Elaboration of EVA-nanoclay systems-characterization, thermal behaviour and fire performance

In this study, the effect of several parameters (nature of clay and clay loading) on the fire retardancy of the nanocomposite is investigated. It is observed that the nature of the cations, which compensates the negative charge of the silicate layers, affects the fire performance even though they are improved for both investigated montmorillonite-type fillers. The clay loading also affects the fire properties. In a second part, the materials are characterized using thermogravimetric analysis and small-angle X-ray diffraction in order to better understand the obtained fire retardant performance. It is observed that the degree of dispersion determined by X-ray diffraction can be correlated with the fire performance of the polymer clay composite. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.