In-situ synthesized CNTs/Bi2Se3 nanocomposites by a facile wet chemical method and its application for enhancing fire safety of epoxy resin

In this work, a flowering-branch like CNTs/Bi2Se3 hybrids was synthesized by a facile in-situ method. CNTs as carrier could provide low agglomeration of layered Bi2Se3. As-prepared nanomaterials were added into epoxy resin (EP) to enhance its fire safety. Compared with neat EP, there were more than 44% and 23% decrease in the value of peak heat release and total heat release with 2 wt% content of CNTs/Bi2Se3, respectively, confirmed the enhancement of flame retardancy of EP composites. Meanwhile, the release of smoke and CO were also suppressed during EP combustion. From results of thermogravimetric analysis-infrared spectrometry, the addition of CNTs/Bi2Se3 obviously reduced the release of organic gaseous products, which contributed to the improved fire safety of EP matrix. Based on the analysis of gas and condensed phases, the possible enhancement mechanisms can be mainly concluded as the barrier effect of as-synthesized binary hybrids and enhanced char layers. Meanwhile, the addition of CNTs/Bi2Se3 enhanced the mechanical performance of EP composites. This work broadens the application fields of Bi2Se3 and enriches the membership of CNTs-based binary compounds, which were used as flame retardants. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.