Flame retardancy of polypropylene/montmorillonite nanocomposites with halogenated flame retardants

The flame retardancy was investigated when the halogenated flame retardant, decabromodiphenyl oxide (DBDPO) and chlorinated paraffin wax (CPW), was added to the polypropylene (PP) / montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites. The flame retardancy of polymer resin could be improved not only by addition of flame retardant but also with nanoparticles compositions. The effect of the contents of flame retardant and nanoparticles on the flame retardancy of polypropylene/ montmorillonite nanocomposite systems was thoroughly examined in terms of limited oxygen index (LOI) and cone calorimetry. As a results of cone calorimetry, the heat release rate (HRR) was reduced by the flame retardant DBDPO and CPW, and CPW was a little better than DBDPO. The LOI increased from flammable region (LOI<19) to nonflammable region (LOI>20) for all the flame retardants used in this study. Especially, the improvement in flame retardancy by compounding with PP and MMT was better than that by adding flame retardant to polypropylene. So, the addition of flame retardant after compounding with montmorillonite was more efficient than simple addition of flame retardant.