Flame Retardancy of Polymeric Materials

Dear Colleagues,

Every year, unwanted fires impose a huge drain on our society and economy. Furthermore, the devastations as a consequence of uncontrolled fires are growing due to the increased frequency of natural and man-made disasters and heightened degrees of threats by different terrorist groups, around the world in recent times. In addition, the problems arising from forest/bush fires, their environmental impacts including the detrimental effects on the flora and fauna and on the livelihood of the vicinal urban populations, are also on the rise.

In most of the unwanted fires, some sort of a polymeric material is usually implicated, either as a  primary source, or as a means of spreading and increasing the severity of the fires. What is even more worrying is the amount of toxic compounds  formed during the burning of polymers; a real concern given that the majority of fire fatalities are caused by the inhalation of carbon monoxide and other toxic substances from different fire loads in the enclosures. In spite of the inherent flammability attributes of, and fire hazards associated with, synthetic polymers,  their uses and demands  are on the increase. This is primarily due to their ease of production and low cost, light weight, good processability, enhanced weatherability, etc., as opposed to the conventional natural counterparts. One of the main reasons behind the successful use of polymeric-based materials in every-day-life is that, over the past decades, effective means and methods of adequately fire proofing these materials have been also brought in place.

This Special Issue, “Flame Retardancy of Polymeric Materials”, predominantly focusses on recent developments in the area of fire retardation of polymeric materials and the main topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Novel fire retarded polymeric materials
2. Additive/reactive strategies to achieve fire retardancy
3. Fundamentals of polymer combustion and toxicity of combustion products
4. Polymeric hybrid materials and nanocomposites
5. Ignition propensity, melt-flow behaviours and fire dynamics of fire retarded polymers
6. Elements of mechanisms of fire retardant action
7. Elucidation of condensed- and gaseous-phase chemistries
8. Environmentally-friendly technologies and bio-inspired fire retardants
9. Analytcal correlations of test data at different scales
10. Mathematical modelling and software simulation of fire behaviour of polymeric materials

Whilst original contributions are normally expected, relevant reviews on topical issues in the general area of “Flame Retardancy of Polymeric Materials” are also welcome.

Prof. Paul Joseph
Dr. Svetlana Tretsiakova-McNally
Guest Editors