On improving flame retardant and smoke suppression efficiency of epoxy resin doped with aluminum tri-hydroxide

Abstract

Aluminum tri-hydroxide (ATH) was selected as a retardant doped into epoxy resin (EP), and smoke suppression and flame retardancy of ATH/EP were investigated. The results showed that ATH-doped EP has superior performance resisting the flame development and smoke release to EP. Peak heat release rate of EP doped with 15-wt% ATH decreased by 28.49% in comparison with EP; total smoke release of it decreased by 17.65%; production rate of carbon monoxide decreased by 30.24%. The activation energy of it was much smaller than EP due to the decomposition of ATH, but it was 30–40 kJ mol−1 higher than EP in the second stage. Based on analysis of the residual carbon, it was confirmed that ATH can attract lots of heat to produce aluminum oxide (Al2O3) films and H2O at high temperature. H2O decreases the production of flammable gas to inhibit combustion, and Al2O3 films adhered to the residue carbon can insulate air to reduce combustion and smoke release.