Influence of melt behaviour on the flame retardant properties of ethylene copolymers modified with calcium carbonate and silicone elastomer

This work describes a halogen-free flame retardant material consisting of a polar ethylene copolymer, calcium carbonate and silicone elastomer. The flame retardant properties when using poly(ethylene-co-methacrylic acid) (EMAA) and poly(ethylene-co-butyl acrylate) (EBA) as the copolymer have been compared. Rheological measurements showed an increase in complex viscosity above 250 C due to ionomer formation between acidic groups in the polymer and calcium ions. The increase in viscosity occurs at lower temperatures with the EMAA material and the increase is stronger. This has great impact on the fire performance, as shown with cone calorimetry and dripping test. In order to further elucidate the flame retardant mechanism in detail, thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy have been used. The influence of the amount of comonomer and melt flow ratio of the polymer is also commented. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.