Elaboration, thermogravimetric analysis, and fire testing of a new type of wood‐sawdust composite materials based on epoxy–amine polymers modified with copper(II) hexafluorosilicate

Abstract

SUMMARY The study reports the development of a new type of wood‐sawdust (WS) composite based on CuSiF6‐modified epoxy–amine polymers (EAPs) with reduced combustibility. The thermo‐oxidative behavior of the obtained WS/EAP–CuSiF6 and WS/EAP specimens was studied using the complex thermal analysis. Thermal analysis data show that incorporating CuSiF6 (flame retardant) into WS/EAP increases the thermal oxidation resistance of WS/EAP–CuSiF6. It is shown that for WS/EAP–CuSiF6 and WS/EAP, thermo‐oxidative destruction ends at 571°C and 625°C, and the maximum temperature of this exothermic process is 435°C and 499°C, respectively. The combustibility of WS/EAP–CuSiF6 and WS/EAP was studied by the “ceramic tube” (CT) method. The CT results obtained demonstrate impressive differences in the combustibility of these two composites; the maximum temperature of gaseous combustion products for WS/EAP–CuSiF6 is 265°C, and for WS/EAP, it is 910°C. Flammability tests for WS/EAP–CuSiF6 and WS/EAP were carried out in accordance with ASTM D635‐18 and ASTM D3801‐19a. According to the results of vertical burning tests, the WS/EAP–CuSiF6 composite material was classified as V‐0.