Chinese scientists have developed, at the laboratory scale, wallpaper integrating both fire resistance and fire alarm functionality. The paper itself is inorganic, and based on ultralong hydroxyapatite nanowires and glass fibres. Hydroxyapatite is a calcium phosphate, and the same molecule as the main constituent of teeth and bones. Fire alarm properties were imparted by including graphene oxide, which is electrically insulating at room temperature, but becomes conductive at high temperatures. Modification of the graphene oxide by polydopamine improved its flame retardancy, and enabled conductivity from around 130°C. The organic fire-safe, fire-alarm paper could be folded into shapes, dyed with different colours or printed with commercial printing.
“Fire Alarm Wallpaper Based on Fire-Resistant Hydroxyapatite Nanowire Inorganic Paper and Graphene Oxide Thermosensitive Sensor” F-F. Chen et al., ACS NANO, 2018, 12, 3159−3171 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.8b00047