A novel boron and silicon hybrid zeolite flame retardants for reducing the fire hazard of epoxy resin

Abstract

With the wide application of epoxy resin (EP), searching for a suitable method to improve the flame retardancy of EP to meet the requirements of its application in the field of high flame retardance has been a hot research topic. In this work, a novel boron and silicon containing zeolite hybrid material (Zeolite@BSi) was synthesised by organic-inorganic hybrid strategy and applied to flame retardant EP. The 7 wt% Zeolite@BSi conferred a limiting oxygen index (LOI) of 28.7 % and a V-0 rating on EP. Compared with EP, the peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR) and the total smoke production (TSP) of EP/Zeolite@BSi were significantly reduced by 34.05 %, 25.42 % and 33.14 %, respectively. Zeolite@BSi protects the EP matrix by promoting the formation of more continuous char layers, thereby reducing heat and smoke release. Importantly, the addition of Zeolite@BSi not only improves the flame retardant performance of EP, but also enhances the mechanical properties of EP to some extent. This study provides a new strategy for developing EP composites with excellent flame retardance and good mechanical properties.