Nylon 6-clay, flame resistance

Polymer-clay nanocomposites (PCN) are a class of hybrid materials composed of organic polymer matrices and organophilic clay fillers, introduced in late 1980s by the researchers of Toyota (Kawasumi, 2004). They observed an increase in mechanical and thermal properties of nylons with the addition of a small amount of nano-sized clays. This new and emerging class of pol miers has found several applications in the food and non-food sectors, such as in constmction, automobiles, aerospace, military, electronics, food packaging and coatings, because of its superior mechanical strength, heat and flame resistance and improved barrier properties (Ray et al., 2006). 

It is reported that the nylon 6 clay nanocomposite has flame-resistant properties (flammability property). It is thought that a protective layer forms on the surface of this composite and functions to protect the composite from heat. The analysis of this protective layer revealed that it contains an organophilic layer consisting of about 80% clay and 20% graphite [30,31]. 

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