The effect of Fire Retardants and Nanofillers on the Fire Toxicity of Four Common Polymers

Four polymers, polyamide 6, polypropylene, ethylene vinyl acetate and polybutylene terephthalate have been prepared with fire retardants, nanofillers, (both separately and together). The toxic product yield of each material has then been measured under different fire conditions. The influence of polymer nanocomposites and fire retardants in the formulations, on the yields of toxic products from fire, have been studied using the ISO 19700 steady state tube furnace, and it was found that under early stages of burning more carbon monoxide may be formed in the presence of nanofillers and fire retardants, but, under the more toxic under-ventilated conditions, there was a relative reduction in the toxic product yields. In general, the differences between the samples containing fire retardants and nanofillers are very small compared to the differences obtained under different fire conditions or in the presence of certain heteroelements, such as nitrogen or halogens