Thermal Stability and Fire Resistance of Vinyl Ester Resin Composites: Effect of Various Fillers on Thermal Degradation and Flame Retardancy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54355/tbusphys/30070147.4.2.2026.0053Keywords:
vinyl ester resin, flame retardancy, TGA, DSC, LOI, HRR, Al (OH)₃, Mg (OH)₂, ATH, diatomite, ammonium polyphosphate, expandable graphite, nano-clay, bio-based flame retardants, DOPO, fire-resistant compositesAbstract
This work systematizes published data on the thermal stability and fire resistance of vinyl ester resin (VER)-based composites filled with various inorganic and organic flame retardants, including aluminum trihydrate Al (OH)₃, Mg (OH)₂, dimethyl methylphosphonate immobilized on diatomaceous earth (DE@DMMP), ammonium polyphosphate, expandable graphite, montmorillonite, zinc borate, phosphate esters, and hybrid fillers. The study describes the synthesis and curing methods for ten representative VER composite systems and presents a comparative analysis of data from thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, heat release rate, and the oxygen index. It is shown that mineral hydroxide fillers increase the LOI to 30–31%, reduce the pHRR by 42–45%, and raise the decomposition onset temperature by 17–28 °C, whereas immobilized DMMP systems achieve an oxygen index of 50% with a UL-94 V-0 rating. For each type of filler, the trade-off between flame resistance and mechanical properties is discussed. The work is supplemented with data from publications over the past 3–5 years, covering bio-based VERs (based on magnolol, vanillin, protocatechuic aldehyde, and bisgwayacol), new-generation reactive phosphorus-containing modifiers (VIDOP, VIDHP/VIDPP, flexible-chain DOPO, DPPO, APP-MDO), and hybrid interphase solutions for fiber-reinforced composites, as well as a critical analysis of discrepancies in the literature and an assessment of the economic feasibility and scalability of the systems under consideration.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Marzhan Akhmetova, Nurgul Zhanturina, Abish Taskaliyev, Amirbek Bekeshev
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
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Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Grant numbers BR28712729
