Polymer nanocomposites thermal degradation pathways

Thermal Degradation Pathways of Some Polymers and Their Clay Nanocomposites and Resulting Reduction of Peak HRR... 

In an effort to fashion a unified mechanism for clay nanocomposites, Wilkie et al. have studied the effect that clay has on the thermal degradation behavior of more than 11 different polymers. This work also attempts to correlate the thermal analysis data with flammability properties measured in a cone calorimeter. " In this work TGA degradation products were cryogenically trapped and analyzed using gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) the thermal degradation pathways of the polymers with and without clay were investigated. Wilkie... 

The formation of polymer-filler nanocomposite affects the thermal behavior of the matrix because the well-dispersed nanofillers lead to modification of the degradation pathways [165-168]. This concept was first introduced by researchers from Toyota [169] who discovered the possibility to build nanocomposites from nylon-6... 

On the other hand, Chen and showed that in polypropylene-graft-maleic anhydride (PE-g-MA) nanocomposite based on a dodecyl sidfate-modified LDH, thermal stability is depressed bnt charring of the polymer is enhanced. So it seems that the intercalated anion, in particular its acidity, are main factors that influence the degradation pathway by a charring mechanism. 

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