Fire retardancy of polymeric materials incorporated with nanoscale inclusions

Abstract

Polymeric materials have a wide variety of applications in many manufacturing industries. However, because of the molecular structures and chemical compositions of polymeric materials, they have considerably low resistances against the fire/heat. Although these materials are highly flammable, their flame retardancy can be improved significantly by incorporating with flame retardant nanomaterials. Nanoclay and nanotalc are some of the examples of the flame retardant nanomaterials which are highly cost effective and environmentally friendly for these applications. Thus, these inclusions have a great potential to improve thermal, electrical, and mechanical properties of the new materials. This study is mainly focused on the effects of nanoparticle additions in the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in terms of the flame retardancy. Five sets of nanocomposite materials were prepared using the solvent casting method at different weight percentages of the nanomaterials. The flame retardancy values of the resultant nanocomposite samples were determined using the ASTM UL 94 standard tests. The test results were also supported with the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) tests. Surface characterization of the resultant materials was carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Test results showed that the flame retardancy values of the new nanostructured materials were significantly enhanced in the presence of nanoscale inclusions, which may be useful for various industrial applications.