Chemical improvement of surfaces. Part 6: enhanced flame retardancy of Scots pine sapwood by covalent modification with phosphorus and boron functionalized benzoates

The broad applicability of the wood modification protocol recently published by Kaufmann et al. allows to improve the fire resistance of renewable materials, too. In this study organophosphorus and organoboron compounds have been synthesized, characterized and subsequently applied for enhanced flame retardancy of wood. Wood hydroxyl groups of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sapwood veneer chips were covalently modified upon esterification with benzotriazolyl-activated P- and B-substituted benz-amides. The efficacy of this synthetic strategy was demonstrated by the weight percent gain (WPG) of up to 32% and the corresponding quantities of covalently bonded organicmaterial (QCO) of up to 1.1 mmol/g, respectively. The successful covalent attachment of the functional precursors was proven by attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR). The effect of the flame retardants on the properties of the modified sapwood samples was shown by a significant decrease of the temperature of mass loss from about 346–248 °C in the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).