Flame retardant composition and polyurethane foam containing same
A flame retardant composition especially useful for imparting flame retardancy to polyurethane foams includes: a) major amount by weight of at least one phosphate ester flame retardant of the formula: wherein n is 0 or 1 to about R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 each independently is a non-halogenated or halogenated alkyl or aryl group, and R 5 is a non-halogenated or halogenated alkylene or arylene group, provided, that when n is 1 to about 10, at least one of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 is substituted with at least one halogen atom; and, b) a minor amount by weight of melamine.
1 . A flame retardant composition which comprises:
a) a major amount by weight of at least one phosphate ester flame retardant of the formula:
wherein n is 0 or 1 to about 10, R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 each independently is a non-halogenated or halogenated alkyl or aryl group, and R 5 is a non-halogenated or halogenated alkylene or arylene group, provided, that when n is 1 to about 10, at least one of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 is substituted with at least one halogen atom; and,
b) a minor amount by weight of melamine.
2 . The flame retardant composition of claim 1 wherein each of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 and R 5 is independently a non-halogenated or halogenated alkyl group of from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms, a non-halogenated or halogenated aryl group of from 6 to about 20 carbon atoms or a non-halogenated or halogenated alkyl-substituted aryl group of from 6 to about 20 carbon atoms, and R 5 is a non-halogenated or halogenated alkylene group of from 2 to about 20 carbon atoms or a non-halogenated or halogenated unsubstituted or lower alkyl-substituted arylene group of from 6 to about 20 carbon atoms.
3 . The flame retardant composition of claim 2 wherein each of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 and R 4 is independently a non-halogenated or halogenated phenyl group and R 5 is a non-halogenated or halogenated alkylene group of from 2 to 8 carbon atoms.
4 . The flame retardant composition of claim 2 wherein in a halogenated group, the halogen is chlorine and n is 0, 1, 2 or 3.
5 . The flame retardant composition of claim 3 wherein in a halogenated group, the halogen is chlorine and n is 0, 1, 2 or 3.
6 . The flame retardant composition of claim 1 wherein the phosphate ester is at least one member of the group consisting of each independently is tris(1,3-dichloropropyl) phosphate, tris(2,3-dibromopropyl) phosphate, tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate, tricresyl phosphate, cresyl diphenyl phosphate, propylated triphenyl phosphate, butylated triphenyl phosphate and combinations thereof.
7 . The flame retardant composition of claim 1 containing from about 55 to about 99.5 weight % phosphate ester, the balance of the composition being melamine.
8 . The flame retardant composition of claim 1 containing from about 80 to 99 weight % phosphate ester, the balance of the composition being melamine.
9 . A flame retardant polyurethane foam composition comprising a flame retarding amount of the flame retardant composition of claim 1 .
10 . A flame retarded polyurethane foam composition comprising a flame retarding amount of the flame retardant composition of claim 2 .
11 . A flame retarded polyurethane foam composition comprising a flame retarding amount of the flame retardant composition of claim 3 .
12 . A flame retarded polyurethane foam composition comprising a flame retarding amount of flame retardant composition of claim 4 .
13 . A flame retarded polyurethane foam composition comprising a flame retarding amount of the flame retardant composition of claim 5 .
14 . A flame retarded polyurethane foam composition comprising a flame retarding amount of the flame retardant composition of claim 6 .
15 . The flame retarded polyurethane foam composition of claim 9 wherein the polyurethane foam possesses a density of 1.0 to 2.0 lb/ft 3 .
16 . A method of making a flame retarded polyurethane foam which comprises adding a flame retarding amount of flame retardant composition of claim 1 to a polyurethane foam-forming reaction medium comprising polyol and polyisocyanate and causing the polyurethane foam-forming reaction medium to undergo reaction to provide polyurethane foam containing the flame retardant composition.
17 . The method of claim 16 wherein the phosphate ester and melamine components of the flame retardant composition are added to the polyurethane foam-forming reaction medium as a blend.
18 . The method of claim 17 wherein the blend is added to the polyol-containing component of the polyurethane foam-forming reaction medium.
19 . The method of claim 16 wherein in the phosphate ester, each of R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , and R 4 is a phenyl group.
20 . The method of claim 16 wherein the phosphate ester is at least one member of the group consisting of each independently is tris(1,3-dichloropropyl) phosphate, tris(2,3-dibromopropyl) phosphate, tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate, tricresyl phosphate, cresyl diphenyl phosphate and combinations thereof.
21 . The method of claim 16 containing from about 55 to about 99.5 weight % phosphate ester, the balance of the composition being melamine.
22 . The method of claim 16 containing from about 80 to about 99 weight % phosphate ester, the balance of the composition being melamine.
23 . The method of claim 17 wherein from about 5 to about 50 parts by weight of the blend are added per 100 parts by weight of the polyol-containing component of the polyurethane foam-forming reaction medium.
24 . The method of claim 17 wherein from about 10 to about 30 parts by weight of the blend are added per 100 parts by weight of the polyol-containing component of the polyurethane foam-forming reaction medium.
25 . The method of claim 18 wherein from about 5 to about 50 parts by weight of the blend are added per 100 parts by weight of the polyol-containing component of the polyurethane foam-forming reaction medium.
26 . The method of claim 18 wherein from about 10 to about 30 parts by weight of the blend are added per 100 parts by weight of the polyol-containing component of the polyurethane foam-forming reaction medium.
27 . The method of claim 16 wherein the polyurethane foam possesses a density below about 1.5 lb/ft 3 .
28 . The method of claim 16 wherein the polyurethane foam possesses a density below about 1.2 lb/ft 3 .