Use of zinc borate as the third component of a traditional brominated flame retardant system in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene

摘要

Because zinc borate is an effective smoke suppressant and cheaper than antimony trioxide, the main aim of this study was to investigate usability of zinc borate as the third component of a traditional binary Br/Sb_2O_3 system in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. Limiting oxygen index, UL-94, and mass loss cone calorimeter studies indicated that almost all flame retardancy parameters were kept when certain percentages of antimony trioxide were replaced with zinc borate. Residue analysis revealed that the predominant flame retardancy mechanism of the traditional system was gas phase action, whereas zinc borate contributes especially in the condensed phase action by forming thicker and stronger char layer.