Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T23:08:09.102Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Flame Retardancy of Laponite- and Montmorillonite-Based Nylon 6 Nanocomposites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Gunes Inan ,
Prabir K. Patra ,
Yong K. Kim  and
Steven B. Warner
Gunes Inan
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth, Department of Textile Sciences 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747
Prabir K. Patra
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth, Department of Textile Sciences 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747
Yong K. Kim
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth, Department of Textile Sciences 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747
Steven B. Warner
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth, Department of Textile Sciences 285 Old Westport Road, North Dartmouth, MA 02747
Get access

Abstract

The flame retardancy of nylon 6/laponite and nylon 6/montmorillonite nanocomposites was investigated. The pronounced effect of layered silicates on heat release and mass loss rates of nylon 6 was examined. We found that nylon 6/laponite has 46 % and nylon 6/montmorillonite has 52.5 % lower peak heat release rates than that of neat nylon 6. The 6.5 % difference between the peak heat release rates of laponite- and montmorillonite-based nanocomposites was attributed to differences in aspect ratio and surface charge density of the nanoparticles.

The barrier properties of nanocomposite chars was evaluated by examining the peak heat release and mass loss rate reductions of stacks of layers, with the bottom layer being neat nylon 6 polymer and the top layers being nanocomposites that formed chars during the experiments. We observed that the peak heat release rate of a 10×10×0.3 cm neat nylon 6 slab was reduced by about 45 % when protected with a char-forming nylon 6/montmorillonite slab of same dimensions. The dramatic reduction of the peak heat release rate of neat nylon 6 when covered with a nanocomposite char was consistent with the notion that the flame retardancy of polymer/clay nanocomposites is affected by the (thermal and/or mass) barrier properties of the char. In order to test the thermal insulation of the char, temperature profiles of the layered samples were measured during cone calorimeter experiments. We observed that the nanocomposite char that brought about a 44.5 % reduction in peak heat release and mass loss rates reduced the heating rate of the same neat nylon 6 by about 31.2 %. The reduction in the heating rate increased with the amount of nanocomposite char formed.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 788: Symposium L – Continuous Nanophase and Nanostructured Materials , 2003 , L8.46
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Gilman, J.W., Kashiwagi, T., Lichtenhan, J.D., 42nd Int. SAMPE Symp., 1078 (1997).Google Scholar
2. Gilman, J.W., Jackson, C.L., Morgan, A.B., Harris, R., Manias, E., Giannelis, E.P., Wuthenow, M., Hilton, D., Phillips, S.H., Chem. Mater. 12, 1866 (2000).Google Scholar
3. Hogue, C., C&EN, 81 (46), 49 (2003).Google Scholar
4. Vaia, R.A., Price, G., Ruth, P.N., Nguyen, H.T., Lichtenhan, J., Appl. Clay Sci. 15, 67 (1999)Google Scholar
5. Rahaman, M.N., Ceramic Processing and Sintering, 2nd ed. (Marcel Dekker, New York, 2003)Google Scholar
6. German, R.M., Particle Packing Characteristics, (Metal Powder Industries Federation, Princeton, 1989)Google Scholar