Practical Issues and Future Trends in Polymer Nanocomposite Flammability Research

PRACTICAL ISSUES AND FUTURE TRENDS IN POLYMER NANOCOMPOSITE FLAMMABILITY RESEARCH 

Nonmetallic Materials Division, University of Dayton Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio 

The current state of polymer nanocomposite flammability research should by now be obvious, but some summary and review is needed to put this information into perspective. To date, we understand the following to be fundamentally important to polymer nanocomposite flammability  

The type of nanocomposite structure or dispersion is controlled by many factors, all of which must be considered to produce a polymer nanocomposite successfully (Chapters 2 and 4) the extent of flammability reduction observed in a nanocomposite is due to the nanoflUer dispersion and polymer degradation chemistry (Chapters 3, 5, and 10). 

Polymer-clay nanocomposites reduce flammability by slowing the mass loss rate of fuel to the flame, thus keeping the heat release rate (HRR) low (Chapter 3). However, the material will eventually bum completely, leaving only a small amount of noncombusted carbon, with very little reduction in 

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