Synthesis and characterisation of epoxy-functional cyclotriphosphazenes and investigation of their thermal behaviour in powder epoxy resin formulations

Abstract

Epoxy-functionalized cyclotriphosphazene compounds were designed and synthesized from nucleophilic substitution reactions of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene. The synthesized compounds were purified and their structures were characterized using spectroscopic techniques. The prepared compounds were then used as part of a commercial powder epoxy resin formulation with varying feed ratios. Thermal analysis results showed that the addition of the epoxy-functionalized phosphazenes improved the thermal stability and thus flame retardancy of the final coatings. The epoxy-functionalized phosphazene derivatives developed in this study can become a potential candidate for fire- and heat-resistant powder coating applications with more safety and performance.