Use of nano-ATH as a multi-functional additive for poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate-co-carbon monoxide)

Flame retardant aluminum hydroxide (ATH) nanoparticles of size a parts per thousand 10-20 nm were dispersed in ethylene-vinyl acetate-carbon monoxide terpolymer (EVACO) via solution casting. The effect of filler loading on the crystallizability, thermal, mechanical, flammability, optical and electrical properties of EVACO was evaluated. At 1 % filler loading nano-ATH particles exhibited very good dispersibility in the EVACO matrix and the % crystallinity of EVACO is the highest at this filler loading. The changes in crystallinity were studied by X-ray diffractometry and differential scanning calorimetry. The highest tensile strength was observed for the composite with 1 % nano-ATH loading, which has the best filler dispersion, and the decay in the tensile properties at higher filler loading is due to agglomerations of ATH nanoparticles and polymer-filler interface debonding. The UV absorption of these composites is augmented irrespective of the nano-ATH loading and ATH emerges as a good absorber of UV light. The DC electrical conductivity study of the composites proves that the addition nano-ATH is an efficient way to improve the dielectric properties of EVACO. The presence of nano-ATH improves the flame retardance of these composites.