Novel strategy for molybdenum disulfide nanosheets grown on titanate nanotubes for enhancing the flame retardancy and smoke suppression of epoxy resin

A novel hybrid consisting of a molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ) coating on a titanium dioxide nanotube (TNT) surface (MoS 2 –TNT) was synthesized by a hydrothermal method. The MoS 2 , TNTs, and MoS 2 –TNT hybrid were incorporated into epoxy resin (EP) to study their effects on its thermal performance and flame retardancy. Thermogravimetric analysis results show that the char yield at 700 °C of EP–MoS 2 –TNTs was obviously increased compared with that of the EP–MoS 2 or EP–TNTs; this indicated that MoS 2 –TNTs had a good carbonization effect. The limiting oxygen index, cone calorimetry, and smoke density tests showed that MoS 2 –TNTs effectively improved the flame retardancy and smoke suppression of EP. This was attributed to the physical barrier effect of MoS 2 and the adsorption of TNTs. Moreover, the flame retardancy and smoke suppression of the EP–MoS 2 –TNTs were better than those of the EP–MoS 2 or EP–TNTs alone with the same amount of addition; this indicated that there was a synergistic effect between MoS 2 and TNTs.