- Author
- Gilman, J. W. | Jackson, C. L. | Morgan, A. B. | Harris, R. H., Jr. | Manias, E. | Giannelis, E. P. | Wuthenow, M. | Hilton, D. | Phillips, S. H.
- Title
- Flammability Properties of Polymer-Layered-Silicate Nanocomposites, Polypropylene and Polystyrene Nanocomposites.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY Air Force Research Laboratory, Edwards AFB, CA
- Journal
- Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 12, No. 7, 1866-1873, July 17, 2000
- Sponsor
- Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
- Contract
- DTFA0003-92-Z-0018
- Keywords
- nanocomposites | polypropylene | polystyrene | flammability | thermal stability | flammability measurements | cone calorimeters
- Identifiers
- Transmission Electron Microscopy
- Abstract
- Our continuing study of the mechanism of flammability reduction of polymer-layered-silicate nanocomposites has yielded results for polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride and polystyrene-layered-silicate nanocomposites using montmorillonite and fluorohectorite. Cone calorimetry was used to measure the heat release rate and other flammability properties of the nanocomposites, under well-controlled combustion conditions. Bath the polymer-layered-silicate nanocompasites and the combustion residues were studied by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. We have found evidence for a common mechanism of flammability reduction. We also found that the type of layered silicate, nanodispersion, and processing degradation have an influence on the flammability reduction.