Phosphorus is a “vital” and “effective” fire safety element. Its delivery in polymers enables “non-intrusive” flame retardants, meaning compatible with performance materials, recyclable, eco-friendly and potentially bio-based. 25 pages are devoted to chemical diagrams of over 220 phosphorus flame retardants, with indications of chemical synthesis pathways. Applications and fire protection mechanisms are discussed. Other flame retardant developments are summarised, showing that innovation today concerns mainly PIN FRs. Future prospects highlighted include addressing impacts of P-FRs on material performance, recycling, polymeric and oligomeric P-FRs, reaction of P-FRs into epoxies, phosphorus – amine molecules and chemical inclusion of phosphorus into polymers and combination with carbon fibre. The study also notes the long-term possibility to move to bio-sourced phosphorus for PIN FRs.
“Phosphorus-Based Polymeric Flame Retardants – Recent Advances and Perspectives”, I. Singh, A. Sivaramakrishna, ChemistrySelect 2024, 9, e202401485, https://doi.org/10.1002/slct.202401485