Lanxess offers flame-retardant properties without red phosphorous in polyamide 66 alternative

Lanxess has offered alternatives to polyamide 66 compounds containing red phosphorus, with its polyamide 6 and 66 compounds with halogen-free flame retardant packages.

Red phosphorus is an established flame-retardant for polyamide 66, but such compounds have undergone significant price increases, as both polyamide 66 base resin and red phosphorus have become more expensive.

Following this, Lanxess is noticing growing demand for high-performance alternative materials based on polyamide 6 and 66 that feature flame retardant characteristics in other ways, particularly in the electrical and IT industries.

Alexander Radeck, Application Developer in the High Performance Materials business unit at Lanxess, said: “Our range includes suitable compounds with halogen-free flame-retardant packages that exhibit similarly effective flame-retardant properties and in some case are even better. The polyamide 6 compounds in particular boast an excellent price-performance ratio.”

Unlike their counterparts containing red phosphorus, the compounds from Lanxess can be given any colour, including light shades.

This is a point in their favour as colour is an important element in design and is used in many applications as a feature of component safety marking.

A further strength of the compounds is that metals are much less prone to corrosion when they come into contact with their flame-retardant additives in warm, moist environments.