Next-Generation Flame-Retardant Polymer Materials for Advanced Applications
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 1
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The growing demand for safer, lighter, and sustainable polymer materials has driven the rapid evolution of next-generation flame-retardant (FR) polymers. Modern technologies, ranging from electric mobility and advanced batteries to wearable electronics, and intelligent building materials, require materials that not only ensure high safety and reliability under extreme conditions but also meet increasingly stringent environmental and performance requirements.
Conventional flame-retardant additives often compromise mechanical or optical performance, limiting their use in advanced systems. By contrast, next-generation FR polymers emphasize molecular design, interfacial engineering, hierarchical structuring, and multifunctional integration, enabling the creation of lightweight, high-strength, and recyclable materials with tailored fire protection. These advances open new opportunities for thermal management, fire sensing, and bridging safety and performance in complex service environments.
This Special Issue aims to gather cutting-edge research and critical reviews that advance the scientific understanding, technological innovation, and practical deployment of next-generation flame-retardant polymer systems for advanced applications. We particularly welcome contributions that link molecular mechanisms with macroscopic performance and demonstrate application-oriented validation in real-world conditions.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Innovative flame-retardant systems: halogen-free, bio-based, and environmentally benign FR systems; reactive and intumescent designs; gas-/condensed-phase synergy.
- Advanced characterization and predictive modeling: thermal–mechanical analysis, reaction kinetics, molecular dynamics, and machine learning-assisted FR design.
- Multifunctional flame-retardant composites: integration of flame retardancy with thermal conductivity, electrical insulation, mechanical reinforcement, or sensing functionalities.
- Processing and scalable manufacturing: roll-to-roll coating, extrusion, additive manufacturing, and other high-throughput fabrication routes.
Application-driven development: electric vehicles and energy storage, aerospace and transportation composites, wearable and flexible electronics, smart coatings and fire-warning films, and sustainable construction materials.
Dr. Rong Ma
Guest Editor
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2700 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
- flame-retardant polymers
- structure–property relationships
- reaction kinetics
- machine learning
- thermal management materials
- electrical insulation materials
- scalable manufacturing
- sustainable materials engineering
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