Biomass-derived organic aerogels endowed flexible polyurethane foam with excellent flame retardance, smoke suppression, bacteriostasis and enhanced mechanical property

Designing flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF) with excellent flame retardancy, high mechanical performance, and good bacteriostatic activity via green approaches holds significant scientific value. In this study, a novel ionic liquid (IL) was synthesized from dopamine hydrochloride (DA) and phytic acid (PA), which was further combined with chitosan (CS) to fabricate an innovative biomass-based organic aerogel. For the 1CS-1IL/FPUF, it showed a 70.6 % reduction in peak heat release rate (PHRR), 66.3 % decrease in smoke production rate (SPR), and 48.4 % lower CO emission compared to pristine FPUF, effectively mitigating toxic fume and heat hazards during combustion. The limiting oxygen index (LOI) of 1CS-4IL/FPUF reached to 63.4 %. It was worth noting that the condensed and gas phase mutually functioned to the enhancement of flame retardancy of FPUF. In addition, the tensile strength and compressive strength of the 1CS-1IL/FPUF composite were 85.0 kPa and 41.0 kPa, representing increases of 20.7 % and 673.6 % compared to 78.7 kPa and 5.3 kPa of the neat FPUF, respectively. The modified FPUF also exhibited strong antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus . According to above results, it provides a promising strategy to design multifunctional FPUF composites.