Starch-Based Layer by Layer Assembly: Efficient and Sustainable Approach to Cotton Fire Protection

Starch has been employed via layer by layer assembly for building an efficient and sustainable biobased coatings capable of protecting cotton from fire. In order to obtain a better understanding of the coating to substrate relationship, the coating efficiency has been tested on cotton fabrics having different densities (i.e., 100, 200, and 400 g/m(2)). The adopted deposition conditions allow for the buildup of a homogeneous coating even at a low number of deposition steps. The physical and chemical mechanisms are described and related to the achieved results. The coating can greatly enhance the char forming ability of cellulose, nearly doubling the amount of thermally stable organic residue produced by cotton at high temperatures, as assessed by thermogravimetric analyses. After only 2 bilayers deposited, this biobased system is capable of self-extinguishing a flame during flammability tests with less than 5% in weight deposited on cotton. This high efficiency is kept even when the coating is deposited on cotton with the highest density. By cone calorimetry, all treated cottons showed significant reductions (up to 40%) of the total heat released during combustion, thus demonstrating the high efficiency achieved.