Thermal and flame-retardant properties of intrinsic flame-retardant epoxy resin containing biphenyl structures and phosphorus

An intrinsic flame-retardant epoxy resin was synthesized by introducing biphenyl structures and phosphorous into epoxy resin. The biphenyl structures could increase the glass transition temperature by more than 10 °C, as well thermal stability as indicated by the elevation in char yield. They could also enhance mechanical properties as reflected by the increments of 86.4% and 176.5% in tensile strength and breaking elongation, respectively, and offset the negative effects of phosphorus-containing structures. The introduction of elemental phosphorus could improve the flame-retardant properties of epoxy resin. The resulting epoxy resin presented a high limiting oxygen index of 32.4% and a V-0 rating in the UL-94 test. Moreover, it exhibited better flame-retardant parameters than pure epoxy resin in the cone calorimeter test. It could be decomposed to generate PO∙ and PO 2 ∙ radicals to quench active free radicals, reduce toxic and smoke gas generation, and form a dense and stable char layer. It could simultaneously achieve gas and condensed phase flame retardancy. The presence of the biphenyl structure and phosphorus element in the epoxy resin system improved the thermal, mechanical, and flame-retardant properties of epoxy resin simultaneously. This work offered a facile method for preparing intrinsic phosphorus-containing flame-retardant epoxy resin without sacrificing thermal and mechanical properties.