Zn-Al-La hydrotalcite-like compounds as heating stabilizer in PVC resin

ZnAlLa-CO3 layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with different Zn/Al/La molar ratios were prepared by the constant pH coprecipitation method. The synthetic materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method (BET) and particle analysis. The results showed that the hydrotalcite-like materials had a layered structure. The ZnAlLa-CO3-LDHs as stabilizers were mixed with PVC resin. The tests of thermal aging, mass loss test and Congo red for the PVC composites were carried out at 180±1 °C, respectively. The results showed that ZnAlLa-CO3- LDHs used as single thermal stabilizers could enhance both the long-term thermal stability and initial thermal stability of PVC, and 2.4 phr (parts per hundred PVC resin) ZnAlLa-CO3-LDHs with Zn/Al/La (molar ratio)=20/8/2 had a better stabilizing effect on PVC than others. Compared with single thermal stabilizers, the composite thermal stabilizers including 0.3 phr calcium stearate (CaSt2), 0.4 phr β-diketone and 2.4 phr ZnAlLa-CO3-LDHs significantly enhanced the thermal stability of PVC sample. And rare earth ion could optimize the conformation of PVC and refrain the initiation of the thermal stability and the thermal stable time was over 220 min. The main reason could be concluded to the special structure of rare earth ion, which had longer atom radius and more coordination numbers. So the rare earth ion (REδ+) could react with the labile chlorine atoms (Clr−) to form a stable coordinate complex.