Plasma-induced graft-polymerization of flame retardant monomers onto PAN fabrics

This paper presents the use of the low-pressure plasma technique to confer a fire-resistant character to polyacrylonitrile (PAN) textiles. We investigated the argon plasma-induced graft-polymerization of four acrylate monomers containing phosphorus, diethyl(acryloyloxyethyl)phosphate (DEAEP), diethyl-2-(methacryloyloxyethyl)phosphate (DEMEP), diethyl(acryloyloxymethyl) phosphonate (DEAMP) and dimethyl(acryloyloxymethyl)phosphonate (DMAMP), which are known to be effective monomers for the fireproofing of polymeric substrates in classical polymerizations. The grafting and the polymerization processes taking place on the surface of the PAN textile were followed by weighing measurements, IR(ATR) spectroscopy and SEM. The fire retardant character of the treated fabrics was investigated by thermogravimetric analyses and LOI measurements. Furthermore, we were able to prove the persistence of the coatings towards several washing cycles by using the accelerated method of laundering proposed by McSherry and al.