Flame retardancy of polyamide 66 nanocomposites with thermally stable organoclay

Abstract

A thermally stable imidazolium organoclay was synthesized to improve the flame retardancy performance of polyamide 66 (PA 66). To enhance flame retardancy of the PA 66/organoclay nanocomposite, the thermally stable organoclay was coated with monomethylol melamine (MMM) before melt‐compounding with PA 66. Transmission electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction results confirmed the partial exfoliation of the organoclay in the PA 66 matrix. The use of the thermally stable organoclay did not affect the thermal stability of PA 66. The cone calorimeter results showed that the PA 66/orgnaoclay nanocomposite exhibited a greatly reduced heat release rate and a longer ignition time. However, the PA 66/organoclay binary nanocomposite had no rating in the UL‐94 vertical burning test because it did not extinguish until the entire polymer component was burnt. The PA 66 nanocomposite with 15 wt% of MMM‐coated organoclay performed better in the ignition resistance test than the PA 66/organoclay nanocomposite containing 15 wt% of melamine. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Recent Trends and Future Outlooks in the Field of Clay‐Containing Polymer Nanocomposites

“…However, there has been no significant improvement in the thermal stability of oraganoclays. In recent years, researchers have synthesized various types of more thermally stable surfactants to prepare organically modified clays . One such example is alkyl‐imidazolium salt because the imidazolium cation is more thermally stable than alkyl ammonium or phosphonium cations .…”

Preparation and characterizations of inherent flame retarded polyamide 66 containing the phosphorus linking pendent group

“…However, the drawback of flammability limits its applications. Thus, the flame retardancy has become an essential requirement for PA66 . To impart the flame retardancy to PA66, it can usually be achieved by 3 methods: The first one is finishing flame retardants onto the surface of the matrix, which is mostly used in fibers and textiles.…”

Novel Organo Soluble Polyimides and Polyimide Nanocomposites Based on 1,4-bis((4-aminophenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazolyl)benzene, baob, via baobmodified Organoclay

“…Thermal decomposition during processing can initiate/catalyze polymer degradation, in addition to a variety of undesirable effects during processing and in the final product [32][33][34][35]. To avoid the detrimental effects of the lower thermal stability of alkyl ammonium treated clays, modification of clay minerals with imidazolium [36] and phosphonium [37] salts have been noted. As another approach, using of aromatic amines and diamines, as swelling agents, has also been considered in the preparation of polyamide and polyimide (pi) nanocomposites.…”