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Flame‐resistant polycaproamide by anionic polymerization of ϵ‐caprolactam in the presence of suitable flame‐retardant agents
Author(s) -
Alfonso Giovanni Carlo,
Costa Giovanna,
Pasolini Massimo,
Russo Saverio,
Ballistreri Alberto,
Montaudo Giorgio,
Puglisi Concetto
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.1986.070310521
Subject(s) - caprolactam , fire retardant , monomer , materials science , compounding , polymerization , mixing (physics) , polymer , chemical engineering , dispersion (optics) , polymer chemistry , bulk polymerization , thermal stability , anionic addition polymerization , copolymer , composite material , radical polymerization , physics , optics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Poly(ϵ‐caprolactam) (PCL) with improved flame‐retardant (FR) properties can be easily obtained by activated anionic polymerization of the monomer, ϵ‐caprolactam (C), in the presence of adequate amounts of red phosphorus (red P). Analogous results with reduced P content can be achieved by coupling red P with a synergistic compound such as a chlorinated hydrocarbon or magnesium oxide (MgO). A peculiar advantage of this method is the possibility of obtaining a very fine and homogeneous dispersion of the FR additive in the polymer matrix, meanwhile avoiding the typical compounding techniques, which are expensive, often unsafe, and require melt mixing of the ingredients. Molecular, thermal, and mechanical characterization, as well as morphology of the resultant products, have been determined: No significant properties change have been found when FR agents are present, apart from the relevant improvement of the flame‐resistance. Thus, by this novel procedure it is possible to prepare FR poly‐(ϵ‐caprolactam) without any appreciable deterioration of its typical properties.