The preparation and characterization of sulfamic acid-intercalated layered double hydroxide

• NH2SO3−1 was intercalated into layered double hydroxide to prepare a novel MgAl-LDH.
• The intercalatedLDH can improve the flame retardancy of EVA.
• The formation of hydrogen bonds between the intercalated LDH was proposed.

NH2SO3−1 was intercalated into layered double hydroxide to prepare a novel sulfamic acid-intercalated MgAl-LDH (SA-LDH). Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis confirmed the presence of sulfamic acid in LDH. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were also used to characterize the structural morphology of SA-LDH, and the results revealed that the interlayer space of LDH had been enlarged from 0.76 to 0.91 nm and proved the formation of hydrogen bonds between SA-LDH. The SA-LDH was introduced into ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer via melt blending, and the cone calorimetry test results demonstrated that the presence of SA-LDH could significantly improve the flame retardancy of EVA composite.