Enhanced flame resistance of cellulose aerogel by ammonium polyphosphate for heat insulation

Cellulose aerogels are a potential candidate for heat insulation, but one of their drawbacks is high flammability hindering their applications in practice. This study synthesized cellulose aerogels from microfibrillated cellulose fibers (MFC) extracted from discarded pineapple leaves. The procedure started with simply mixing the extracted fibers with polyamide amine-epichlorohydrin (PAE) as a chemical crosslinker and ammonium polyphosphate (APP) (10-20%) as a green and effectively flame-resistant additive, followed by freeze-drying. The produced aerogels are characterized in terms of their morphology, thermal stability and conductivity, and flame resistance via advanced and standardized methodologies including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), thermal conductivity measurement by a heat flow meter, and UL94 horizontal burning test. The flame-resistant cellulose aerogels exhibit ultra-low density (25.5-26.8 mg/cm3), high porosity (98.0-98.2%), excellent heat insulation (35.9-36.7 mW/m۰K), and are completely flame-resistant. In addition, the varied APP content (10-20%) shows little effect on the density, heat conductivity, and thermal stability of the flame-resistant cellulose aerogels in comparison with that of the neat cellulose aerogel. Based on the findings, the synthesized flame-resistant cellulose aerogels are considered a promising bio-based heat insulation material.