A fire-retardant coating for wood made from chitosan itaconate
Wood is becoming increasingly popular again due to an increased environmental awareness. However, wood generally needs protection from a number of external influences such as moisture, UV, stains, and also fire. The latter is a particular challenge for building materials because once ignited, untreated wood usually burns down completely without the need for a continuous external heat supply. We have recently developed a sustainable coating based on polymerised chitosan itaconate, which protects wood against moisture, UV, and stains. Free-standing chitosan itaconate films were now found to be non-flammable and do not melt when exposed to fire.
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Thermogravimetric analyses of these films underscore the importance of polymerisation to increase the thermal stability. When applied to wood surfaces, the coating delays the ignition and the spreading of flames. A single application already reduces the burning rate by one third. With multiple layers of the coating, the samples extinguish as soon as the external flame is removed.