Thermal degradation mechanism of flame retarded epoxy resins with a DOPO-substitued organophosphorus oligomer by TG-FTIR and DP-MS

A novel phosphorus-containing oligomeric flame retardant, poly(DOPO substituted hydroxyphenyl methanol pentaerythritol diphosphonate) (PDPDP) was synthesized and applied to flame retarded epoxy resins. The thermal degradation behaviors of flame retarded epoxy composites with PDPDP were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), thermogravimetric analysis/infrared spectrometry (TG-FTIR) and direct pyrolysis-mass spectrometry (DP-MS) techniques. The identification of pyrolysis fragment ions provided insight into the flame retardant mechanism. The results showed that the mass loss rate of the EP/PDPDP composites was clearly lower than pure EP when the temperature was higher than 300 °C in air or nitrogen atmosphere. The results also suggested that the main decomposition fragment ions of the EP/PDPDP composite were H2O, CO2, CO, benzene, and phenol. The incorporation of PDPDP can reduce the release of combustible gas and induce the formation of char layer, hence the fire potential hazard was reduced.