Kinetic evaluation of decabromodiphenil oxide as a flame retardant for unsaturated polyester

The bromine performance of decabromodiphenyl oxide as a flame retardant element was evaluated alone and associated with antimony oxide in unsaturated polyester and its composite with sisal (agave sisalana) fibers using thermal analytical techniques and the UL-94 V flammability test. The flame retardancy impact was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), through determination of parameters as percent final residue in inert atmosphere, heat of combustion and the thermal oxidative decomposition kinetics, following the Flynn and Wall model. It was observed that bromine increased the activation energy of polyester decomposition by 87%, when used in conjunction with antimony trioxide. The flame retarded samples exhibited self-extinguishment times of less than 1 s.