the samples were subjected to thermogravimetry (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA) to determine if there were any characteristic correlations between thermal degradation behavior and the level of flame retardance. The composition of the chars was studied by the IR spectra to obtain information concerning the thermal degradation mechanism. For the decomposition of samples, the second stage plays a key role in the pyrolysis attributed to flame retardance. When it occurs at lower temperatures (<300 °C), the samples have good fame retardance and when it occurs at higher temperatures (>300 °C), the samples have poor fame retardance.