Functionalizing Ti3C2Tx for enhancing fire resistance and reducing toxic gases of flexible polyurethane foam composites with reinforced mechanical properties.

[Display omitted] • ZIF-8@Ti 3 C 2 T x was synthesised and applied to prepare flame-retardant flexible polyurethane foam composites. • Flame-retardant flexible polyurethane foam composites displayed excellent heat and toxic gases suppression performance. • Flame-retardant flexible polyurethane foam composites showed notable mechanical properties during compression and tensile tests. • The flame-retardant mechanism of ZIF-8@Ti 3 C 2 T x was systematically explored through gas and condensed products. Flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF) is the most used polyurethane, but the highly flammable characteristic limits its widespread usage. In this work, ZIF-8@Ti 3 C 2 T x was synthesized to reduce the heat and toxic gases of FPUF. Flame-retardant FPUF was characterized by cone calorimeter (Cone), thermogravimetric analysis/fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR), tensile and compression tests. Compared with pure FPUF, these results showed that the peak of heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR), CO and HCN of FPUF6 decreased by 46%, 69%, 27% and 43.5%, respectively. Moreover, the tensile and compression strength of FPUF6 demonstrated a 52% and 130% increment, respectively. The superior dual metal catalytical charring-forming effect and physical barrier effect of ZIF-8@Ti 3 C 2 T x were achieved. In summary, a simple and reliable strategy for preparing flame-retardant FPUF with reinforced mechanical and fire safety properties was provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]