Flame Retarded Nylon 66 Nanocomposites: Comparing the Effect of Different Flame Retardants on the Flammability

Abstract

The flame retarded nylon 66 nanocomposites was prepared using different flame retardants at equal amount of 5 wt % of nanoparticles in a co-rotating twin extruder. The compression molded samples were prepared for flame retardancy tests. The SEM images of nanocomposites showed an acceptable dispersion of nanoparticles within the nylon 66 matrix. TGA, DTG and limiting oxygen index results showed that the modified clay had a good performance to increase thermal stability and flame retardancy of nylon 66 comparing to other flame retardant nanoparticles. The residue per cent and the morphology of the char are important factors in flame retardancy. SEM images of residues showed that the nanocomposites containing clay and iron oxide nanoparticles have an honeycomb-like structure in the outer layer that could provide a good barrier to the transfer of heat and mass, which resulted in the improvement of the flame retardancy of nylon 66.