Phytic acid: A bio-based flame retardant for cotton and wool fabrics

TLDR

Phytic acid, a high‑phosphorus, abundant, non‑toxic, and biocompatible compound, is widely used as a flame retardant for fabrics and can impart additional antimicrobial, conductive, and hydrophobic properties when combined with chitosan, silicon, nitrogen, and boron. This review surveys the current state of phytic acid–based flame retardants for natural fabrics, focusing on cotton and wool. It examines how factors such as PA concentration, coating solution pH, temperature, and preparation methods affect flame‑retardant performance and durability. The review concludes that phytic acid can serve as a viable, halogen‑free flame retardant for cotton and wool, with its effectiveness governed by concentration, pH, temperature, and processing conditions.

Abstract

Phytic acid (PA) is one of the widely used flame retardants (FRs) to treat a variety of fabrics owing to its high phosphorus content of ca. 28 wt% (with respect to its molecular weight), abundance, non-toxicity, and biocompatibility. The current review discusses the state-of-the-art of PA-based FRs for natural fabrics such as cotton and wool. The possibilities of making PA and FR-based multi-functional cotton fabrics having antimicrobial, conductive, hydrophobic properties are reported by virtue of the synergistic benefits associated with chitosan, silicon, nitrogen, and boron-based molecules. The factors influencing the FR behaviour as well as the durability of PA-based cotton and wool fabrics are discussed with respect to the concentration of PA, pH of the coating solution, temperature, and preparation methods. Holistically, PA has been proved to be a potential alternative to halogenated FRs to confer fire retardant property to cotton and wool fabrics.