Study on flame retardant mechanism of ABS treated by microcapsule flame retardants

Melamine-formaldehyde resin were used to prepare microcapsules of CuO, Al(OH)₃ and Al₂O₃ which were added into ABS as flame retardants, whose thermal behavior and flame retardance were determined by TG, DTG and CONE. Activation energies for the decomposition of samples were obtained using the method of Kissinger. The date show that activation energy for the decomposition of ABS including CuO microcapsule is increased, and the stability of ABS is increased; Al(OH)₃ microcapsule has good effect on suppressing smoke by absorbing heat due to dehydration; Al₂O₃ microcapsule can catalyze decomposition and carbonization of ABS, lead to much low activation energy.