Mechanical properties and flame-retardant of PP/MRP/Mg(OH)₂/Al(OH)₃composites

The flame retardant and mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP) composites filled with microencapsulated red phosphorus (MRP) and magnesium hydrate (Mg(OH)2)/aluminum hydrate (Al(OH)3) were measured. It was found that the synergistic effects between the MRP and Mg(OH)2/Al(OH)3on the flame retardant and tensile properties of the composites were significant. The limit oxygen index and smoke density rank of the composites increased nonlinearly while the horizontal combustibility rate decreased nonlinearly with increasing the MRP weight fraction. The Young modulus and the tensile elongation at break increased while the tensile yield strength and tensile fracture strength decreased slightly with increasing the MRP weight fraction. Both the V-notched Izod and Charpy impact strength increased with increasing the MRP weight fraction. Moreover, the tensile yield strength of the composites estimated using an equation published previously was roughly close to the measured data.