Effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on flame retardation and thermal stabilization performance of phosphorus-containing flame retardants in polypropylene

International Nano Letters - Tập 2 - Trang 1-7 - 2012
Mohammad Shahvazian1, Mehdi Ghaffari2, Hoda Azimi3, Reza Jahanmardi3
1Faculty of Textile Engineering, Islamic Azad University-Yazd Branch, Yazd, Iran
2Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, Tehran, Iran
3Department of Polymer Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Tóm tắt

Effects of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on flame retardation as well as thermal stabilization efficiency of two phosphorus-containing flame retardant systems i.e., ammonium polyphosphate/pentaerythritol (APP/PER) and red phosphorus (RP) in polypropylene (PP) have been investigated. Limiting oxygen index, thermo-gravimetric analysis, melt flow index, and tensile tests have been performed in this study. Moreover, the structure of the nanocomposites was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM images revealed good dispersion of fillers in the polymer matrix. Furthermore, it was shown that the addition of MWNTs alone at a minimum loading level of 4 wt% improves thermal stability of PP considerably without any undesirable effect on its flow-ability and mechanical properties. Moreover, addition of MWNTs alone resulted in a slight improvement of flammability of the polymer. However, comparison between thermal stability and flame retardancy of PP samples containing a combination of MWNTs and APP/PER or RP and those of the samples containing APP/PER or RP alone proved that MWNTs interfere with thermal stabilization and flame retardation efficiency of both APP/PER and RP in the polymer.

Tài liệu tham khảo

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