Investigation of flame retardant effects of resins in leather

Natural leather products, which are by-products of the meat industry, are used because of their high air vapor permeability and elegant appearance compared to synthetic leather. The production of flame retardant leather is important for some leather types such as motorcyclist jackets, flight or automotive upholstery leathers, military boots. It is frequently mentioned in the literature that resinous chemicals create flame retardant effects in textile materials due to their nitrogen content. Urea, melamine and dicyandiamide resins are always used in the traditional retanning process of cattle leathers. It has been investigated which of these resins has the highest flame retardant effect on the leather. In the study, 2%, 3% and 4% ratios were studied for these three resins; flame resistance of the leathers were investigated by LOI and TGA analysis. The study also examined the chemical effects of resins on the leather surface with FTIR and SEM analyses.