Brominated flame retardants are bio-accumulative, hazardous chemicals which are incorporated into many microelectronics devices.  Due to the increasing rate and volume of electronics waste, the removal of hazardous chemicals is becoming increasingly important. Lignin is a bioderived macromolecule which shows promise as a flame retardant. Incorporation of lignin into epoxy resins could allow the replacement or substitution of brominated flame retardants in printed circuit boards. Mechanical and chemical methods have been developed to incorporate lignin into epoxy. The Mannich reaction was used to chemically bond the lignin onto an amine based hardener, which was used to cure the epoxy. The structure-property relationships of the resulting lignin-epoxy nanocomposites were examined through thermo-mechanical testing. The effects of the chemically modified lignin on flame retardancy will be discussed. Other relevant property comparisons will be shown between conventional flame retardant circuit boards and the bioderived specimen.

Lignin-epoxy nanocomposites as an alternative to brominated flame retardants

246th National Meeting (2013)

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