Phosphorus-containing polymer, article, and processes for producing the same

A process for producing a phosphorus-containing polymer, the process comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a phosphonium compound comprising at least one phosphonium moiety, the phosphonium moiety conforming to the structure of Formula (I)
• wherein R1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C1-C3 alkyl, C1-C3 haloalkyl, C2-C3 alkenyl, and C2-C3 haloalkenyl;
• (b) providing a nitrogen-containing cross-linking compound, the nitrogen-containing cross-linking compound comprising two or more nitrogen-hydrogen bonds;
• (c) reacting the phosphorus-containing compound and the nitrogen-containing cross-linking compound in a condensation reaction to produce a first intermediate polymer;
• (d) exposing the first intermediate polymer to a Brønsted base under conditions sufficient to convert at least a portion of the phosphonium moieties to phosphine moieties thereby producing a second intermediate polymer;
• (e) oxidizing the second intermediate polymer by exposing the second intermediate polymer to a suitable oxidizing agent under conditions sufficient to oxidize at least a portion of the phosphorus atoms in the polymer to a pentavalent state thereby producing a phosphorus-containing polymer;
• and
• (f) exposing the phosphorus-containing intermediate polymer to a Brønsted base to neutralize at least a portion of acid generated by the preceding oxidation step.

A process for producing an article, the process comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a textile material having at least one surface;
• (b) providing a phosphonium compound comprising at least one phosphonium moiety, the phosphonium moiety conforming to the structure of Formula (I)
• wherein R1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C1-C3 alkyl, C1-C3 haloalkyl, C2-C3 alkenyl, and C2-C3 haloalkenyl;
• (c) providing a nitrogen-containing cross-linking compound, the nitrogen-containing cross-linking compound comprising two or more nitrogen-hydrogen bonds;
• (d) applying the phosphorus-containing compound and the nitrogen-containing compound to at least a portion of the surface of the textile material;
• (e) reacting the phosphorus-containing compound and the nitrogen-containing cross-linking compound in a condensation reaction to produce a first intermediate polymer on the surface of the textile material, the first intermediate polymer comprising a plurality of phosphorus atoms, at least a portion of the phosphorus atoms being present in phosphonium moieties;
• (f) exposing the textile material to a Brønsted base under conditions sufficient to convert at least a portion of the phosphonium moieties in the first intermediate polymer to phosphine moieties thereby producing a second intermediate polymer on the surface of the textile material;
• (g) oxidizing the second intermediate polymer on the surface of the textile material by exposing the textile material to a suitable oxidizing agent under conditions sufficient to oxidize at least a portion of the phosphorus atoms in the polymer to a pentavalent state thereby producing a phosphorus-containing polymer on the surface of the textile material;
• and
• (h) exposing the textile material to a Brønsted base to neutralize at least a portion of acid generated by the preceding oxidation step.