Molybdenum disulfide nanosheets as barrier enhancing nanofillers in thermal decomposition of polypropylene composites

A novel method of preparing the molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) nanosheets coated by polypropylene (PP) latex enables the fabrication of PP/MoS 2 nanocomposites in scalable quantities. PP nanocomposites with various contents of MoS 2 nanosheets were prepared by simply melt-blending the coated MoS 2 and PP materials. The barrier effect of MoS 2 nanosheets in the thermal decomposition process of PP materials was investigated under different atmosphere by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), microscale combustion colorimeter (MCC) and thermogravimetric analysis–infrared spectrometry (TG–IR). Importantly, the peak heat release rate (PHRR) of PP/MoS 2 nanocomposites with MoS 2 loadings of 1.6   wt% is decreased by 28.1% compared to that of neat PP. Moreover, the thermal oxidative stability of PP is dramatically reinforced with the incorporation of MoS 2 nanosheets. A 41.3   °C increase in the temperature of the onset of degradation ( T −10% ) and a 40.1   °C increase in the temperature of maximum weight loss ( T max ) were observed by inclusion of as low as 1.6   wt% MoS 2 nanosheets. The excellent barrier performance together with the favorable compatibility of MoS 2 nanosheets is regarded as the key point for the reinforcement of thermal oxidative stability and reduction of flammable pyrolysis gas, which can provide promising applications in the development of fire safety polymer materials.