In situ loading ultra-small Cu2O nanoparticles on 2D hierarchical TiO2-graphene oxide dual-nanosheets: Towards reducing fire hazards of unsaturated polyester resin

Dong Wang; Yongchun Kan; Xiaojuan Yu; Jiajia Liu; Lei Song; Yuan Hu

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.08.066

In situ loading ultra-small Cu₂O nanoparticles on 2D hierarchical TiO₂-graphene oxide dual-nanosheets: Towards reducing fire hazards of unsaturated polyester resin

J Hazard Mater. 2016 Dec 15:320:504-512. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.08.066. Epub 2016 Aug 29.

Authors

Dong Wang¹, Yongchun Kan¹, Xiaojuan Yu¹, Jiajia Liu², Lei Song³, Yuan Hu⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, PR China.
² State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, PR China; USTC⿿CityU Joint Advanced Research Center, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Urban Public Safety, Suzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Science and Technology of China, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, PR China. Electronic address: leisong@ustc.edu.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Fire Science, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230026, PR China; USTC⿿CityU Joint Advanced Research Center, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Urban Public Safety, Suzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Science and Technology of China, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, PR China. Electronic address: yuanhu@ustc.edu.cn.

PMID: 27591683
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2016.08.066

Abstract

Fire hazards have seriously hindered the commercial application of unsaturated polyester resin (UPR), and polymer inorganic nanosheet nanocomposites hold great promise in improving their flame-retardant properties. Herein, the hierarchical structured Cu₂OTiO₂GO nanosheets were synthesized and characterized by XRD, Raman, TEM and XPS. Then Cu₂OTiO₂GO nanosheets were incorporated into UPR matrix to obtain flame-retardant UPR nanocomposite. Incorporation of 2wt% Cu₂OTiO₂GO nanosheets into UPR matrix resulted in an obvious reduction in PHRR and THR by 29.7 and 19.1%. TG-IR-MS results revealed that toxic pyrolysis gas such as benzene, CO and aromatic compounds greatly were decreased. In addition, RIIR spectra demonstrated the limited influence of Cu₂OTiO₂GO nanosheets on thermal degradation of UPR matrix, and SEM images of char residues showed that Cu₂OTiO₂GO nanosheets could improve their compactness. Based on the analysis of gaseous and condensed phase, a plausible flame-retardant mechanism was hypothesized to elaborate how Cu₂OTiO₂GO nanosheets work inside the flaming UPR nanocomposite. This innovative idea may be expanded to other polymer system and open a new door to develop polymeric nanocomposites with high performance.

Keywords: Cuprous oxide; Fire hazards; Graphene oxide; Titanium dioxide; Unsaturated polyester resin.