Preparation, thermal conductivity, and thermal stability of flame retardant polyethylene with exfoliated MoS2/MxOy

Abstract

In this work, exfoliated molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) modified by a metal oxide (MoS₂/M_xO_y) was prepared by a hydrothermal method and characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The samples were used in polymer composite (polyethylene) preparation by using an extruder blending method. Nanocomposites of polyethylene (PE) with MoS₂/M_xO_y were obtained. The morphology, thermal properties, fire resistant properties and thermal conductivity of the PE nanocomposites were studied. We observed an excellent flame retardance for all PE composites. The peak of heat release rate (pHRR) was reduced by 40% for PE_MoS₂ with respect to pristine PE. The lowest CO emission was observed for the PE/MoS₂ composite containing 2% Fe₃O₄. All composites with exfoliated MoS₂ exhibit greater potential for preparation of smart and functional nanomaterials with good thermal and fire resistant properties.