Synthesis and characterization of flame-retardant-wrapped carbon nanotubes and its flame retardancy in epoxy nanocomposites

A novel phosphorus-silicon containing flame-retardant DOPO-V-PA was used to wrap carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The results of FTIR, XPS, TEM and TGA measurements exhibited that DOPO-V-PA has been successfully grafted onto the surfaces of CNTs, and the CNTs-DOPO-V-PA was obtained. The CNTs-DOPO-V-PA was subsequently incorporated into epoxy resin (EP) for improving the flame retardancy and dispersion. Compared with pure EP, the addition of 2 wt% CNTs-DOPO-V-PA into the EP matrix could achieve better flame retardancy of EP nanocomposites, such as a 30.5% reduction in peak heat release rate (PHRR) and 8.1% reduction in total heat release (THR). Furthermore, DMTA results clearly indicated that the dispersion for CNTs-DOPO-V-PA in EP matrix was better than pristine CNTs.