title: The influence of zinc hydroxystannate on reducing toxic gases (CO, NO(x) and HCN) generation and fire hazards of thermoplastic polyurethane composites.
abstract: A uniform zinc hydroxystannate (ZnHS) microcube was synthesized to reduce toxicity and fire hazards of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composites using ammonium polyphosphate as a flame retardant agent. The structure, morphology and thermal properties of ZnHS were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. Smoke suppression properties and synergistic flame retardant effect of ZnHS on flame retardant TPU composites were intensively investigated by smoke density test, cone calorimeter test, and thermalgravimetric analysis. Thermogravimetric analysis/infrared spectrometry and tube furnace were employed to evaluate the toxic gases (CO, NOx and HCN) of TPU composites. The incorporation of ZnHS into TPU matrix effectively improved the fire safety and restrained the smoke density, which is attributed to that the char residue catalyzed by ZnHS enhanced barrier effect that reduced peak heat release rate, total heat release, smoke particles and organic volatiles during combustion. Furthermore, the ZnHS synergist demonstrated high efficiency in catalytic degradation of the toxic gases, which obviously decreased total volatiled product and toxic volatiles evolved, such as the CO, HCN and NOx, indicating suppressed toxicity of the TPU composites.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui 230026, PR China.
authors.forename: Bibo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui 230026, PR China.
authors.forename: Haibo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui 230026, PR China; Suzhou Key Laboratory of Urban Public Safety, Suzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Science and Technology of China, Jiangsu, Suzhou 215123, PR China.
authors.forename: Yongqian
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui 230026, PR China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui 230026, PR China; Suzhou Key Laboratory of Urban Public Safety, Suzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Science and Technology of China, Jiangsu, Suzhou 215123, PR China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui 230026, PR China; Suzhou Key Laboratory of Urban Public Safety, Suzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Science and Technology of China, Jiangsu, Suzhou 215123, PR China. Electronic address: yuanhu@ustc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui 230026, PR China. Electronic address: hwz1988@ustc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Weizhao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
keywords: Fire hazards; Smoke suppression; Thermoplastic polyurethane; Toxic gases; Zinc hydroxystannate