Flame retardant polymers current status and future trends

Abstract

High demands in fire safety have increased the consumption of flame retardant polymers. Environmental issues, raised particularly in Germany, could affect the use of certain halogenated flame retardants in the future. Therefore, equivalent halogenated and non‐halogenated substitutes are currently studied and developed. An overview of the main systems of flame retardants acting in the gas phase and the condensed phase is given. The future belongs to halogenated and non‐halogenated systems with minimal environmental impact and optimal flame retardancy. To this end, enhanced basic research on polymer degradation and on the combustion process is necessary.