Flammability of polyamide-6 /clay hybrid nanocomposite textiles

The flammability of polyamide-6 (PA-6)/clay nanocomposites used as textile fabrics has been investigated. PA-6/clay nanocomposite (PA-6nano) was prepared by melt blending and had an exfoliated structure. TG curves suggest that PA-6 is slightly stabilised between 450 and 600degreesC. PA-6nano was processed via melt spinning, to make multifilament yarns. Textiles have been evaluated as knitted fabrics and it is shown that the heat release rate of PA-6nano evaluated with the cone calorimeter at 35 kW/m(2) is reduced by 40% in comparison with pure PA-6. This result offers a new promising route for flame retarding textiles with a permanent effect (laundry resistance) at relatively low cost and keeping the basic properties of the textiles. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.