Vulcanizable SBR (butadiene-styrene copolymer) formulations were developed with the objective to obtain high mechanical performance materials with flame resistance and low cost. Aluminum hydroxide (ATH) was used as anti-flame and smoke suppressor agent in addition to the conventional additives used in diene elastomers like zinc oxide, stearic acid, sulfur, carbon black (NF) and TBBS (N-t-butyl-2-benzothiazole sulfenamide) accelerator. To reach the proposed goal, different amounts of ATH/NF ratio were used in these formulations. The resulting composites were characterized by the following tests: tensile strength, tear resistance, hardness, compression set, flame resistance and limiting oxygen index (LOI). Based upon the results obtained with the formulations used for SBR, it was possible to conclude that carbon black in the range of 25-50 phr and aluminum hydroxide in amounts higher than 125 phr, characterize the final composites as having high mechanical performance, flame resistance and low cost, as a consequence of the large quantity of incorporated filler.
Flammability; flame resistance; SBR; aluminum hydroxide
