Flame Retardant and Smoke Suppressant of Fe-Organophilic Montmorillonite in Polyvinyl Chloride Nanocomposites

Two kinds of polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/organophilic montmorillonite (OMT) nanocomposites are prepared by a melt intercalation method. This study has been designed to determine if the presence of iron and zinc ions in the structure of montmorillonite (MMT) lattice can affect thermal, flame retardant and smoke suppressant properties. The information about the morphological structure of PVC/OMT nanocomposites was obtained using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The thermal and flame retardant properties of the nanocomposites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, limiting oxygen index and smoke density. The nanocomposites based on Fe-OMT exhibit better thermal, flame retardant properties and lower degradation degree than those of pure PVC. The degradation mechanism was studied by pyrolysis, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS).