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Advances in Flame Retardant Polymeric Materials and Composites

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2024) | Viewed by 2559

Special Issue Editors

Center for Fire Safety Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
Interests: flame-retardant materials; nanocomposites; multifunctional flame-retardant polymers; bio-based flame retardants
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Guest Editor
Heilongjiang Key Laboratory of Molecular Design and Preparation of Flame Retarded Materials, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Interests: high-performance flame-retardant and fireproof composites; environmentally friendly halogen-free flame retardants; multifunctional bio-based composites

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymers are widely used in our daily lives due to their light weight, ease of production, and good processability. However, most of them are combustible. With the increasing concern around fire hazards, flame-retardant polymeric materials have been rapidly developed in recent decades. Lately, considerable efforts have been dedicated to the construction of flame-retardant materials, including plastics, rubbers, fabrics, coatings, and adhesives. This Special Issue in Polymers aims to collectively disseminate state-of-the-art research concerning challenges and innovations in the development of flame-retardant polymeric materials based on a scientific and technological understanding of fire-safe conceptualization, fire-suppression mechanisms, and fire protection applications. 

We invite the research community to contribute to this Special Issue by submitting perspectives, review articles, full papers, short communications, and technical papers. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Phosphorus-based fire retardants;
  • Nano-structured fire retardants;
  • Fire assessments;
  • Fire-retardant modes of action;
  • Ignition behaviors;
  • Smoke suppression;
  • Fire simulation;
  • Fire reaction;
  • Fire toxicity;
  • Fire-retardant composites;
  • Multifunctional fire-retardant polymers;
  • Fire protection of construction materials;
  • Functional fire-safe road pavement materials;
  • Fire-retardant fabrics;
  • Fire-resistant coatings;
  • Fire-retardant phase-change materials;
  • Fire-retardant battery materials;
  • Fire-sensing coatings and structures;
  • Bio-based intrinsic flame-retardant polymers;
  • Bio-based fire retardants;
  • Fire-retardant fiber-reinforced polymer composites;
  • Fire safety of tunnels;
  • Fire safety of coal mines;
  • Fire protection of woods.

Dr. Jun Sun
Prof. Dr. Lubin Liu
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 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

  • fire retardant
  • additive
  • polymer
  • composite
  • nanocomposite
  • fiber-reinforced polymer composites
  • coating
  • fabric
  • foam
  • synergism
  • fire-retardant mechanism
  • thermal stability
  • smoke suppression
  • ignition
  • fire alarm
  • black phosphorous
  • metal–organic frameworks
  • road pavement materials
  • construction materials
  • tunnels
  • coal mines
  • woods
  • flame simulation

