Mechanical, thermal and flame retardant properties of magnesium hydroxide filled poly(vinyl chloride) composites: The effect of filler shape

Magnesium hydroxide particle (MHP) and magnesium hydroxide whisker (MHW) were surface modified with a newly-synthesized polyether titanate coupling agent (eTi4000), and then incorporated into poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) by melt blending to prepare PVC composites. The effect of filler shape on the mechanical, thermal and flame retardant properties of the resultant PVC composites was investigated. In general, MHP/PVC composites have better mechanical, thermal and flame retardant properties than MHW/PVC composites. The flexural modulus and impact strength of eTi4000 modified MHP (eTi4000-MHP)/PVC composites are 5740 MPa and 8.3 kJ m−2 at a 10 wt% filler loading, with an increase of 217% and 48.2% compared with that of MHP/PVC composites, respectively. Significantly, eTi4000-MHP/PVC composites show good flame retardancy, and the incorporation of 30 wt% of eTi4000-MHP results in 66.9% and 88.1% reduction of the total heat release and smoke production compared with that of pure PVC, respectively.