Preparation and investigation of the combustion behavior of polypropylene/organomodified MgAl-LDH micro-nanocomposite

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are considered as a new emerging class of clays and they have a promising future in the field of nanocomposites due to their highly tunable properties. In this research, polypropylene/organomodified magnesium-aluminum LDH (PP/O-MgAl-LDH) composites were prepared by direct melt compounding. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the samples. Both XRD and TEM images of the composites illustrate the formation of a mixed morphology of micro and nano scale dispersion of MgAl-LDH in the matrix. Its combustion behaviors were examined via microscale combustion calorimeter (MCC), and char residues investigated by SEM. The MCC results show that the addition of Mg-Al-LDH into PP can efficiently decrease the specific heat release rate (HRR), the heat release capacity (HRC), and total heat release (THR), indicating the flame retardancy of the composite are improved. Flame retardant properties of PP/O-MgAl-LDH micro-nanocomposite were further enhanced with the increasing amounts of MgAl-LDH concentration. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.