NANOFRABS

Halogen Free Flame Retardant ABS nanocomposites for electric and electronic devices

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'The Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) directives discouraged the use of halogenated flame retardants in electric and electronic devices. For this reason, effective non halogenated alternatives have to be developed. The project aims at developing new halogen free flame retardant (HFFR) for ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) compounds, which are widely use in the electric appliances sector, with good impact and fire properties.

In order to reach these improvements, nanofillers will be combined with phosphorous-based flame retardants, either a) by Physical Combination of flame retardants and nanofillers in proper mixtures (PC), b) by Chemical Combination of nanofillers with flame retardants (CC) or c) by Physical Combination of Chemical functionalized lamellas and flame retardants (PCC) to be dispersed in the polymer by melt blending or melt reactive blending.

NANOFRABS counts on a well balanced consortium of 4 SMEs and 2 RTDs. SMEs partners are complementary and cover the whole project necessities: nanoparticles, fire retardant, ABS compounder and an end-user. The RTD performers cover the four necessary scientific fields: Nanotechnology, polymer science, fire behaviour and flame retardants.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Electric and electronic equipment now contain a large quantity of plastics that significantly increases fire hazards. An EU initiative developed novel flame-retardant composites that offer improved fire protection without toxic gas production.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

With EU directives discouraging the use of halogenated flame retardants, effective alternatives must be found. The EU-funded http://www.nanofrabs.eu/ (NANOFRABS) (Halogen-free flame retardant ABS nanocomposites for electric and electronic devices) project set out to deliver an alternative.

Designed for integration with acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) compounds widely used in electronics, it is based on an intumescent formulation consisting of nanofillers combined with phosphorous-based flame retardants.

Scientists functionalised nearly 40 different nanofillers, characterised their thermal stabilities and evaluated about half of them for dispersion in an ABS matrix. They fabricated and characterised the mechanical, thermal stability, dispersion and fire properties of more than 200 ABS compounds. The team then assessed the effectiveness of the new halogen-free flame retardants (HFFRs) in ABS formulations with respect to fire performance. As a result, two nanofillers were chosen for final validation.

The HFFRs and nanoparticles were tested in the lab prior to their manufacture. They were introduced in a commercial ABS compound in advance of market exploitation. The end products' general and fire properties were also characterised.

Lastly, the recycling, mechanical and fire properties of the new HFFR ABS products were examined.

NANOFRABS demonstrated an improvement over conventional HFFRs without jeopardising fire performance. The recyclable and environment-friendly HFFR ABS solution reduces smoke and toxic gases. Safety is improved by mitigating the risks of smoke inhalation caused by fire in public or private property. What is more, it can reverse the negative impact on the environment by preventing the release of toxic fire retardants.