Flammability of Polymer-Clay Nanocomposites.
Flammability of Polymer-Clay Nanocomposites.
(688 K)
Morgan, A. B.; Gilman, J. W.; Kashiwagi, T.; Jackson, C.
L.
Fire Safety Developments Emerging Needs, Product
Developments, Non-Halogen FR's, Standards and
Regulations. Proceedings. Fire Retardant Chemicals
Association. March 12-15, 2000, Washington, DC, 25-39
pp, 2000.
Keywords:
nanocomposites; flammability; clay
Abstract:
The flammability of two polymer-clay nanocomposites,
made from polycaprolactam (PA-6) and
polyethylene-co-vinylacetate (EVA) were investigated.
Polymer-clay nanocomposites have the unique advantage of
not only reducing the flammability of a polymer, but
also improving the mechanical properties of the polymer.
This is a key advantage over many flame retardants which
improve flammability but reduce polymer mechanical
properties. In our efforts to further understand the
mechanism of flame retardancy with polymer-clay
nanocomposites, we investigated the effects that clay
dispersion and charring polymer additives might have on
the flammability of the nanocomposite. The
nanocomposites were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD)
and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to determine
the nature of the clay dispersion in the polymer. Cone
calorimetry was used to evaluate the flammability of
these nanocomposites. We determined that the type of
dispersion of clay in the polymer (intercalated vs.
delaminated) did not appear to have a major effect on
flammability. Further, it appeared that the charring
co-additive put in the PA-6 nanocomposites had no
beneficial effect.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899