Flammability and Char Formation of Polyamide 66 Fabric:Chemical Grafting versus Pad-Dry Process.

Chemical grafting and pad-dry physical treatment with maleic anhydride (MA) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were employed to improve the fire resistance of polyamide 66 (PA 66) fabric, respectively. The flammability characterization demonstrated that chemical grafting could improve the antidripping property of the fabric by the elimination of the melting process which resulted from the so-called “scaffolding effect” during combustion. Pad-dry physical treatment improved the fire performance (including antidripping tendency) of PA 66 fabric through notable molten contraction which could keep the fabric away from the igniting source. It has been suggested that the premature decomposition of the monomers/graft chains can remove the heat from the fiber and delay the further decomposition of the substrate. The chemical grafting significantly improved the hydrophilicity of the samples, while the physical treatment decreased the hydrophilicity of PA 66 samples.