Thermal properties and fire behavior of a flexible poly(vinyl chloride) modified with complex of 3-aminotriazole with zinc phosphate

Abstract The complex of zinc phosphate and 3-amine-1,2,4-triazole (ZN3AT) was synthesized by a one-pot reaction and used as an intumescent flame retardant (IFR) for flexible poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). The thermal properties and fire behaviour of flexible PVC with 20 wt% of ZN3AT were investigated and compared with unmodified PVC and PVC with commercial IFR. The thermal stability and burning behaviour were evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) as well as cone calorimetry and horizontal burning tests. Furthermore, the analysis of volatile products evolved during the thermal decomposition and burning was performed using TGA and steady state tube furnace, both coupled with FT-IR. PVC containing developed flame retardant exhibits the lowest total heat release and smoke emission of all investigated samples. Materials analysis supplemented with analysis of their mechanical and thermomechanical properties shows that despite the high concentration of the IFR its incorporation did not strongly influence the properties of final products in comparison to pure PVC.