Thermal degradation study of polymethylmethacrylate with AlI3 nanoadditive

Abstract

Organic polymers in the process of thermal degradation produce a lot of toxic fragments. In this work, we designed a new method of degradation of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) materials with aluminum triiodide nanoadditives (AlI₃ NAs). In the present research work, a thermal degradation study of PMMA blends with AlI₃ NAs was carried out by using a specially designed pyrolytic assembly. Different blends of PMMA with AlI₃ (P0, P3, P6, P9, P12, and P15) were prepared by changing the concentration of AlI₃ NAs from 0% to 15%. FTIR and TGA studies show the stability of polymers with AlI₃ NAs. Scanning electron microscopy analysis shows All₃ spread uniformly at nanoscale throughout the polymer matrix. Horizontal burning test (HBT) test confirms that polymer burning is retarded with AlI₃ NAs.

Keywords: PMMA; aluminum triiodide; inflammable; nanoadditive; thermal study.