Abstract
Polylactide (PLA) is one of the most widely used organic bio-degradable polymers. However, it has poor flame retardancy characteristics. To address this disadvantage, we performed melt-blending of PLA with intumescent flame retardants (IFRs; melamine phosphate and pentaerythritol) in the presence of organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT), which resulted in nanobiocomposites with excellent intumescent char formation and improved flame retardant characteristics. Triphenyl benzyl phosphonium (OMMT-1)- and tributyl hexadecyl phosphonium (OMMT-2)-modified MMTs were used in this study. Thermogravimetric analysis in combination with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that these nanocomposites release a smaller amount of toxic gases during thermal degradation than unmodified PLA. Melt-rheological behaviors supported the conclusions drawn from the cone calorimeter data and char structure of the various nanobiocomposites. Moreover, the characteristic of the surfactant used for the modification of MMT played a crucial role in controlling the fire properties of the composites. For example, the nanocomposite containing 5 wt.% OMMT-1 showed significantly improved fire properties with a 47% and 68% decrease in peak heat and total heat release rates, respectively, as compared with those of unmodified PLA. In summary, melt-blending of PLA, IFR, and OMMT has potential in the development of high-performance PLA-based sustainable materials.
Highlights
Polylactide (PLA) is one of the most promising sustainable polymers, owing to its excellent physical properties and mechanical capabilities, low cost, large production volume, and its transparency [1,2]
MMT is a type of multilayer aluminosilicate smectite clay with inorganic nano-sized particulates and widely used as a flame retardant (FR) for polymer nanocomposites because of its low cost, abundance, and excellent FR performance [15,16]
The results showed that the FR activity of the PLA composites was greatly improved with a high loading of 40 wt.%
Summary
Polylactide (PLA) is one of the most promising sustainable polymers, owing to its excellent physical properties and mechanical capabilities, low cost, large production volume, and its transparency [1,2]. Because of these characteristics, PLA can be used in numerous applications, including paper coatings, fibers, films, foams, molded parts, and packaging [3,4,5]. MMT is a type of multilayer aluminosilicate smectite clay with inorganic nano-sized particulates and widely used as a flame retardant (FR) for polymer nanocomposites because of its low cost, abundance, and excellent FR performance [15,16].
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