A novel method to prepare zinc hydroxystannate‐coated inorganic fillers and its effect on the fire properties of PVC cable materials

Abstract Fire‐retardant (FR) properties, including limiting oxygen index, peak rate of heat release, and smoke parameter have been measured and compared for unfilled and filled polyvinyl‐chloride (PVC)‐based cable formulations, containing 15 wt% amounts of uncoated and zinc‐hydroxystannate (ZHS)‐coated magnesium hydroxide (MH) and calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) fillers at the same addition level. Of the uncoated fillers, MH was more effective at lowering flammability than CaCO 3 . When the ZHS coating was applied to MH and CaCO 3 , CaCO 3 became the most effective additive at lowering PVC flammability and smoke output. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:1163–1169, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers