Fire behaviour of polyester-clay nanocomposites

The aim of this study was on the one hand, to compare the fire behaviour of polyester/clay nanocomposites with that of the neat polymers added with the conventional flame retardant melamine isocyanurate (MIC) and on the other hand, to study the effect of the flame retardant added to the nanocomposites. Polyester/clay nanocomposites were prepared by using polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and a co-polyester elastomer as polymeric matrices and a commercial organoclay as filler. As verified by X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) intercalated structures were obtained by mixing the molten polymer with the layered silicate in a corotating twin screw extruder. The fire behaviour of these materials was investigated by means of an oxygen consumption calorimetry (Cone Calorimeter). Peak heat release rate of 3-mm thick samples measured at 50 kW/m(2) external heat flux was reduced by a factor of 2-3 by the addition of organically modified montmorillonite to the polymers. The further addition of MIC did not give a significant improvement in the behaviour of the materials. Copyright (C) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.