Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) has been used as a general-purpose polymer because of its lower cost, good durability and mechanical properties compared to other materials. However, PVC is vulnerable to heat deformation and generates a toxic gas like hydrogen chloride. Therefore, it is important to delay or prevent the flame retardancy and thermal degradation of the PVC during the processing. It was reported that aluminum trihydroxide (ATH) improved flame retardancy as well as smoke inhibition of the virgin polymer. In this study, PVC composites by addition of ATH were compounded in a modular intermeshing co-rotating twin screw extruder. The PVC composites with different concentrations of ATH (0~5 phr) were analyzed. Flame retardancy of the PVC composite significantly increased depending on the ATH concentration. LOI of the composite also increased with the concentration of ATH. There were no significant differences for the thermal properties of the PVC composites with ATH.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.