Specialists from the N.N. Semenov Federal Research Center for Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences have patented a new fire-resistant polymer material. Unlike traditional solutions, where the addition of flame retardants reduces strength and elasticity, the new development allows for abnormally high fire resistance while maintaining deformability.
The material consists of two main components: inorganic ammonium polyphosphate and organic ethylene vinyl acetate polymer. They are mixed in a molten state at a temperature of 200–230°C, after which the resulting mass is formed into granules or threads – this makes the material convenient for production. In the finished product, the proportion of the inorganic component can vary from 70 to 80% depending on the required properties.
The key result is that the material demonstrates an oxygen index in the range of 45 to 95%. For comparison: for ordinary polymers, this indicator is 26–32%, and for traditional materials with flame retardants, it rarely exceeds 40% without loss of elasticity. At the same time, the elongation at break reaches 8.8–346.0%, which is comparable to ordinary plastics, where this parameter can reach 310%.
Thanks to this combination of properties, the development can find wide application in the production of household equipment, cables, building materials, as well as in electrical engineering and electronics.
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