Flame retarded plasticized poly(lactic acid) using phosphorus-based additives

In this study, the synergistic effect of the flame-retardant additives on the properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was investigated and at the same time, it was tried to increase the toughness of PLA by adding small amounts of phosphate-based additives to plasticized PLA as binary and ternary mixtures. Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was used as a plasticizer. As flame retardant additives, ammonium polyphosphate (APP), tri-phenyl phosphate (TPP), and boron phosphate (BP) were used. Characterization of the composites was carried out by tensile test, impact test, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal gravimetric analyses (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), limiting oxygen index (LOI), and UL-94 horizontal burning tests. In addition, TGA-FTIR analyses were carried out to understand the thermal degradation mechanism of composites during combustion. According to the SEM micrographs of the burnt surfaces of the samples, a smooth and flat structure is observed in PLA/PEG/5TPP-5BP sample, while a porous structure and branching formations are observed in other composite samples. Among the composite samples, the best flame retardancy features were observed in the composite containing PLA/PEG/5APP-2.5TPP-2.5BP sample, and the highest impact strength and elongation at break values were obtained in the composite containing PLA/PEG/5APP-5TPP sample.