Flammability, thermal stability and mechanical properties of polyvinyl alcohol nanocomposites reinforced with delaminated Ti3C2Tx (MXene)

• Published in: Polymer composites Vol. 41; no. 1; pp. 210 - 218
• Main Authors: Pan, Ying, Fu, Li, Zhou, Qingwei, Wen, Zhenan, Lin, Cheng‐Te, Yu, Jinhong, Wang, Weiming, Zhao, Hongting
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2020; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: degradation; Elongation; Enthalpy; flame retardancy; Flammability; Heat release rate; Mechanical properties; MXenes; Nanocomposites; Polyvinyl alcohol; Stability analysis; Synthesis; Tensile strength; Thermal decomposition; Thermal stability; Thermodynamic properties; Thermogravimetric analysis
• ISSN: 0272-8397; 1548-0569
• DOI: 10.1002/pc.25361

Herein, Ti3C2Tx (MXene) was synthesized and mixed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to fabricate PVA/MXene nanocomposites. The results confirmed that delaminated MXene was successfully synthesized. The nanocomposites were obtained via casting/evaporation method. The thermal stability was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). For the PVA composites with content of 2 wt% MXene (PVA‐MXene2), the thermal decomposition was retarded by approximately 20°C when the temperature was lower than 350°C compared with that of pure PVA. Moreover, the evolved gas products of the PVA/MXene composite were lower than those of pure PVA. For the first time, the flame retardancy of PVA/MXene nanocomposite was investigated using a microscale combustion calorimeter. The peak heat release rate (PHRR) and total heat release of the PVA composite were reduced by 25.7% and 25.5%, respectively, with 1 wt% of MXene. The temperatures at PHRR of PVA/MXene composites were improved with the addition of MXene. Moreover, the addition of MXene resulted in PVA composites with a higher tensile strength and elongation at break than those of a pure PVA film. The improvements in the flame retardancy, thermal and mechanical properties of PVA/MXene composites should enable a wide range of potential applications of MXenes in polymer matrices.