Thermally induced cyclic resistance transition of a transparent and flame-retardant layered oxidized MXene composite nanocoating for remote-sync fire monitoring

Abstract

Fire safety of flammable materials in buildings and wooden houses is a critical global challenge since they are easily ignited and facilitate rapid fire spread in several seconds, thus escalating into serious fire disasters. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop efficient strategies and solutions to tackle fire hazards before fire becomes uncontrollable. Herein, we report a transparent and flame-retardant layered oxidized MXene (OM) and aramid nanofiber (ANF) composite nanocoating to construct a smart fire-warning device (FWD) for remote-sync fire prevention in buildings. Novel lamellar OM was precisely synthesized to fabricate a hybrid OM/ANFs/BA (OMAB) nanocoating. This nanocoating not only endows the flammable polymer foam and wooden materials with outstanding flame retardancy (e.g. UL94-V0 and LOI of 34.6% for the coated woods), but also provides a sensitive and cyclic fire warning response in 1.5 s for >60 cycles. The formation of a compact layered C/N/B doped titanium oxide network and its heat-induced resistance transition under flame are demonstrated. Consequently, the FWD system built via integrating the OMAB coating with wireless transmission hardware and homemade visualization software provides a real-time and remote-sync fire monitoring response, which is promising to mitigate or even prevent critical fire disasters in buildings or wooden houses.