Intumescent Polylactide: A Nonflammable Material

In this article, we examine intumescent polylactide, which exhibits a nonburning behavior upon heating. The combination of melamine and ammonium polyphosphate incorporated in the polylactide allowed us to obtain an intumescent char and low flammability. The incorporation of an additional ingredient such as organo-modified montmorillonite Cloisite 30B or multiwall carbon nanotubes demonstrated varying effects on the material's reaction to fire, i.e., a large synergistic effect was observed when Cloisite 30B was used, whereas it was antagonistic when multimall carbon nanotubes were used. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 113: 3860-3865, 2009