Abstract
AbstractIn the course of a study of metal salts as flame retardants, it was surprisingly found that metal nitrates reduced the flammability of ATH‐filled ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA). The limiting oxygen index (LOI) of ATH‐filled EVA was increased by the nitrates in the order of Cu(NO3)2·3H2O > (NH4)2Ce(NO3)6 > Zn(NO3)2·6H2O > Fe(NO3)3·9H2O > Al(NO3)3·9H2O > NaNO3. The effects were not caused by the water of hydration. All metal nitrates except NaNO3 reached a UL 94 V‐2 rating at 3 phr. Based on TGA, DSC, FTIR, and gas detection, the proposed mechanism of the flame‐retardant effect of nitrates is the oxidative degradation of the polymer to produce noncombustible products (CO2 and nitrogen oxides) at a rate sufficient to interfere with the normal combustion process despite the exothermicity of the oxidative degradation. It is possible that surface carboxylic acid structures also contribute to the flame‐retardant effect. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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