The demand for environmentally benign flame retardants for biodegradable polymers has become particularly necessary due to their inherently “green” nature. This work reports intrinsically non-toxic polydopamine (PDA) particles as an efficient and environmentally friendly flame retardant for polylactic acid (PLA). 5 wt% PDA loading resulted in a 22% reduction in the peak heat release rate, 34.7% increase in the fire performance index, and lower CO2 production compared to neat PLA. A limiting oxygen index (LOI) value of 27.5% and a V-2 rating was achieved in the UL-94 vertical burning test. Highly aggregated amorphous particulate char was formed with the increasing content of PDA, and a significant reduction in evolved pyrolysis gaseous products was achieved for the PLA/PDA composites as compared with control PLA. This work provides important insight into the potential commercial application of PDA alone as an efficiently green, environmentally benign flame retardant for bioplastic PLA.

中文翻译：

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均匀聚多巴胺颗粒的简便制备及其作为可生物降解聚乳酸环保阻燃剂的应用

由于可生物降解聚合物固有的“绿色”性质，对环境友好型阻燃剂的需求变得尤为必要。这项工作报告了本质上无毒的聚多巴胺 (PDA) 颗粒作为聚乳酸 (PLA) 的高效环保阻燃剂。与纯 PLA 相比，5 wt% PDA 负载导致峰值热释放率降低 22%，防火性能指数增加 34.7%，并降低 CO2 产量。在 UL-94 垂直燃烧测试中达到了 27.5% 的极限氧指数 (LOI) 值和 V-2 等级。随着 PDA 含量的增加，形成高度聚集的无定形颗粒炭，与对照 PLA 相比，PLA/PDA 复合材料的热解气态产物显着减少。