- Author
- Morgan, A. B. | Antonucci, J. M. | VanLandingham, M. R. | Harris, R. H., Jr. | Kashiwagi, T.
- Title
- Thermal and Flammability Properties of a Silica-PMMA Nanocomposites.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Journal
- Polymeric Materials Science and Engineering, Vol. 83, 57-58, 2000
- Keywords
- nanocomposites | thermal properties | flammability | polymethyl methacrylate
- Abstract
- The properties of a polymer composite material depend not only upon the properties of the individual components, but also upon the polymer's phase morphology and interfacial properties with the other component. If the area of the interface between the two components becomes significantly large, the latter consideration, or interphase, becomes of primary importance in determining the overall properties of the composite material. For example, polymers filled with nanoscale silica particles generated a second glass transition that was much higher than that of the polymer resins. This phenomenon was accounted for by the formation of tightly and loosely bound polymer chains around the particles. Other studies reported an improvement in physical properties and also some improvement in thermal stability. An improvement in flammability properties of polymers using the concept of enhanced interfaces with layered silicates has been demonstrated for clay-nanocomposites. In this study, the use of nanoscale silica particles as a flame retardant additive, in a polymer nanocomposite is investigated with regard to improvements in both the flammability properties and the physical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). In contrast, conventional flame retardant additives, such as brominated compounds and hydrides, improve flammability of polymers but tend to reduce their physical properties.