Emerald Innovation NH 500: New phosphorus flame retardant from LANXESS

Specialty chemicals company LANXESS has developed a non-halogen flame retardant that will soon be offered under the brand name Emerald Innovation NH 500. The phosphorus-based additive is designed primarily for use in glass fiber-reinforced plastics used to manufacture products for the electrical and electronics (E&E) industry.

Outstanding flame retardant properties

The new polymer additive from LANXESS exhibits very good flame retardant properties in combination with other additives and easily meets the relevant fire safety tests. A glass-fiber-filled PA66 formulated with Emerald Innovation NH 500 passed the UL 94 fire test of the U.S. testing company Underwriters Laboratories Inc. with an outstanding V-0 classification at 0.8 mm test specimen thickness. In glow-wire testing, the highest intended glow-wire flammability Index (GWFI) of 960 °C is achieved without difficulty by a specimen of 3 mm thickness. The glow-wire ignition temperature (GWIT) was measured up to 875 °C which is significantly higher than that of the reference (775 °C).

Mechanical properties maintained

LANXESS has developed versatile formulations for its new flame retardant. They ensure that the mechanical properties and other functional characteristics of the end products are maintained. In addition, the product can boast excellent thermal stability and a unique morphology. The combination of very good flame retardant properties and high dimensional stability in engineering thermoplastics, such as polyamide 6 and 66 (PA6, PA66), offers compounders and processors promising applications.

More information on LANXESS’ polymer additives is available at https://pla.lanxess.com.