TY - JOUR A1 - Lorenzetti, Alessandra A1 - Dittrich, Bettina A1 - Schartel, Bernhard A1 - Roso, M A1 - Modesti, M T1 - Expandable graphite in polyurethane foams: The effect of expansion volume and intercalants on flame retardancy JF - Journal of Applied Polymer Science N2 - Several expandable graphites (EGs), differing in Expansion volume but with the same mean size, are compared as flame retardants in polyurethane (PUR) foams. Not only common sulfur-intercalated graphites are investigated but also a new one intercalated with phosphorus. The main aim of this article is to understand which properties of EG are important for its flame retardancy effectiveness in PUR foams. Thermal stability, flammability, and fire behavior are analyzed through limiting oxygen index and cone calorimeter tests. Detailed characterization of the phosphorus-intercalated graphite is also provided as well as physical–mechanical characterization. The results show that the well-known sulfur-intercalated graphites and the one with phosphorus both enhance the residue yield, induce a protective layer, and thus efficiently flame-retard PUR foams. While the expansion volume of the EGs had a surprisingly limited influence on the performance of the foams, at least in the range tested, the most important feature Controlling the effectiveness of EG in terms of flame retardant PUR foams was the type of intercalant. The presence of EG affected the physical–mechanical properties of the foams; however, no significant effect of the expansion volume or intercalant type has been revealed on the physical–mechanical properties of the foams. KW - Degradation KW - Flame retardance KW - Foams KW - Polyurethane KW - Thermogravimetric analysis PY - 2017 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/app.45173 SN - 1097-4628 SN - 0021-8995 VL - 134 IS - 31 SP - Article 45173, 1 EP - 8 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-40606 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hofmann, D. A1 - Wartig, K.-A. A1 - Thomann, R. A1 - Dittrich, Bettina A1 - Schartel, Bernhard A1 - Mülhaupt, R. T1 - Functionalized graphene and carbon materials as additives for melt-extruded flame retardant polypropylene JF - Macromolecular materials and engineering N2 - Functionalized graphene nanosheets TRGO and MLG 250, prepared from thermally reduced graphite oxide, represent attractive carbon additives for improving the performance of flame retardant polypropylene (PP-FR). The influence of carbon nanofiller type and content on morphology, thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties as well as the fire behavior of melt-extruded PP-FR is investigated. In contrast to conventional nano- and micron-sized carbon fillers such as expanded graphite (EG 40), nano-scaled carbon black (CB), and multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT), only TRGO and MLG 250 afford uniform dispersion combined with simultaneously improved stiffness (+80%), electrical conductivity (3 × 10-5 S · cm-1) and enhanced flame retardancy of PP-FR, as expressed by lower peak heat release rate (-76%). KW - Extrusion KW - Flame retardance KW - Graphene KW - Nanocomposite KW - Polypropylene PY - 2013 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/mame.201200433 SN - 1438-7492 SN - 1439-2054 VL - 298 IS - 12 SP - 1322 EP - 1334 PB - Wiley-VCH Verl. CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-29817 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -