Sustainable, Scalable, and Highly Flame-Retardant Cellulose-Containing Fabrics

Polyester-cotton fabrics (PCFs) combine the advantages of polyester and cotton, offering durability, moisture absorption, and breathability, making them widely used in workwear, home decoration, and other applications. However, the flammability of PCFs limits their use in certain areas. In this work, we develop a two-step flame-retardant modification process through Michael addition and prepolymerization reactions. Using a simple two-step chemical modification, we produce PCFs with excellent flame-retardant properties. The modified PCFs achieved a limiting oxygen index of 32.7, demonstrating good flame resistance. During combustion, the flame-retardant PCFs can generate a large amount of noncombustible gases and phosphorus-containing substances, forming a uniform carbon layer on the fabric’s surface, thereby exhibiting superior flame-retardant property. The flame-retardant modification process developed in this work uses water as the solvent throughout, making it environmentally friendly and providing a new approach for the functional modification of cellulose-containing fabrics.