Selective laser sintering of PEG treated inorganic fullerene-like tungsten disulfide nanoparticles/polyamide 12 nanocomposites and fire safety behavior

Abstract

Research has focused on developing advanced polyamide 12(PA12) engineering plastics with low flammability and low levels of smoke evolution during combustion. To satisfy green and safe industrial criteria, it is essential to minimize the emission of smoke and harmful gases generated during the burning of PA12. As a result, utilizing inorganic fullerene-liked tungsten sulfide (IF-WS2) nanoparticles as the precursor and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the interfacial functional agent, a flame retardant grafted with the –OH functional group on the surface of IF-WS2 nanoparticles was designed and synthesized. Selective laser sintering (SLS) was used to fabricate the PA12/F-IF-WS2 nanocomposites. The multiple –OH groups provided by PEG could enhance the hydrogen bonding active sites of F-IF-WS2 nanoparticles and PA12 molecular chain groups, which could further boost the flame-retardant efficiency of PA12. The apparent decline in the peak heat release (26.55%), peak smoke generation (23%), and total CO production (40.4%) values proved the increased fire safety of the PA12 composite. Depending on the characterization results, a possible flame-retardant mechanism was proposed. Furthermore, the addition of F-IF-WS2 had a decisive effect on mechanical properties, including tensile properties, and dynamic mechanical properties. The PA12/F-IF-WS2 nanocomposites prepared using SLS molding provide a new direction for preparation and flame-retardant applications.