Recent developments in flame retardant textile finishes

This chapter concentrates on research reported over the last 10-15 years which has some possibility of commercial exploitation with a view to replacing some of the currently used textile flame retardant finishing treatments and formulations, especially those with environmental concerns. In selecting research for this review, the major criterion has been the ability of a novel treatment or process to enable an ignited fabric to self-extinguish in a vertical strip test after being exposed to some durability treatment, ranging from a simple water soak to a number of cycles of a standard wash procedure. Initially, strengths and weaknesses of currently used flame retardant treatments are discussed so that challenges posed in their replacement may be fully understood. This provides the basis for critically reviewing recent research into the replacement of formaldehyde-based finishes (particularly for cellulosics) and halogen-based textile back-coating formulations, for example. The more recent work into novel surface treatments, such as sol-gel, layer-by-layer and plasma-based research is also analysed in terms of the above criteria. The chapter concludes by noting that most of these challenges still remain because much of the published academic research does not take into account the reasons for the effectiveness of current treatments, the need for them to be applicable by available processing technologies, their durability and their effects on textile aesthetics and properties as well as their potential cost