Preparation and characterization of flame retardant and low smoke releasing oil-resistant EVA/NBR blends

Nano-SiO2 and/or MoO3 were introduced to ethylene-vinyl acetate/nitrile butadiene rubber (EVA/NBR) blends containing magnesium hydroxide (MH) and red phosphorus (RP) to further improve the mechanical properties, oil resistance, smoke suppression and flame retardancy. The results indicated that the tensile strength and oil resistance were significantly improved by incorporating nano-SiO2. Smoke suppression tests for EVA/NBR blend samples showed that both nano-SiO2 and MoO3 can significantly reduce smoke release amount. The flammability characterization indicated that the blended sample with an LOI value of 33.0 could achieve V-0 level in the UL-94 test. Cone calorimetry test data showed the peak heat release rate was 67% lower than that for pure EVA/NBR. Thermal analysis showed that the presence of both nano-SiO2 and MoO3 was beneficial to promoting char formation of the EVA/NBR blends. Char residual analysis suggested that MoO3 aggregated in solid phase during combustion.