Thermal stability and fire retardancy of PMMA (nano)composites with layered metal hydroxides containing dodecyl sulfate anions

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with Mg/Al, Zn/Al, Ca/Al metal hydroxide layers, and a Zn/Ni hydroxy double salt (HDS) were prepared with a common anion, dodecyl sulfate CH₃(CH₂)₁₀COO^?, DS]. The LDH and HDS additives were melt blended with poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). The dispersion and morphology were characterized via X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy. Mg/Al‐DS and Zn/Al‐DS LDHs were found to form nanocomposites with PMMA, exhibiting good dispersion and some degree of exfoliated morphology for the Zn/Al‐DS/PMMA combination and mixed intercalation and exfoliation behavior for Mg/Al‐DS in PMMA. The Ca/Al‐DS LDH and Zn/Ni‐DS HDS formed microcomposites with PMMA. Thermal stability was investigated via thermogravimetric analysis; each of the additives increased the thermal stability of PMMA. Cone calorimetry was used to measure the fire properties; the microcomposite of Zn/Ni‐DS HDS at 10% loading provided the best improvement in peak heat release rate, with a 40% reduction over the pure polymer. The residue composition after burning the composites was investigated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.