Polyaniline/chitosan coating as the novel and sustainable flame retardant and UV protection route for silk fabric

The growing awareness of human health and environmental protection stimulates the development of more sustainable flame retardant (FR) approaches. In this study, polyaniline (PANI) with a nitrogen-containing aromatic structure was synthesized as a novel functional compound to improve the FR and UV protection performance of silk fabric. Biobased chitosan was applied to develop the PANI/chitosan coating to improve the binding capability and dispersion uniformity of PANI on the silk surface. The surface morphology, thermal resistance, heat generation capacity, flame retardancy and UV protection performance were explored. The PANI/chitosan coating with 3 wt% PANI endowed the silk fabric with effective flame retardancy. The coated silk fabric self-extinguished during vertical flammability test and possessed a decreased char length of 9.5 cm versus 30 cm of the pristine silk fabric; it could also withstand 20 launderings, showing good laundering resistance. The coated silk fabric displayed markedly decreased heat release behavior. A combined condensed phase and gas phase FR action was suggested for the PANI/chitosan coating on silk fabric. The coated silk fabric also exhibited excellent UV protection with the UPF of 50+ because of the UV-shielding of PANI.