Flame Retardant and Pyrolytic Behaviors of Polyamide 6/Montmorillonite Nanocomposite

Na+-montmorillonite(Na+-MMT) was converted to organic montmorillonite(OMMT) using modifier which was synthesized at authors' laboratory. PA6/OMMT nanocomposite was prepared via in situ intercalative polymerization. The limiting oxygen index (LOI), UL 94V flame retardancy and thermal stability of PA6/OMMT using thermal gravity analysis (TGA) were measured. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) technique was used to analyze the pyrolytic residuum and the cone calorimeter (CONE) was applied to determine a number of combustion parameters which were closely related to fire safety, including heat release rate, mass loss rate, effective combustion heat, total heat release, specific extinction area and the time of ignition. In addition, the elemental composition of the surface pyrolytic residuum and the corresponding X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data were obtained, and the morphology of the residuum from CONE measurement was examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM).