Sepiolite (S9, B10, B20, B40) and boehmite have been added to an intumecent flame retardant (IFR) system to produce the halogen-free and fire-resistant ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVM) rubber. The rubber contains ammonium polyphosphate (APP) as acid source, double pentaerythritol (D-PER) as carbon source and melamine (MN) as gas source. The effects of nano-filler sepiolite and boehmite on the fire-resistant property of EVM rubber based on IFR system were investigated. The test results show that the system with nano-filler of sepiolite B10 has the best fire-resistant property. The process of smoke emission and thermal decomposition, the element composition of char surface and the micro morphology of intumecent char layer of the EVM IFR system with nano-filler were also studied by NBS chamber, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, X- ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM).
Two kinds of commercial ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and three kinds of APP which were prepared in the laboratory were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In identification of the form Ⅱ crystal APP by XRD and FTIR, some discrepancies were discussed. It is pointed out that the absorbance of the FTIR spectra at 682 cm^-1 can exist not only in the form Ⅰ APP, but also in the form Ⅱ APP with the crystal lattice defects. The SEM images indicate that the form Ⅱ APP is of multilayer crystal structure. XRD and TEM can reveal the crystal lattice defects.