One-step synthesis and flame retardancy of sheaf-like microcrystal antimony oxychloride

A mild and facile solution route has been developed for large-scale synthesis of sheaf-like antimony oxychloride Sb8O11CI2 (H2O)6 microcrystal at room temperature. The morphologies and structures of the as-prepared products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A mechanism for the formation of the sheaf-like microstructure was tentatively proposed. The shape regulation was attributed to the capping mode of the PVP-directed antimony oxychloride crystal. The thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG/DTA) were employed to investigate thermal decomposition mechanism and temperature-dependent phase transition of antimony oxychloride Sb8O11CI2 (H2O)6 in the air. The flammable property determined by the cone calorimeter showed excellent flame retardancy when applied this antimony oxychloride in poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) polymer.