| Abstract: | In this work, halogen‐free, flame‐retarded polyethylene was investigated to study the effect of inorganic fillers on the improvement of flame retardancy and the suppression of smoke density. Through analyses on the thermal stability and smoke density, it was found that the flame retardancy developed by magnesium hydroxide could effectively be increased by the additional incorporation of zinc borate and talc. Furthermore, a synergistic effect was observed when zinc borate and talc were incorporated together. This result was confirmed by the observation of fire performance with cone calorimetry. A morphological study supported the idea that the improvement in the flame retardancy and the suppression of smoke density was due to hard and compact charred layers formed by the interactions between polymer and inorganic fillers. The charred layers provided a good thermal and flame barrier. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 936–944, 2003 |
