Polystyrene Flame Retardant: Effect of Addition of Layered Double Hydroxides of Magnesium and Aluminum by Solubilization in Chloroform

In this work it was possible to evaluate flame retardant properties of the composite polystyrene PSlayered double hydroxide (LDH) [Mg4Al2(OH)14.3H2O], prepared by addition of the inorganic material via solubilization of polystyrene with chloroform. LDH Mg-Al was synthesized by coprecipitation method and characterized by XRD and laser granulometer. The PS-LDH composite obtained was characterized by FTIR and TGA. The flame retardant effect was determined by comparing the horizontal burning rate of the composite at different concentrations of LDH with pure PS. The results demonstrate that the horizontal burning rate decreases with increasing PS inorganic filler. With about 20 % by weight of layered double hydroxide, the combustion rate halved. Therefore, the technique of PS solubilization in chloroform to addition of the inorganic filler was effective for the production of a composite PS-LDH [Mg4Al2(OH)14.3H2O], with better thermal stability than pure polystyrene.