The influence of expanded graphite on thermal properties for paraffin/high density polyethylene/chlorinated paraffin/antimony trioxide as a flame retardant phase change material

The influences of expanded graphite (EG) on the thermal properties of chlorinated paraffin (CP) and antimony trioxide (AT) on phase change material which bases on paraffin/high density polyethylene (HDPE) are studied. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), thermogravimetric analysis–Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (TGA–FTIR), microscale combustion calorimeter (MCC) and cone calorimeter (CONE) were used to evaluate the influence of EG on paraffin/HDPE/CP/AT system. The DSC results indicated that the latent heat value of PCM could be increased when the mass fraction of HDPE was decreased in the PCM, and EG could confine the molecular heat movement of paraffin. EG could improve the thermal stability and increase the char residue at high temperature for paraffin/HDPE/CP/AT hybrid. The volatilized products formed on thermal degradation of paraffin/HDPE/CP/AT with EG showed the release of CO2 gas was hastened and increased, and the amount of combustible gases were decreased by TGA–FTIR analysis. The MCC and CONE results presented that the flame retardant efficiency of CP/AT could be improved by adding EG in paraffin/HDPE/CP/AT system.