Study on the Flammability and Thermal Stability of Non Halogen UPR-Based Fire Retardant Composite through Combination of Carbon Black and Hydroxide Additives

The non-halogen UPR-based fire retardant composites are successfully made by combining the hydroxide additives and carbon black. The composites are synthesized by varying the concentration of carbon black (2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 % wt) respectively, at the constant concentration of Al(OH)₃ 40 % wt, and Mg(OH)₂ 10 % wt. The flammability of fire retardant composite is studied by using UL-94 V flammability test to investigate the ignition time, burning time, and time taken to retard the fire. While the thermal stability of composite is characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis. The flammability test result shows that the addition of carbon black at all concentration with the constant concentration of hydroxide additives could improve the fire retardancy of composite by increasing the time to ignition, reducing the burning time, and gave V-0 flammability rating. Moreover, the utilization of carbon black 2.5 % wt can enhance the thermal stability of composite by increasing the decomposition temperature, decreasing the mass loss rate, and total mass loss. The morphology of the composite before and after the flammability test are also tested to study the changes of the material structure.