A low-density polyethylene composite with phosphorus-nitrogen based flame retardant and multi-walled carbon nanotubes for enhanced electrical conductivity and acceptable flame retardancy

doi:10.1007/s11705-021-2035-0

Front. Chem. Sci. Eng.

2021, Vol. 15

Issue (5) : 1332-1345 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-021-2035-0

RESEARCH ARTICLE

A low-density polyethylene composite with phosphorus-nitrogen based flame retardant and multi-walled carbon nanotubes for enhanced electrical conductivity and acceptable flame retardancy

Yong Luo¹, Yuhui Xie¹, Renjie Chen¹, Ruizhi Zheng¹, Hua Wu^1,³, Xinxin Sheng^1,²(

), Delong Xie¹(

), Yi Mei¹

¹. Yunnan Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Saving in Phosphorus Chemical Engineering and New Phosphorus Materials, The Higher Educational Key Laboratory for Phosphorus Chemical Engineering of Yunnan Province, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China
². Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Soft Condensed Matter, School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
³. Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland

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Abstract

Design and exploitation of flame retardant polymers with high electrical conductivity are desired for polymer applications in electronics. Herein, a novel phosphorus-nitrogen intumescent flame retardant was synthesized from pentaerythritol octahydrogen tetraphosphate, phenylphosphonyl dichloride, and aniline. Low-density polyethylene was combined with the flame retardant and multi-walled carbon nanotubes to form a nanocomposite material via a ball-milling and hot-pressing method. The electrical conductivity, mechanical properties, thermal performance, and flame retardancy of the composites were investigated using a four-point probe instrument, universal tensile machine, thermogravimetric analysis, and cone calorimeter tests, respectively. It was found that the addition of multi-walled carbon nanotubes can significantly improve the electrical conductivity and mechanical properties of the low-density polyethylene composites. Furthermore, the combination of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and phosphorus–nitrogen flame retardant remarkably enhances the flame retardancy of matrixes with an observed decrease of the peak heat release rate and total heat release of 49.8% and 51.9%, respectively. This study provides a new and effective methodology to substantially enhance the electrical conductivity and flame retardancy of polymers with an attractive prospect for polymer applications in electrical equipment.

Keywords MWCNTs PEPA electrical conductivity flame retardant low density polyethylene

Corresponding Author(s): Xinxin Sheng,Delong Xie

Just Accepted Date: 30 January 2021 Online First Date: 19 March 2021 Issue Date: 30 August 2021

Cite this article:

Yong Luo,Yuhui Xie,Renjie Chen, et al. A low-density polyethylene composite with phosphorus-nitrogen based flame retardant and multi-walled carbon nanotubes for enhanced electrical conductivity and acceptable flame retardancy[J]. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng., 2021, 15(5): 1332-1345.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/10.1007/s11705-021-2035-0
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fcse/EN/Y2021/V15/I5/1332

Fig.1 (a) FTIR spectra of PEPA, BPOD, PEPA-BPOD and PEPA-BPOD-A, (b) ¹H NMR of PEPA-BPOD-A, and (c) ³¹P NMR spectra of PEPA-BPOD-A.

Fig.2 Electrical conductivity of pure LDPE and its composites.

Tab.1 Comparison of electrical conductivity in our work with other MWCNTs-based composites

Fig.3 Mechanical properties of pure LDPE and its composites: (a) stress-strain curves, (b) tensile strength and elongation at break.

Fig.4 (a) TGA curves and (b) DTG curves of PEPA-BPOD-A, pure LDPE, and its composites.

Tab.2 TGA results for pure LDPE and its composites in N₂ atmosphere

Fig.5 (a) HRR curves and (b) THR curves of pure LDPE and its composites obtained via cone calorimetry.

Tab.3 Cone calorimeter results of pure LDPE and its composites

Fig.6 TG-IR results of pure LDPE, PPC-0, and PPC-7 samples: (a) total pyrolysis products, (b) hydrocarbons, (c) aromatic compounds.

Fig.7 SEM images of the residues of (a) PPC-0, (b) PPC-3, and (c) PPC-7.

Fig.8 Raman spectra of the residues of LDPE composites of (a) PPC-0, (b) PPC-0.5, (c) PPC-1, (d) PPC-2, (e) PPC-3, (f) PPC-5, (g) PPC-7.

Fig.9 (a, b) C 1s, (c, d) O 1s, (e, f) N 1s, and (g, h) P 2p XPS spectra of PPC-0 residue (left) and PPC-7 residue (right).

Fig.10 Scheme 1 Schematic illustration for the synergistic flame retardant mechanism of LDPE composite.

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