How can graphene reduce the flammability of polymer nanocomposites?

Enhanced mechanical, thermal and flame retardant properties by combining graphene nanosheets and metal hydroxide nanorods for Acrylonitrile–Butadiene–Styrene copolymer composite

“…Pioneering work by Huang's group has demonstrated the effectiveness of GNS as flame retardant in poly(vinyl alcohol). With the incorporation of 3 wt% GNS, the peak heat release rate (PHRR) of the composites was reduced by 49.1% due to the formation of a compact and dense char [10]. The inclusion of GNS led to an increase in both the thermal stability and flame retardancy of polystyrene, with the optimal properties obtained at 5 wt% GNS content [11].…”

“…Pristine GNS are apt to agglomerate or even restack in matrices due to the strong van der Waals force and π-π interactions between the graphene sheets [12,13]. In addition, the improvement especially in flame retardancy, is only achieved at high GNS concentrations, which inevitably causes a reduction in the mechanical properties [10,14].…”

Co-precipitation synthesis of reduced graphene oxide/NiAl-layered double hydroxide hybrid and its application in flame retarding poly(methyl methacrylate)

“…As an emerging two-dimensional material, graphene, consisting of monolayer of sp 2 -hybridized carbon atoms, has currently been the focus of research due to its unique mechanical, thermal and electrical properties [1]. One important application is the use of graphene to reduce the flammability of polymers.…”

“…One important application is the use of graphene to reduce the flammability of polymers. It has been reported that addition of graphene confers good flame retardancy to certain polymers similar to other typical nanofillers, such as carbon nanotubes and montmorillonite [2] and [3]. Such improvement might be attributed to the physical barrier effect of layered graphene which slows down the release of flammable gases and protects the underlying matrix from further burning.…”

“…Such improvement might be attributed to the physical barrier effect of layered graphene which slows down the release of flammable gases and protects the underlying matrix from further burning. Huang's group has reported the use of graphene as flame retardant additive in polymers [2] and [4]. Wu et al found that the pyrolysis temperature of polystyrene was significantly increased with the incorporation of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) [5].…”