Haoqi Xing , Jiaqi Li , Mengna Liu , Xuefan Yang , Jichun Liu , Bingli Pan , Haibo Chang
{"title":"Simultaneously-enhanced flame retardancy, mechanical property and acid/alkali corrosion resistance of ethylene vinyl acetate/aluminum trihydrate composite induced by crosslinking and microencapsulated expandable graphite","authors":"Haoqi Xing , Jiaqi Li , Mengna Liu , Xuefan Yang , Jichun Liu , Bingli Pan , Haibo Chang","doi":"10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2025.111263","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The most noticeable problem of aluminum trihydrate (ATH) as a flame retardant for polymers is its low efficiency and poor acid/alkali corrosion resistance. Herein, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) was chosen as polymer matrix and a blend of EVA18 (EVA with 18 % vinyl acetate, VA) and EVA40 (EVA with 40 % VA) was crosslinked properly. Microencapsulated expandable graphite (MEG) was introduced into crosslinked EVA (CLEVA) blend/ATH composite. The obtained CLEVA blend/ATH/MEG composite was investigated regarding its various properties. Results evince that ATH's fire-retarding efficiency is very low and up to 65 wt% ATH must be incorporated in order to confer ample flame retardancy on EVA. The CLEVA blend/ATH/MEG composite with 37 wt% ATH and 3 wt% MEG shows highly-enhanced flame retardancy, mechanical property and excellent acid/alkali corrosion resistance simultaneously. Remarkable synergism between ATH and MEG is found in CLEVA, which has elevated flame-retardant efficiency significantly. The increase in mechanical property derives mainly from crosslinking of polymer blend and the intumescent char produced by MEG on composite surface is responsible for the enhanced flame retardancy and corrosion resistance. Partial removal of ATH from the surface of CLEVA/ATH/MEG composite by chemical corrosion has no impact on fire retardancy of this composite. The flame retardation occurs in condensed phase. This work provides an easy and feasible strategy to overcome the drawbacks of ATH in flame-retarded EVA.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":406,"journal":{"name":"Polymer Degradation and Stability","volume":"234 ","pages":"Article 111263"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Polymer Degradation and Stability","FirstCategoryId":"92","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014139102500093X","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"POLYMER SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The most noticeable problem of aluminum trihydrate (ATH) as a flame retardant for polymers is its low efficiency and poor acid/alkali corrosion resistance. Herein, ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) was chosen as polymer matrix and a blend of EVA18 (EVA with 18 % vinyl acetate, VA) and EVA40 (EVA with 40 % VA) was crosslinked properly. Microencapsulated expandable graphite (MEG) was introduced into crosslinked EVA (CLEVA) blend/ATH composite. The obtained CLEVA blend/ATH/MEG composite was investigated regarding its various properties. Results evince that ATH's fire-retarding efficiency is very low and up to 65 wt% ATH must be incorporated in order to confer ample flame retardancy on EVA. The CLEVA blend/ATH/MEG composite with 37 wt% ATH and 3 wt% MEG shows highly-enhanced flame retardancy, mechanical property and excellent acid/alkali corrosion resistance simultaneously. Remarkable synergism between ATH and MEG is found in CLEVA, which has elevated flame-retardant efficiency significantly. The increase in mechanical property derives mainly from crosslinking of polymer blend and the intumescent char produced by MEG on composite surface is responsible for the enhanced flame retardancy and corrosion resistance. Partial removal of ATH from the surface of CLEVA/ATH/MEG composite by chemical corrosion has no impact on fire retardancy of this composite. The flame retardation occurs in condensed phase. This work provides an easy and feasible strategy to overcome the drawbacks of ATH in flame-retarded EVA.
期刊介绍:
Polymer Degradation and Stability deals with the degradation reactions and their control which are a major preoccupation of practitioners of the many and diverse aspects of modern polymer technology.
Deteriorative reactions occur during processing, when polymers are subjected to heat, oxygen and mechanical stress, and during the useful life of the materials when oxygen and sunlight are the most important degradative agencies. In more specialised applications, degradation may be induced by high energy radiation, ozone, atmospheric pollutants, mechanical stress, biological action, hydrolysis and many other influences. The mechanisms of these reactions and stabilisation processes must be understood if the technology and application of polymers are to continue to advance. The reporting of investigations of this kind is therefore a major function of this journal.
However there are also new developments in polymer technology in which degradation processes find positive applications. For example, photodegradable plastics are now available, the recycling of polymeric products will become increasingly important, degradation and combustion studies are involved in the definition of the fire hazards which are associated with polymeric materials and the microelectronics industry is vitally dependent upon polymer degradation in the manufacture of its circuitry. Polymer properties may also be improved by processes like curing and grafting, the chemistry of which can be closely related to that which causes physical deterioration in other circumstances.