Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.1
3.4
Journals
Coatings
Special Issues
Innovative Flame-Retardant Coatings for High-Performance Materials
share announcement

Innovative Flame-Retardant Coatings for High-Performance Materials

A Special Issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412) belonging to the section "Thin Films".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2026) | Viewed by 3859

Editors

Dr. Mingfeng Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China
Interests: advanced flame retardant materials; functional coatings; flame-retardant mechanism; heat-resistant materials; environment-friendly and recyclable materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shuqiang Peng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Fujian University of Technology, Fuzhou, China
Interests: 3D printing flame retardant materials; flexible sensors

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The application of high-performance coating materials is crucial in sectors such as aerospace, electronics, construction, and transportation due to their superior attributes. However, their flammability significantly limits their broader utilization. To date, the incorporation of flame retardants has proven to be an effective strategy in enhancing the fire resistance of these coatings. To mitigate potential health and environmental concerns, it is imperative to fundamentally understand and develop coating materials with flame-retardant properties, as well as consider their impact on other crucial properties, including mechanical strength, thermal stability, smoke suppression, and processing characteristics.

This Special Issue of the journal Coatings, entitled "Innovative Flame-Retardant Coatings for High-Performance Materials" is dedicated to showcasing recent research and advancements in the preparation, properties, and applications of high-performance flame-retardant coatings.

Dr. Mingfeng Chen
Dr. Shuqiang Peng
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • intumescent fire-retardant coatings
  • intrinsically flame-retardant coatings
  • flame-retardant coatings with multifunctional features
  • bio-sourced flame-retardant coatings
  • high-performance flame-retardant coatings

