Effect of a Lewis Acid Catalyst on the Performance of HDPE/BFR/GNPs Composites
writer：Ran SY, Guo ZH*, Han LG, Fang ZP
keywords：Lewis acid catalyst; graphene nanoplatelets; Friedel-Crafts reaction; degradation
source：期刊
specific source：Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2014.4, 53(12): 4711–4717
Issue time：2014年
Brominated flame-retarded high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites containing graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were prepared via melt blending. A Lewis acid catalyst, aluminium chloride (AlCl3), was adopted to initiate the Friedel-Crafts reaction, which contributed to the good dispersion of GNPs and improvement of interfacial interaction. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the size of GNPs decreased and the dispersive state of GNPs was improved with the addition of AlCl3. The maximum decomposition temperatures (Tmax), modulus, viscosity increased and the peak heat release rate (PHRR), total heat release (THR) decreased with the increasing catalyst content. However, Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) verified the degradation for HDPE at high catalyst concentration, and then thermal oxidation stability and flame retardancy worsen. The variety of performance of the composites was the results of the competition between improving dispersion and degradation of composites.