Surface modification of core-shell structured ZIF-67@Cobalt coordination compound to improve the fire safety of biomass aerogel insulation materials

Abstract Biomass materials are considered to be excellent candidates to replace petroleum-based materials, but inherent flammability limits their applications. In this work, biomass aerogel (BA) was prepared by freeze-drying method from sodium alginate (SA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). To improve fire safety of BAs, a core-shell structured ZIF-67@Cobalt coordination compound was successfully synthesized, which was surface functionalized by 3,5-diamino-1,2,4-triazole and 9,10-dihydro-9-oxo-10-phospho-diphenyl-10-oxide (DOPO), named as DOPO-NH2-ZIF-67. The addition of DOPO-NH2-ZIF-67 (2wt%) outstandingly improved fire safety of BA, in contrast to neat BA, peak heat release rate, peak smoke production rate, and total smoke production were reduced by 66.6%, 85.10%, and 72.76%, respectively. Furthermore, the incorporation of ZIF-67 and its derivatives has no adverse effect on the thermal insulation performance of BA composites and significantly improved their compressive strength from 0.27MPa to 1.76MPa. Preparation of core-shell structured ZIFs rich in active groups furnishes a conceivable way to synthesize an effective flame retardant, and a prospective method for the fabrication of aerogel insulation materials with green and economical additive-free technology is proposed.