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 8236 KiB  
Article
Polyvinyl Alcohol Composite Films Containing Flame-Retardant DOPO-VTES and α-ZrP
by Jiayou Xu, Minyi Luo, Riyan Lin and Shu Lv
Polymers 2025, 17(8), 1011; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17081011 - 9 Apr 2025
Viewed by 279
Abstract
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is used in various fields; however, its highly flammable property greatly limits its application. In order to improve the flame-retardant properties of PVA, one method is by adding flame retardants directly, while another method is through grafting, cross-linking and hydrogen [...] Read more.
Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is used in various fields; however, its highly flammable property greatly limits its application. In order to improve the flame-retardant properties of PVA, one method is by adding flame retardants directly, while another method is through grafting, cross-linking and hydrogen bonding. A flame retardant, 9, 10-dihydro-9, 10-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO)-vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTES), was synthesized through the addition reaction of a P–H bond on the DOPO and unsaturated carbon–carbon double bonds on the VTES. Then, the DOPO-VTES and zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP) were blended with PVA to cast a film, in which DOPO-VTES was grafted onto the PVA by cross-linking the hydroxyl group in the molecular structure of DOPO-VTES with the hydroxyl group in PVA; α-ZrP was used as a cooperative agent of DOPO-VTES. The cone calorimetry test (CCT) showed a significant reduction in both the heat release rate (HRR) and total heat release rate (THR) for the flame-retardant PVA films compared to pure PVA. Additionally, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed a higher residual char content in the flame-retardant PVA films than in pure PVA. These findings suggested that the combination of DOPO-VTES and α-ZrP could improve the flame retardancy of PVA. The cooperative flame-retardant mode of action at play was possibly that DOPO in the DOPO-VTES acted as a mainly gas-phase flame retardant, which yielded a PO radical; VTES in the DOPO-VTES produced silicon dioxide (SiO2), which acted as a thermal insulator; and α-ZrP catalyzed the carbonization of the PVA. By combining DOPO-VTES with α-ZrP, a continuous dense carbon layer was formed, which effectively inhibited oxygen and heat exchange, resulting in a flame-retardant effect. It is expected that flame-retardant films for PVA have a broad development prospect and potential in the fields of packaging materials, electronic appliances, and lithium-ion battery separators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Flame Retardant Polymeric Materials and Composites)
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17 pages, 13842 KiB  
Article
Fabrication of Functionalized Graphene Oxide–Aluminum Hypophosphite Nanohybrids for Enhanced Fire Safety Performance in Polystyrene
by Zhenzhen Deng, Tao Tang, Junjie Huo, Hui He and Kang Dai
Polymers 2024, 16(21), 3083; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16213083 - 31 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 862
Abstract
To enhance the fire safety performance in polystyrene (PS), a novel organic–inorganic hybrid material (FGO–AHP) was successfully prepared by the combination of functionalized graphene oxide (FGO) and aluminum hypophosphite (AHP) via a chemical deposition method. The resulting FGO–AHP nanohybrids were incorporated into PS [...] Read more.
To enhance the fire safety performance in polystyrene (PS), a novel organic–inorganic hybrid material (FGO–AHP) was successfully prepared by the combination of functionalized graphene oxide (FGO) and aluminum hypophosphite (AHP) via a chemical deposition method. The resulting FGO–AHP nanohybrids were incorporated into PS via a masterbatch-melt blending to produce PS/FGO–AHP nanocomposites. Scanning electron microscope images confirm the homogeneous dispersion and exfoliation state of FGO–AHP in the PS matrix. Incorporating FGO–AHP significantly improves the thermal behavior and fire safety performance of PS. By incorporating 5 wt% FGO–AHP, the maximum mass loss rate (MMLR) in air, total heat release (THR), and maximum smoke density value (Dsmax) of PS nanocomposite achieve a reduction of 53.1%, 23.4%, and 50.9%, respectively, as compared to the pure PS. In addition, thermogravimetry–Fourier transform infrared (TG–FTIR) results indicate that introducing FGO–AHP notably inhibits the evolution of volatile products from PS decomposition. Further, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy were employed to investigate the char residue of PS nanocomposite samples, elaborating the flame-retardant mechanism in PS/FGO–AHP nanocomposites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Flame Retardant Polymeric Materials and Composites)
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12 pages, 7584 KiB  
Article
Novel Aryl Phosphate for Improving Fire Safety and Mechanical Properties of Epoxy Resins
by Yue Xu, Wenjia Zhang, Ru Yin, Jun Sun, Bin Li and Lubin Liu
Polymers 2024, 16(21), 3049; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16213049 - 30 Oct 2024
Viewed by 874
Abstract
Epoxy resins (EPs) are highly flammable, and traditional flame retardant modifications often lead to a significant reduction in their mechanical performance, limiting their applications in aerospace and electrical and electronic fields. In this study, a novel flame retardant, bis(4-(((diphenylphosphoryl)oxy)methyl)phenyl)phenyl phosphate (DMP), was successfully [...] Read more.
Epoxy resins (EPs) are highly flammable, and traditional flame retardant modifications often lead to a significant reduction in their mechanical performance, limiting their applications in aerospace and electrical and electronic fields. In this study, a novel flame retardant, bis(4-(((diphenylphosphoryl)oxy)methyl)phenyl)phenyl phosphate (DMP), was successfully prepared and introduced into the EP matrix. When the addition of DMP was 9 wt%, the EP/9 wt% DMP thermosets passed the UL-94 V-0 rating, and their LOI was increased from 24.5% of EP to 35.0%. With the introduction of DMP, the phosphoric acid compounds from the decomposition of DMP promoted the dehydration and charring of the EP matrix, and the compact, dense char layer effectively exerted the shielding effect in the condensed phase. Meanwhile, the produced phosphorus-containing radicals played a quenching effect in the gas phase. As a result, the peak heat release rate (PHRR) and total heat release (THR) of EP/9 wt% DMP were reduced by 68.9% and 18.1% compared to pure EP. In addition, the polyaromatic structure of DMP had good compatibility with the EP matrix, and the tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength of EP/9 wt% DMP were enhanced by 116.38%, 17.84% and 59.11% in comparison with that of pure EP. This study is valuable for expanding the application of flame-retardant EP/DMP thermosets in emerging fields. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Flame Retardant Polymeric Materials and Composites)
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