Facile fabrication of low-content surface-assembled MXene in silicone rubber foam materials with lightweight, wide-temperature mechanical flexibility, improved flame resistance and exceptional smoke suppression

• Published in: Composites. Part A, Applied science and manufacturing Vol. 177; p. 107907
• Main Authors: Chen, Hai-Yang, Li, Yang, Wang, Peng-Huan, Qu, Zhang-Hao, Qin, Yu-Qing, Yang, Ling, Li, Jia-Yun, Gong, Li-Xiu, Zhao, Li, Zhang, Guo-Dong, Gao, Jie-Feng, Tang, Long-Cheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.02.2024
• Subjects: fire resistance; flammability; foams; oxygen; porous media; rubber; silicone; smoke
• ISSN: 1359-835X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2023.107907

Silicone rubber foam (SiRF) is a promising porous material that is widely applied in various fields. However, its intrinsic flammability nature remains a significant challenge. One of the simplest and most economical solutions is to incorporate high content flame-retardant fillers. Unfortunately, such approach is limited by several drawbacks, including poor filler dispersion, difficulty in processing and negative effect on mechanical flexibility. Herein, we report a green and facile strategy for surface-assembling ultralow content of MXene sheets bonded onto the pore surface of SiRF via the effective foaming reaction process. The as-prepared MSiRF-0.2 composite at 0.2 wt% MXene exhibited lightweight characteristic, wide-temperature mechanical flexibility, UL94-V0 grade, limited oxygen index of >27%, and exceptional smoke suppression (reduction by 88.24%). Furthermore, flame-retardant mechanism was discussed based on the char structure observation. This study provides a novel approach for fabricating mechanically flexible and flame-retardant SiRF via in-situ reactive assembly of low content MXene sheets.