Effect of Char Residue Structure on the Flame Retardant Property HIPS/OMMT Composites

The HIPS/OMMT and HIPS/MMT composites were prepared through the melting intercalated method.The flame retardancy was evaluated by the cone calorimeter.The structure of burnt residues was observed by digital camera,SEM and TGA.The experimental results showed that the heat release rate(HRR)for HIPS/OMMT nanocomposites was significantly reduced,while flame retardancy property of HIPS/MMT composites improved a little.The residue of HIPS/OMMT burning at the burning release peak was composed of skin layer and cellular layer.The skin layer was composed of mainly montmorillonite with small quantity of carbonouse char,leading to better thermal stability.The cellular layer considerably augmented the thickness of the residue.Both of the two structure residues had a great effect on the flame retardancy of the composites.