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

19 pages, 5573 KB  
Article
DOPO-Triazole Synergistic Epoxy Monomer: A Strategy to Overcome the Flame-Retardancy/Toughness Trade-Off
by Zankun Gong, Xiao He, Shuyue Gong, Haitao Lin and Yucai Lin
Coatings 2026, 16(4), 421; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings16040421 - 1 Apr 2026
Viewed by 1166
Abstract
Epoxy resins (EP) are widely used in aerospace, electronics, and coatings due to their excellent mechanical and thermal properties. However, their inherent flammability and brittleness limit high-end applications. In this work, a novel reactive flame retardant epoxy monomer (EP-DVGA) containing DOPO and triazole [...] Read more.
Epoxy resins (EP) are widely used in aerospace, electronics, and coatings due to their excellent mechanical and thermal properties. However, their inherent flammability and brittleness limit high-end applications. In this work, a novel reactive flame retardant epoxy monomer (EP-DVGA) containing DOPO and triazole units was designed and synthesized via a molecular engineering strategy. The chemical structure was confirmed by FTIR and NMR. A series of modified epoxy thermosets were prepared by co-curing EP-DVGA with bisphenol A epoxy resin (E51) using DDM as curing agent. The results showed that EP-DVGA significantly enhanced flame retardancy: At 16.31 wt% loading, the limiting oxygen index increased from 25.9% to 34.3% with UL-94 V-0 rating, and cone calorimetry revealed 73.2% and 69.2% reductions in peak heat release rate and total heat release, respectively. Mechanistic studies demonstrated a dual flame retardant effect involving phosphorus radical quenching in the gas phase and formation of a dense graphitized char layer in the condensed phase. Remarkably, EP-DVGA also improved mechanical properties—impact strength increased by 47% and tensile strength by 33.1% at optimal loadings—attributed to energy dissipation through reversible hydrogen bonding and π–π interactions. This molecular design successfully overcomes the traditional trade-off between flame retardancy and mechanical performance, offering a promising strategy for developing high-performance intrinsically flame retardant epoxy materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Flame-Retardant Coatings for High-Performance Materials)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 2650 KB  
Article
Effect of Application Method and Amount of Expandable Graphite with Polyurea on Wood Thermal Resistance
by Katarína Trojanová, Elena Kmeťová, Danica Kačíková, Adriana Eštoková and František Kačík
Coatings 2026, 16(2), 231; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings16020231 - 12 Feb 2026
Viewed by 1022
Abstract
Wood, which is flammable, is commonly used as a building material and can be improved using a suitable surface treatment. A promising coating solution is polyurea, featuring properties like flexibility, mechanical resistance, resistance against water, etc., but it is also easily flammable. Expandable [...] Read more.
Wood, which is flammable, is commonly used as a building material and can be improved using a suitable surface treatment. A promising coating solution is polyurea, featuring properties like flexibility, mechanical resistance, resistance against water, etc., but it is also easily flammable. Expandable graphite (EG) is effective as a flame retardant and environmentally suitable. In this study, we studied the suitability of polyurea improved with EG. Spruce wood samples with dimensions of 50 mm × 40 mm × 10 mm were divided into eight groups, each including five samples. Each group was subjected to two applications of polyurea and EG in various combinations to examine the best combination with the lowest mass loss. The second component of the experiments aimed to examine the effectiveness of EG, which was applied in different weights. During the experiments, samples were thermally loaded in an apparatus for 10 min, where a heat flux of 30 kW·m−2 was applied to the sample surface and the mass loss was continuously recorded. Lastly, thermal analysis was performed. The best results were observed for the combination of NEOPROOF mixed with 0.3 g of EG covered with NEODUR. The thermal analysis results revealed substantial differences: NEOPROOF, a polyurea, had only one degradation step, while NEODUR, which also contained polyurethanes, decomposed in several steps. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Flame-Retardant Coatings for High-Performance Materials)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 3967 KB  
Article
A Thorough Investigation of the Mechanism of theAntagonistic Effect Between Phosphorus and Basic Oxide-Forming Minerals as Flame Retardants of PolymericComposite Coatings
by Evangelia Mitropoulou, Georgios N. Mathioudakis, Amaia Soto Beobide, Athanasios Porfyris, Vassilios Dracopoulos, Kerim Kılınç, Theodosios Chatzinikolaou, Deniz Savci, Cem Gunesoglu, Joannis Kallitsis and George A. Voyiatzis
Coatings 2025, 15(8), 886; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings15080886 - 30 Jul 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1114
Abstract
Halogenated flame retardants have been amongst the most widely used and effective solutions for enhancing fire resistance. However, their use is currently strictly regulated due to serious health and environmental concerns. In this context, phosphorus-based and mineral flame retardants have emerged as promising [...] Read more.
Halogenated flame retardants have been amongst the most widely used and effective solutions for enhancing fire resistance. However, their use is currently strictly regulated due to serious health and environmental concerns. In this context, phosphorus-based and mineral flame retardants have emerged as promising alternatives. Despite this, their combined use is neither straightforward nor guaranteed to be effective. This study scrutinizes the interactions between these two classes of flame retardants (FR) through a systematic analysis aimed at elucidating the antagonistic pathways that arise from their coexistence. Specifically, this study focuses on two inorganic fillers, mineral huntite and chemically precipitated magnesium hydroxide, both of which produce basic oxides upon thermal decomposition. These fillers were incorporated into a poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) matrix to be utilized as advanced-mattress FR coating fabric and were subjected to a series of flammability tests. The pyrolysis products of the prepared polymeric composite compounds were isolated and thoroughly characterized using a combination of analytical techniques. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential thermogravimetric analysis (dTGA) were employed to monitor decomposition behavior, while the char residues collected at different pyrolysis stages were examined spectroscopically, using FTIR-ATR and Raman spectroscopy, to identify their structure and the chemical reactions that led to their formation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) experiments were also conducted to complement the spectroscopic findings in the chemical composition of the resulting char residues and to pinpoint the different species that constitute them. The morphological changes of the char’s structure were monitored by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Finally, the Limited Oxygen Index (LOI) and UL94 (vertical sample mode) methods were used to assess the relative flammability of the samples, revealing a significant drop in flame retardancy when both types of flame retardants are present. This reduction is attributed to the neutralization of acidic phosphorus species by the basic oxides generated during the decomposition of the basic inorganic fillers, as confirmed by the characterization techniques employed. These findings underscore the challenge of combining organophosphorus with popular flame-retardant classes such as mineral or basic metal flame retardants, offering insight into a key difficulty in formulating next-generation halogen-free flame-retardant composite coatings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Flame-Retardant Coatings for High-Performance Materials)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop