additives feature | mesoporous silicates
1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0
neat epoxy 5 pph non-porous silica 5 pph silapore fr100 10 pph silapore fr100
reinforcement properties is a special feature of Silapore additives. depending on the polymer matrix, Silapore additives can also improve the hardness of a polymer, its scratch resistance, thermal stability, heat distortion temperature, and crystallinity, making Silapore particles a truly multi-functional plastic additive.
0 100 200 300 time (s) Graph 1: Cone Calorimeter test results for epoxy
1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0
0 50 100 150 200 time (s) Graph 2: Cone Calorimeter test results for polypropylene Testing to date has been conducted at the michigan
State labs using a cone calorimeter to determine peak heat release rate (pHrr), time to ignition, and material consumption curves. Testing of polypropylene, epoxy, and other resins has demonstrated a consistent and significant reduction in pHrr ranging from 40% to 65% for compounds containing 5% to 15% Silapore particles (graphs 1 and 2). mechanical testing of Silapore particles in various
resins shows consistent increases in tensile strength and flexural modulus (Table 2). when combined with other flame retardant materials Silapore particles strengthen the resin compound. ductility and elongation are sometimes negatively affected, but when used in concentrations below 10% this limitation is minimized. The combination of flame retardation and mechanical
58 compounding world | december 2011 400 500 600
Target Applications Silapore may find chemical industry applications such as ultra-fine filtration, catalysis of petrochemical compounds, pharmaceuticals, or personal care. However, inpore Technologies is focusing its technical and business development efforts on resin compounds requiring flame retardance without sacrificing mechani- cal properties. Target applications include electronic housings and
neat polypropylene 10 wt% silapore fr100 10 wt% silapore fr200
components, printed circuit boards and construction products. investigations are ongoing to determine which Fr systems and resins will benefit most from Silapore particle additives. The inert nature of the inorganic silicates, coupled with the mechanical and structural properties of the materials, suggests they will function effectively with many complementary chemical additives and resins. According to dr. pinnavaia, “The current trend
toward developing new Fr additive compounds that will pass various environmental and human health regula- tions will drive users at all levels to investigate new materials that are not considered harmful in any way. This is what encouraged us to bring Silapore particles to the market for use in Fr systems.” inpore Technologies is currently producing evalua-
250 300 350 400
tion scale quantities at its pilot plant in East lansing, michigan, uSA. As applications and customers are developed, the company will ramp up production in a larger facility. All production processes in use today are scalable and utilize technology well known in the fields of minerals processing and chemicals manufacturing.
More information This article is based on a presentation delivered by dr Thomas pinnavaia at the Ami conference on Fire retardants in plastics, which was held in June 2011 in denver, colorado, uSA. dr pinnavaia is university distinguished professor at michigan State university, and a founder of inpore Technologies. The paper was jointly authored with gerald roston, cEo of inpore, and michael Brooks, the company’s Vp Business development. ❙
www.inpore.com
Ami’s next Fire retardants in plastics conference is being held in denver on 1415 June. Click here for details. ❙
www.amiconferences.com
www.compoundingworld.com
heat release rate (kW/m2
)
heat release rate (kW/m)
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