Governing effects of melt viscosity on fire performances of polylactide and its fire-retardant systems
Yueming Yu,
Liangdong Xi,
Miaohong Yao,
Linghui Liu,
Yan Zhang,
Siqi Huo,
Zhengping Fang,
Pingan Song
Affiliations
Yueming Yu
Laboratory of Polymer Materials and Engineering, NingboTech University, Ningbo 315100, China; College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Liangdong Xi
Laboratory of Polymer Materials and Engineering, NingboTech University, Ningbo 315100, China
Miaohong Yao
Laboratory of Polymer Materials and Engineering, NingboTech University, Ningbo 315100, China; College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Linghui Liu
Laboratory of Polymer Materials and Engineering, NingboTech University, Ningbo 315100, China; College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Yan Zhang
Laboratory of Polymer Materials and Engineering, NingboTech University, Ningbo 315100, China; Corresponding author
Siqi Huo
Laboratory of Polymer Materials and Engineering, NingboTech University, Ningbo 315100, China
Zhengping Fang
Laboratory of Polymer Materials and Engineering, NingboTech University, Ningbo 315100, China
Pingan Song
School of Agriculture and Environmental Science, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield Central, 4300 Australia; Centre for Future Materials, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield Central, 4300 Australia; Corresponding author
Summary: Extreme flammability of polylactide (PLA) has restricted its real-world applications. Traditional research only focuses on developing new effective fire retardants for PLA without considering the effect of melt viscosity on its fire performances. To fill the knowledge gap, a series of PLA matrices of varied melt flow index (MFI) with and without fire retardants are chosen to examine how melt viscosity affects its fire performances. Our results show that the MFI has a governing impact on fire performances of pure PLA and its fire-retardant systems if the samples are placed vertically during fire testing. PLA with higher MFI values achieves higher limiting oxygen index (LOI) values, and a lower loading level of fire retardants is required for PLA to pass a UL-94 V-0 rating. This work unveils the correlation between melt viscosity and their fire performance and offers a practical guidance for creating flame retardant PLA to extend its applications.
