The effect of different impact modifiers in halogen-free flame retarded polycarbonate blends - II. Fire behaviour

In this second of a series of two papers, the fire behaviour of halogen-free flame retarded polycarbonate (PC) blends with different impact modifiers was studied. The impact modifiers were acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), a poly(n-butyl acrylate) rubber (PBA) with a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) shell and two silicone-acrylate rubbers consisting of PBA with different amounts of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and different shell materials (PMMA and styrene-acrylonitrile, SAN). The flame retardant was bisphenol A bis(diphenyl phosphate) (BDP). Flammability was determined by LOI and UL 94. The burning behaviour under forced flaming conditions was studied by cone calorimeter under different external irradiations and by pyrolysis combustion flow calorimeter measurements. The exchange of ABS with the pure acrylate rubber worsened flammability, while similar results were obtained in cone calorimeter measurements. The exchange of ABS with the silicone-acrylate rubbers is promising, particularly with higher amounts of PDMS. In flammability tests strongly enhanced LOI values were obtained and therefore silicone-acrylate rubbers look like promising alternatives for ABS.