Preparation and investigation of ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymer/silicone rubber/clay nanocomposites

Abstract

Abstract In this article, the combination of silicone rubber (SR) elastomer with synthetic iron montmorillonite (Fe‐MMT) to form a kind of new flame‐retardant system based on an ethylene–vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer is first reported. Also, the flame retardancy of the EVA/SR/Fe‐MMT hybrid are compared with that of EVA/SR/natural sodium montmorillonite. The structures of the nanocomposites were characterized with X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Cone calorimeter tests and thermogravimetric analysis were used to evaluate the flame‐retardant properties and thermal stability of the composites, respectively. In addition, tensile tests were carried out with a universal testing machine, and the morphology of the fracture surface was observed with environmental scanning electron microscopy. We found that SR/organophilic montmorillonite (Fe‐OMT) was more effective in reducing the primary peak heat release rate of the nanocomposite, and the EVA/SR/Fe‐OMT hybrid had a higher thermal stability in the deacetylated polymer than EVA/SR/sodium organophilic montmorillonite. Moreover, the exfoliated EVA/SR/Fe‐OMT nanocomposite displayed excellent mechanical properties because of a better dispersion of Fe‐OMT in the polymer matrix, and a possible mechanism is discussed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009