Thermal Insulation and Flame Retardancy of Reinforced Polyimide-Based Ultralight Foams

The requirements of energy saving and consumption reduction are increasing for lightweight heat-insulating and flame retardant materials. In this paper, the ultra-light flame-retardant foam with different flame retardant mass fractions of 20%, 30% and 40% were prepared by foam moulding technology using polyimide fiber (PI) as the main component and ammonium polyphosphate (APP), magnesium hydroxide (Mg (OH)2) and zinc borate (ZB) as the flame retardant to enhance thermal insulation and flame retardant properties, respectively. The materials were characterized by infrared thermography, plate insulation, muffle furnace high temperature thermal stability analysis, vertical combustion test and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the lightweight foam material prepared by composite of fiber and flame retardant has high flame retardancy and thermal insulation. This lightweight material provides a sustainable inspiration and solution for the research of energy-saving portable flame-retardant materials, which has potential applications in the fields of textile, construction and thermal insulation engineering.