Catalytic degradation study of iron (Fe) containing LDH-PP composites

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have received increasing attention in recent years due to their multifunctional applications in different research fields. A comprehensive understanding of LDHs is important for their future applications as stabilizers and modifiers for polymeric materials. Although bi-metal and tri-metal LDHs were prepared successfully in recent years, the stabilizing or catalytic degradation actions in polymer composites need to be investigated further. This work highlights the synthesis of ternary metal LDHs using the urea hydrolysis method. Iron, (Fe) at two different concentrations, were substituted in MgAl LDHs. Polypropylene composites that include these LDH structures were prepared by melt mixing at three different concentrations. Their change in burning behavior was studied as indicator of degradation. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the LDHs. Moreover, the flame retardant properties of the LDH-based polypropylene (PP) composites were studied by using limiting oxygen index (LOI) and UL94 (V and HB) testing, whereas the mechanical properties were studied using a universal testing machine (UTM).