Thermal Degradation and Combustion Behavior of a Modified Intumescent Flame-retardant ABS Composite

With the aim of improving compatibility between intumescent flame-retardant (IFR) acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) composites, we have prepared a modified intumescent flame-retardant composite (IFRC) powder by compounding the three components of the IFR normally used with TX-10 surfactant/polyacrylate latex. The ABS/IFRC composites were compared with the unfilled ABS by investigating their thermal degradation and combustion behaviors with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and a cone calorimeter (CONE). The DSC and TGA data showed that the thermal stability of the ABS/IFRC at high temperature could be enhanced and the char residue formation was effectively increased by comparison with the ABS. The CONE results revealed that IFRC was clearly able to change the decomposition behavior of ABS and form a char layer on the surface of the composites, resulting in an efficient reduction of their flammability parameters compared with the ABS, such as the heat release rate, total heat release, rate of smoke release, total smoke release, and so on.