Preparation and properties of cotton fabrics treated with a novel polysiloxane water repellent and flame retardant

Iodine butyl-N-sulfonate amino polysiloxane [(IB-N-SA) PDMS] was synthesized as a novel water repellent and flame retardant and it was characterized by FT-IR. The water repellency of treated cotton fabric with (IB-N-SA) PDMS was studied and the results showed that the water contact angle increased from 88.37° to 124.49°. The flame retardant properties of treated cotton fabric were evaluated by limiting oxygen index (LOI) and the vertical burning test. The treated cotton fabric obtained good flame retardancy with a LOI value of 30.9%. Furthermore, The combustion properties of treated cotton fabric were assessed by cone calorimeter and it demonstrated that the treated cotton fabric with (IB-N-SA) PDMS generated less combustion heat and obtained better flame retardancy which can be confirmed by the increase of TTI and FPI values and the decrease in the values of HRR, THR, EHC, Mass loss and CO2/CO ratio.