Novel Phosphorus‐Containing Poly(ether sulfone)s and Their Blends with an Epoxy Resin: Thermal Decomposition and Fire Retardancy

Abstract

Abstract Summary: The decomposition of novel phosphorus‐containing poly(oxyphenylene‐sulfonyl‐phenylene‐oxy‐diphenyl phenylene phosphine oxide) (PSU_I), 2,5‐dihydroxy‐1‐biphenylene‐phosphine oxide based polysulfone (PSU_II), poly(sulfonyl‐diphenylphenylene phosphonate) (PSU_P) and bisphenol A‐based polysulfone (PSU) is studied. The influence of the chemical structure, charring and phosphorus release is discussed based on the mass loss, kinetics and products. The pyrolysis and fire behaviour of blends with epoxy resin (EP) are studied. For EP‐PSU_II, phosphorus initiates water elimination and changes the decomposition pathway of EP. The fire behaviour of EP‐PSU shows some improvements, whereas the heat release rate is crucially reduced for EP‐PSU_II due to simultaneous char formation and flame inhibition. Decomposition model of PSU_II. magnified image Decomposition model of PSU_II.