Cyclodextrin microencapsulated ammonium polyphosphate: Preparation and its performance on the thermal, flame retardancy and mechanical properties of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer

Cyclodextrin microencapsulated ammonium polyphosphate (MCAPP) was prepared by the reaction between cyclodextrin (CD) and toluene-2,4-diisocyanate (TDI) with the goal of improving the water durability of APP and preparing a novel functional flame retardants. The Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicated MCAPP were successfully prepared, and the water contact angle (WCA) results indicated that cyclodextrin resulted in the transformation of hydrophilic to hydrophobic of the flame retardant surface. The MCAPP was then incorporated into the ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) system and the effects of the MCAPP on the mechanical, combustion, thermal, interfacial adhesion and flame-retardant properties of EVA cable were investigated and compared by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), limiting oxygen index (LOI), mechanical test, cone calorimeter and UL-94 test. The characterization for the various properties of EVA composites demonstrated that cyclodextrin microencapsulation technology could enhance the interfacial adhesion, resulting in the improved mechanical, thermal stability, combustion properties and flame-retardant properties compared with those of EVA/APP/CD system. Furthermore, the water resistance experiments results demonstrate that EVA/MCAPP composites have good water durability due to the hydrophobic property of MCAPP. Above all, the microencapsulation of APP with cyclodextrin developed in this study may be a promising formulation for combining the acid source, the carbonization agent and the blowing agent in one flame retardant, and the MCAPP can solve the water resistance and the compatibility problem of the flame retardant during the industrial application.