'Flammability of Thermoplastic Polymer + Vapor Grown Carbon Nanofiber Nanocomposites'

摘要

The use of nanoparticles to reduce flammability in polymers is well documented, and in this paper we present work on the use of vapor grown carbon nanofibers (VGCNF) to produce electrically conductive flame retardant polymers. The carbon nanofibers are significantly larger than multiwall carbon nanotubes and show some interesting thermal, electrical, and flammability behavior in thermoplastic materials, making them excellent candidates for the development of multifunctional materials. Our research found that as extruded, all of the materials were electrically conductive, but upon injection molding the electrical conductivity was lost. However, flammability reductions (in some cases quite notable) were maintained regardless of measured electrical conductivity. This paper will show how the nanofibers reduced flammability, document the differences in flammability reduction noted in five different thermoplastics, and give some insight into why the materials lost electrical conductivity after injection molding.