Constructing lignin based nanoparticles towards flame retardant thermoplastic polyurethane composites with improved mechanical and oxidation resistant properties

A multifunctional lignin derivative nanoparticle (C-P-Lignin) was synthesized by grafting phenyl dichloro sphosphineoxid and 1, 4-dimethoxyacetylene stepwise on the lignin, then it was applied to prepare the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composite with improved mechanical properties, oxidation resistance, and flame retardancy. The tensile strength , the elongation at break, and the toughness of the TPU/2C-P-Lignin sample reached 28.3 MPa, 941 %, and 139.0 MJ/m 2 respectively, which were increased by 39.0 %, 3.4 %, and 33.9 % respectively compared with that of the control TPU sample. The anti-fatigue property was also improved. More importantly, the mechanism of the improved mechanical properties was also calculated and simulated by FTIR and Materials Studio software. The TPU/2C-P-Lignin sample exhibited superior oxidation resistance during the process of photoaging and thermal oxidative aging. Furthermore, the peak heat release rate and the smoke production rate for theTPU/2C-P-Lignin sample was reduced by 50.0 % and 53.8 % compared with that of the control TPU. The reason was that the C-P-Lignin is conducive to the formation of uniformly distributed carbon layers. It is expected that this work can provide a new method for expanding the utilization of waste wood as a multifunctional lignin-based filler to improve fire safety and extend the service life of TPU polymers.