A novel intumescent flame retardant-functionalized montmorillonite: Preparation, characterization, and flammability properties

2,4,8,10-Tetraoxa-3,9-diphosphaspiro[5.5]-undecane-3,9-dioxide-disubstitutio-acetamide-N,N-dimethyl-N-hexadecy-ammonium bromide (PDHAB) containing phosphorus–nitrogen structure was synthesized and characterized. A novel flame retardant, montmorillonite (Mt) modified by PDHAB (PDHAB-Mt), was prepared by ion-exchange of sodium montmorillonite (Na+-Mt) with PDHAB. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that PDHAB had intercalated with Na+-Mt and exfoliated LDPE/EVA/20% PDHAB-Mt nanocomposites had been obtained by polymer melt intercalation which was further supported by TEM. The flammability of LDPE/EVA/PDHAB-Mt nanocomposites was investigated by the cone calorimeter test. The results showed that the addition of flame retardant PDHAB-Mt enhanced the flame retardancy of LDPE/EVA blend significantly. The results of SEM and TEM indicated that PDHAB-Mt can achieve better dispersion in the chars after combustion and the intumescent char is formed for LDPE/EVA/PDHAB-Mt nanocomposites after combustion. It is found that the char structure plays an important role for PDHAB-Mt in LDPE/EVA blend. The flame retardancy of LDPE/EVA blend was also significantly improved by an addition of PDHAB-Mt in LDPE/EVA blend.