Thermal stability and flame retardance properties of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene/polyvinyl chloride/organophilic Fe-montmorillonite nanocomposites

In the article, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene/polyvinyl chloride/organophilic Fe-montmorillonite (ABS/PVC/Fe-OMT) nanocomposites were prepared by melt intercalation method. In order to determine if the presence of iron ion in the structure of organophilic montmorillonite (OMT) lattice can affect thermal, flame retardance and smoke suppressant properties in the ABS/PVC blends. ABS/PVC/organophilic natural montmorillonite (Na-OMT) nanocomposites were prepared as the comparable sample. Fe-MMT and Na-MMT were treated by cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The information on morphologies and structures of ABS/PVC/OMT nanocomposites was obtained using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The thermal properties of the nanocomposites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, and flame retardant properties were obtained via limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL-94 vertical burning test and smoke density. The nanocomposites, based on Fe-OMT, exhibited better flame retardance, better smoke suppressant properties, and lower degradation degree than those of pure ABS/PVC blends and the ABS/PVC/Na-OMT nanocomposites.