Effects of lanthanum hypophosphite on fire protection properties of intumescent fire-retardant coating for steel structure
摘要
This study presents the development of an advanced intumescent fire-retardant coating by integrating lanthanum hypophosphite (LaHP) into a conventional ammonium polyphosphate/pentaerythritol/melamine (APP/PER/MEL) system. LaHP was synthesized from sodium hypophosphite and lanthanum chloride, achieving a yield of approximately 65%. The synthesized LaHP was added to the coating formulation at concentrations ranging from 2 to 6 wt.% to evaluate its effects on fire resistance and thermal protection. Comprehensive testing, including fire resistance assessments and cone calorimeter tests, along with characterizations such as SEM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, TGA, and XPS, revealed that LaHP significantly enhanced the fire-retardant properties of the coatings. The optimal concentration of 4 wt.% resulted in a peak heat release rate (pHRR) of 37.04 kW/m2 and a total heat release (THR) of 0.42 MJ/m2. Additionally, the LaHP-enhanced coating demonstrated superior thermal barrier efficiency, keeping the backside temperature of the coated steel plate below 200 °C during fire testing. Morphological analyses indicated that LaHP contributed to a denser, continuous char layer that insulated against heat and oxygen. XPS analysis confirmed the formation of a catalytic graphitized carbonaceous layer, which delayed degradation of the intumescent structure and improved fire retardancy. Briefly, LaHP proves to be an effective synergist in the APP/PER/MEL system, which markedly enhances the coating of fire protection performance.