TY - JOUR A1 - Battig, Alexander A1 - Garfias González, Karla I. A1 - Schartel, Bernhard T1 - Valorizing “non-vegan” bio-fillers: Synergists for phosphorus flame retardants in epoxy resins JF - Polymer Degradation and Stability N2 - Sustainable, biogenic flame retardant adjuvants for epoxy resins are receiving increased focus. Zoological products like insects, bone meal, and eggshells are available in large quantities, but remain uninvestigated as functional fillers to epoxy resins, although they are potential synergists to flame retardants. The efficacy and flame retardancy of “non-vegan” additives in combination with flame retardants is investigated and the fire behavior and thermal decomposition of bio-sourced epoxy resin composites is characterized. By comparing the fire performance of composites containing flame retardants or fillers at varying loadings (5, 10, and 20%), their role as synergists that enhance the function of organophosphorus flame retardants in bio-epoxy composites is identified and quantified. Peak heat release rates were 44% lower in composites containing both filler and flame retardant versus those containing only flame retardants, and fire loads were reduced by 44% versus the pure resin, highlighting the ability of “non-vegan” fillers to function as synergists. KW - Flame retardancy KW - Synergy KW - Bio-composite KW - Epoxy resin KW - Biogenic KW - Renewable PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2022.109875 SN - 0141-3910 VL - 198 SP - 109875 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-54438 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Strommer, Bettina A1 - Battig, Alexander A1 - Frasca, Daniele A1 - Schulze, Dietmar A1 - Huth, Christian A1 - Böhning, Martin A1 - Schartel, Bernhard T1 - Multifunctional Property Improvements by Combining Graphene and Conventional Fillers in Chlorosulfonated Polyethylene Rubber Composites JF - ACS Applied Polymer Materials N2 - The incorporation of nanoparticles like multilayer graphene (MLG) into elastomeric composites boosts their technical performance, such as their mechanical behavior and electrical conductivity. Common filler types (carbon black (CB) and aluminum trihydroxide (ATH)) generally fulfill single, specific purposes and are often used in high loadings. CB typically reinforces rubber mechanically, while ATH increases flame retardancy. Small amounts of MLG reduce these high filler contents and maintain the multifunctional characteristics of rubber composites. In chlorosulfonated polyethylene (CSM) + ATH, an intrinsically flame-retardant rubber was designed to achieve the highest standards such as maximum average of heat emission (MARHE) <90 kW m−2, 3 phrMLG was substituted for 15 phr CB and/or 3 phr ATH via an industrially applicable processing approach. Replacing either CB or ATH resulted in a property profile that was multifunctionally improved in terms of features such as mechanical performance, reduced sorption, and flame retardance. MLG nanocomposites are reported to show promise as an industrially utilizable route to obtain multifunctional high-performance rubbers. KW - Nanocomposites KW - Rubber KW - Multilayer graphene KW - Flame retardancy KW - Synergy KW - Nanoparticles KW - Elastomers PY - 2022 DO - https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.1c01469 SN - 2637-6105 VL - 4 IS - 2 SP - 1021 EP - 1034 PB - ACS Publ. CY - Washington, DC AN - OPUS4-54330 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -