# Short Glass Fiber Modifier Trisilanol–Isobutyl Polyhedral Silsesquioxane as Interfacial in Polypropylene Matrix: Effect of Flame Retardation and Mechanical Properties

## TL;DR

This paper studies how modifying glass fibers with a specific chemical improves the fire resistance and strength of a plastic material.

## Contribution

The novel contribution is using TSI-POSS to modify glass fibers in polypropylene to enhance flame retardation and mechanical properties.

## Key findings

- Increasing TSI-POSS improves fracture point and tensile strength.
- Flame retardation improves as TSI-POSS concentration increases.
- Impact strength decreases with higher TSI-POSS levels.

## Abstract

In the present work, short glass fiber is superficially modified with different concentrations of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (Trisilanol–Isobutyl, TSI-POSS) for processing as a filler in a polypropylene matrix (PP). It is observed that increasing the amount of TSI-POSS increases the fracture point and tensile strength; the opposite is the case for the strength impact property. The behaviors of both dynamic mechanical and thermal analyses are also observed. The flame behavior, i.e., the burning rate, decreases with increasing TSI-POSS in the polymers.