Fire retardant nylon fibers and methods for making them
Provided are nylon fibers having fire retardant agents dispersed therein and methods for manufacturing such fibers. The fire-retardant agents may comprise Tris(tribromophenyl) triazine and/or antimony trioxide. Fabrics made from such fibers are also provided.
1 . A fabric comprising:
a plurality of fire-retardant nylon fibers having dispersed within internal regions thereof
an amount of a fire-retardant composition comprising:
(i) a brominated (Br) organic fire-retardant; and
(ii) a synergist comprising antimony (Sb),
wherein the brominated organic fire-retardant and the synergist comprising antimony are present in an amount sufficient to provide a weight ratio of elemental Sb and Br (Sb:Br) of from about 1:1 to about 1:10, and
wherein a major portion thereof is Nylon-6 polymer and/or Nylon-6,6 polymer,
wherein the plurality of fire-retardant nylon fibers is essentially free of brominated polystyrenes,
wherein the fabric comprises:
a fiber of the plurality of fire-retardant nylon fibers having a tensile strength within 20% of the tensile strength of an otherwise identical nylon fiber that does not comprise said fire-retardant composition;
a moisture vapor transport rate (MVTR) of greater than 100 gms/m 2 /day;
an air porosity of about 0.1 ft 3 /min to about 50 ft 3 /min; or
a hand and/or a drape of no more than ±1 compared to an otherwise identical fabric that does not comprise said fire-retardant composition.
2 . The fabric of claim 1 , comprising an aggregate weight of elemental Sb and Br in the fiber from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight of the total weight of the fiber.
3 . The fabric of claim 1 , comprising at least about 50% Nylon-6 polymer and/or Nylon-6,6 polymer.
4 . The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of fire-retardant nylon fibers is spun from a melt comprising molten nylon polymer homogeneous mixed with said fire-retardant composition.
5 . The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the fabric is woven or non-woven.
6 . The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the brominated organic fire-retardant is selected from the group consisting of: tris(tribromophenyl) triazine; tris(tribromoneopentyl)phosphate; pentabromobenzyl acrylate (PBB-MA); poly(pentabromobenzyl acrylate) (PBB-PA); brominated trimethylphenyl indan; and tetrabromobisphenyl A-bis(2,3-dibromopropyl ether).
7 . The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the brominated organic fire-retardant is a brominated aryl fire-retardant.
8 . The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the brominated organic fire-retardant is tris(tribromophenyl) triazine.
9 . The fabric of claim 1 , further comprising from about 0.1% to about 10% brominated inorganic fire-retardant.
10 . The fabric of claim 9 , wherein the brominated inorganic fire-retardant is a phosphorous-based fire-retardant.
11 . The fabric of claim 9 , wherein the brominated inorganic fire-retardant is tris(tribromoneopentyl)phosphate.
12 . The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the synergist is selected from the group consisting of: antimony trioxide, antimony pentoxide, and sodium antimonite.
13 . The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the synergist is antimony trioxide.
14 . The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the fire-retardant composition comprises:
(i) about 0.1% to about 10% tris(tribromophenyl) triazine; and
(ii) about 0.1% to about 10% antimony trioxide.
15 . The fabric of claim 14 , the antimony trioxide and the tris(tribromophenyl) triazine are present, collectively, in an amount from about 0.1% to about 20% by weight based on the weight of the fiber.
16 . The fabric of claim 14 , wherein the antimony trioxide and the tris(tribromophenyl) triazine are present in the fiber in a weight ratio of from about 2:1 to about 5:1.
17 . The fabric of claim 14 , wherein the antimony trioxide and the tris(tribromophenyl) triazine are present in the fiber in a weight ratio of from about 3:1 to about 4:1.
18 . The fabric of claim 14 , further comprising from about 0.1% to about 10% inorganic halogenated fire-retardant.
19 . The fabric of claim 18 , wherein the inorganic halogenated fire-retardant is tris(tribromoneopentyl)phosphate.
20 . The fabric of claim 14 , comprising at least about 50% Nylon-6 polymer and/or Nylon-6,6 polymer.