Synergistic Effect between Sb
2
O
3
Nanostructure and Brominated
Compound on the Flame Retardant Properties of the Polymeric
Matrixes
Forozan Gholamian,
1
Gholamreza Nabiyouni,
2;
Davood Ghanbari,
3
Rouhollah Jalajerdi
3
and Alireza
Aminifazl
4
1
Faculty of Chemistry, Malek Ashtar University, Tehran,
Iran
2
Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Arak Univer-
sity, Arak, Iran
3
Young Researchers Club, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad
University, Arak, Iran
4
Institute for Color Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
Abstract. We have successfully synthesized Sb
2
O
3
nanos-
tructures using ultrasonic waves. We have also syn-
thesized a brominated compound via a simple chemi-
cal reaction. In order to improve the thermal stabil-
ity of the polymeric nanocomposites, Sb
2
O
3
and bromi-
nated compound were added to the poly methyl methacry-
late (PMMA) acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), cellu-
lose acetate (CA) and poly styrene (PS). The influence of
flame retardant additives on the thermal properties of poly-
mer matrixes was studied using thermogravimetric analysis
(TGA) and derivative thermogravimetric analysis (DTG).
We found that the thermal decomposition of the nanocom-
posites shifts towards higher temperatures as a result of
synergistic effect between Sb
2
O
3
and brominated com-
pound. The nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray
diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.
Keywords. Flame retardance, nanocomposite, nanoparti-
cles.
PACS
®
(2010). 82.35.Np.
1 Introduction
Polymeric nanocomposites have gained much attention in
composite industries due to the fact that adding of a small
* Corresponding author: Gholamreza Nabiyouni, Department of
Physics, Faculty of Science, Arak University, Arak 38156-88349,
Iran, P. O. Box: 38156-88349; E-mail: g-nabiyouni@araku.ac.ir.
Received: May 06, 2012. Accepted: June 16, 2012.
amount of nanostructure to a polymeric matrix can lead to
a great enhancement in physical and chemical properties of
the polymer. The main advantages of polymeric nanocom-
posites over many metallic alloys are low density, corrosion
resistance and thermal insulation. However the polymeric
compounds suffer from high flammability. Thus enhance-
ment the thermal stability of polymers is a major challenge
for extending their applications. The most famous flame re-
tardant for polymeric matrixes are halogen-containing com-
pounds [1–6]. Hydrogen and hydroxyl active free-radicals
are very important for sustaining ignition. The hydrogen
radicals are responsible for the chain-branching reactions
in the flame; while the hydroxyl radicals are in charge with
the oxidations of CO to CO
2
, which are very exothermic
reactions [7]. Halogen-containing flame retardants release
halogen radical in the flame zone, therefore, the highly ac-
tive hydrogen and the hydroxyl radicals are replaced by the
less active halogen radicals. Furthermore halides gener-
ate noncombustible gases, which dilute flammable gases.
Sb
2
O
3
have synergism effect with halogen-containing flame
retardant because it prolongs residence of the halogens in
the combustion environment, thus more active radicals can
be scavenged [7]. The higher level of flame retardancy of
nanoparticles is due to their bigger surface to volume frac-
tions which let them to disperse into the polymeric matrix
homogeneously, and hence leads to formation of a compact
char during the combustion.
Poly methyl methacrylate is an optically transparent and
thermoplastic polymer that has been widely used because
of its thermal and mechanical properties. It is widely used
as a substitute for inorganic glass because it shows higher
impact strength and undergoes ductile rather than being a
brittle glass. Cellulose acetate is a well known derivative
of cellulose and is widely used in a broad field of applica-
tions such as adhesive, film base in photography, synthetic
fiber and separation processes (filtering and reverse osmo-
sis). ABS is a relatively low cost and processable material,
having good mechanical properties and high chemical resis-
tance. There are already various additives for improving fire
retardancy of polymeric matrixes such as clay, Sb
2
O
3
-Br
flame retardant (FR), sulfide, phosphorous FR, intumescent
FR, nitrogen–phosphorus FR, zinc stannate, ferric chloride,
triphenyl phosphate, and carbon nanotube [8–12].
Sonochemical has many advantages over the other chem-
ical methods. For example hydrothermal and sol gel tech-
High Temp. Mater. Proc. 2013; 32(2): 125–132 Copyright © 2013 De Gruyter. DOI 10.1515/htmp-2012-0039