Biomaterial-Based Cu2O@Chitosan/Phosphorylated Cellulose Core–Shell Flame Retardant Fabricated via Layer-by-Layer Assembly for Enhanced Fire Safety of Epoxy Resin
- 1Suqian University , , , ,
- 2China University of Geosciences , , , ,
Abstract
Epoxy resins (EPs) are widely used in advanced engineering applications but suffer from inherent flammability and rapid heat release during combustion. A biomaterial-based core–shell flame retardant, Cu2O@(CH/PT), has been fabricated using a mild layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly strategy by alternately depositing chitosan (CH) and phosphorylated cellulose (PT) onto Cu2O particles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analyses provided complementary morphological and chemical evidence for the surface deposition and assembly of CH and PT on Cu2O particles. The resulting Cu2O@(CH/PT) was incorporated into epoxy resin blends to investigate its effects on thermal degradation and combustion behavior. The incorporation of 8 wt % Cu2O@(CH/PT) increased the residual mass of the EP blends at 700 °C during thermal degradation from 7.79% to 20.62% and increased the limiting oxygen index (LOI) for combustion from 23.3% to 31.0%. Microscale combustion calorimetry results showed that the peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR), and heat release capacity (HRC) for combustion of EP-8 were reduced by 45.1%, 33.4%, and 44.0%, respectively, compared with the corresponding values for combustion of neat EP. The enhanced flame-retardant performance may be associated with the cooperative effects of the Cu2O catalytic core and the biomaterial-based phosphorus/nitrogen-containing CH/PT shell, where PT promotes condensed-phase charring, CH contributes to the development of protective char structures, and Cu2O facilitates the stabilization of carbonaceous residues. A sustainable strategy for constructing biomaterial-based core–shell Cu2O flame retardants through LbL assembly to improve the fire safety of epoxy resin blends has been developed.
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BibTeX
@article{zhang2026biomaterialbased,
title = {{Biomaterial-Based Cu2O@Chitosan/Phosphorylated Cellulose Core–Shell Flame Retardant Fabricated via Layer-by-Layer Assembly for Enhanced Fire Safety of Epoxy Resin}},
author = {Xiaotao Zhang and Kaihua Lu and Yushi Lu and Hongqi Shi},
journal = {ACS omega},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1021/acsomega.6c09407},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13670252},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Biomaterial-Based Cu2O@Chitosan/Phosphorylated Cellulose Core–Shell Flame Retardant Fabricated via Layer-by-Layer Assembly for Enhanced Fire Safety of Epoxy Resin
AU - Xiaotao Zhang
AU - Kaihua Lu
AU - Yushi Lu
AU - Hongqi Shi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - ACS omega
DO - 10.1021/acsomega.6c09407
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13670252
AB - Epoxy resins (EPs) are widely used in advanced engineering applications but suffer from inherent flammability and rapid heat release during combustion. A biomaterial-based core–shell flame retardant, Cu2O@(CH/PT), has been fabricated using a mild layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly strategy by alternately depositing chitosan (CH) and phosphorylated cellulose (PT) onto Cu2O particles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analyses provided complementary morphological and chemical evidence for the surface deposition and assembly of CH and PT on Cu2O particles. The resulting Cu2O@(CH/PT) was incorporated into epoxy resin blends to investigate its effects on thermal degradation and combustion behavior. The incorporation of 8 wt % Cu2O@(CH/PT) increased the residual mass of the EP blends at 700 °C during thermal degradation from 7.79% to 20.62% and increased the limiting oxygen index (LOI) for combustion from 23.3% to 31.0%. Microscale combustion calorimetry results showed that the peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR), and heat release capacity (HRC) for combustion of EP-8 were reduced by 45.1%, 33.4%, and 44.0%, respectively, compared with the corresponding values for combustion of neat EP. The enhanced flame-retardant performance may be associated with the cooperative effects of the Cu2O catalytic core and the biomaterial-based phosphorus/nitrogen-containing CH/PT shell, where PT promotes condensed-phase charring, CH contributes to the development of protective char structures, and Cu2O facilitates the stabilization of carbonaceous residues. A sustainable strategy for constructing biomaterial-based core–shell Cu2O flame retardants through LbL assembly to improve the fire safety of epoxy resin blends has been developed.
SN - 2470-1343
ER -