Find in Library
Search millions of books, articles, and more
Indexed Open Access Databases
Thermal Stability and Flammability Studies of MXene–Organic Hybrid Polystyrene Nanocomposites
oleh: Zhuoran Zhang, Huaixuan Cao, Yufeng Quan, Rong Ma, Emily B. Pentzer, Micah J. Green, Qingsheng Wang
Format: | Article |
---|---|
Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2022-03-01 |
Deskripsi
Polystyrene (PS) is widely used in the plastics industry, but the application range of PS is limited due to its inherently high flammability. A variety of two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have been reported to impart excellent flame retardancy to polymeric materials. In this study, a 2D nanomaterial MXene–organic hybrid (O-Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>) was applied to PS as a nanofiller. Firstly, the MXene nanosheets were prepared by acid etching, intercalation, and delamination of bulk MAX (Ti<sub>3</sub>AlC<sub>2</sub>) material. These exfoliated MXene nanosheets were then functionalized using a cationic surfactant to improve the dispersibility in DMF. Even with a small loading of functionalized O-Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub> (e.g., 2 wt%), the resulting PS nanocomposite (PS/O-Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub>) showed good thermal stability and lower flammability evidenced by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and pyrolysis-combustion flow calorimetry (PCFC). The peak heat release rate (pHRR) was significantly reduced by 32% compared to the neat PS sample. In addition, we observed that the temperature at pHRR (T<sub>pHRR</sub>) shifted to a higher temperature by 22 °C. By comparing the TGA and PCFC results between the PS/MAX and different weight ratios of PS/O-Ti<sub>3</sub>C<sub>2</sub> nanocomposites, the thermal stability and 2D thermal- and mass-transfer barrier effect of MXene–organic hybrid nanosheets were revealed to play essential roles in delaying the polymer degradation.