Influence of multiply modified FeCu-montmorillonite on fire safety and mechanical performances of epoxy resin nanocomposites

Abstract To boost the fire safety of epoxy resin (EP) at lower loading, FeCu-montmorillonite (FeCu-MMT) is synthesized, which is modified by hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and Fe polycations for preparing multiply modified FeCu-MMT (mm-FeCu-MMT). EP/mm-FeCu-MMT and EP/mm-FeCu-MMT/DOPO nanocomposites are prepared by incorporating mm-FeCu-MMT and 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10- phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) into EP matrix. The XRD results indicate that EP nanocomposites are intercalated-exfoliated structure. EP/4wt%DOPO composites pass UL-94 V-1 level and EP/1 wt% mm-FeCu-MMT/3 wt% DOPO nanocomposites pass V-0 level. The cone calorimeter data further confirmed that mm-FeCu-MMT can obviously improving flame retardancy of EP nanocomposites due to the synergistic effect of mm-FeCu-MMT and DOPO. Importantly, the mechanical performances of EP nanocomposites have not been damaged based on the synergism between mm-FeCu-MMT and DOPO.