Hierarchical MoS2/polyaniline binary hybrids with high performance for improving fire safety of epoxy resin

Here we report a facile strategy to fabricate phosphoric acid doped polyaniline/molybdenum disulfide (PANI/MoS2) hybrids as high-performance nanofillers in epoxy (EP) resin for the first time. In situ growth of PANI on the surface of two-dimensional MoS2 template resulted in the uniform dispersion and strong interfacial adhesion of PANI/MoS2 hybrids within EP matrix, which can be confirmed by the obvious increase (13.5 degrees C) in glass transition temperature (T-g) of EP composites. The MoS2 nanosheets also acted as a critical component to generate synergistic effect with PANI on reducing the fire hazards of EP resin. It resulted in a remarkable removal of flammable decomposed products and a considerable reduction of toxic CO yield. The dramatical decreases in real-time smoke density and total smoke production, and high-graphitized char layer in condensed phase were obtained for EP composite with 5 wt% PANI/MoS2 hybrids. The multiple synergistic effects (synergistic dispersion and synergistic char formation) are believed to be the primary source for these obvious enhancements of properties of EP composites. This facile strategy may achieve the potential application of functionalized MoS2 in polymeric nanocomposites.